Australian court hierarchy
Categories: Australian law stubs | Australian courts | Australian law
There are two broad levels within the hierarchy of Australian courts, the federal level and the state and territory level.
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Federal courts
These courts among them have jurisdiction over commonwealth law, that is, law made by the federal parliament of Australia.
High Court of Australia
The High Court is the highest court in Australia. It was created by section 71 of the Constitution. It has appellate jurisdiction over all other courts. It also has some original jurisdiction, and has the power of constitutional review. Prior to 1986, when the Australia Acts were passed, a route of appeal lay from the High Court to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom. Appeals to the High Court are by special leave only, and therefore for most cases, the Supreme Courts of each state and the Federal Court are ultimate appellate courts. The Full Court of the High Court is the ultimate appeal court for Australia.
Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court has some original and appellate federal jurisdiction. Decisions of the High Court are binding on the Federal Court. There is a "Full Court" of the Federal Court which consists of several judges, perhaps three or five.
Family Court of Australia
The Family Court, established in 1975, has jurisdiction over family law matters.
The Family Court was established to reduce the workload of the Federal Court, and to enable lawyers and judges to specialise in this area. The principles of stare decisis are the same as for the Federal Court.
Federal Magistrates' Court
The Federal Magistrates Court was established in 1999 to ease the large caseload on the Federal Court. Decisions of the Full Court of the Federal Court are binding on Federal Magistrates, and so are decisions of Federal Court judges who are deciding an appeal from the Federal Magistrate. But decisions of a single Federal Court judge exercising original jurisdiction are not binding. Decisions may be appealed from the Federal Magistrates Court to the Federal Court.
Administrative Appeals Tribunal
The Administrative appeals Tribunal was established in 1975. Strictly speaking it is not a court, but a method of review. Its responsibility is to hear appeals against administrative decissions of the Commonwealth Government and its departments.
State and territory courts
Each state has a court hierarchy of its own, with the jurisdictions of each court varying from state to state. Each state has a Supreme Court, the highest court of original jurisdiction in that state. There is a Full Court or Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court. Decisions of the Full Court of the High Court (but not decisions of a single High Court judge) are binding on the Full Court of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Courts can sometimes exercise federal jurisdiction. However, this "cross-vesting power" does not allow federal courts to exercise state jurisdiction. Most of the states have two further levels of courts, which are comparable across the country. The District Court (or County Court) handles most criminal trials for indictable offences, and most civil matters. The Magistrates Court (or Local Court) handles most summary matters.