Court Processes

In order to understand the criminal law, it is important to understand the court processes involved in dealing with a criminal matter. These include pleading guilty, contesting a matter, applying for bail and going through a committal proceeding or voir dire.

Court processes also include initiating or responding to an appeal against a verdict or a sentence and establishing whether a defendant is fit to plead.

The Australian criminal court hierarchy includes the Magistrates Courts and Children’s Courts of the various states and territories, and the Supreme Court of each state and territory.  In addition to these courts, Victoria also has a County Court. New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia also have District Courts.  Supreme Court decisions can be appealed to the High Court of Australia with special leave from the High Court.

This section of the site contains information about Australian court processes.