What is the right to appeal a court decision?

The right to appeal a court decision is the ability of a party to a legal proceeding to ask a higher court to review the decision of the lower court for legal error, factual error, or excessive sentence. It is a structural feature of the Australian court system that operates at federal, state, and territory level, and is one of the key protections against miscarriages of justice.

Australian courts are organised in a hierarchy. At the bottom sit the magistrates' or local courts, which hear minor criminal matters and small civil claims. Above them sit district or county courts (in some states) which hear more serious criminal trials and larger civil matters. The supreme court of each state and territory is the highest state court and includes a court of appeal division. The Federal Court of Australia, the Family Court (now part of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia), and the Federal Circuit Court handle federal matters. Above all of them sits the High Court of Australia, the final court of appeal for the country.

Appeal rights vary by case and court. In criminal matters, an accused who is convicted can appeal against the conviction (claiming the verdict was unsafe or based on legal error), against the sentence (claiming it was manifestly excessive), or both. The prosecution can appeal an acquittal in some limited circumstances and can appeal a sentence as manifestly inadequate. In civil matters, either party can usually appeal an adverse decision on questions of law or fact. Most appeals require leave (permission from the higher court), reflecting the Australian system's preference for finality of litigation.

The right to appeal interacts with several other features of the system. The High Court grants special leave to appeal only in cases of public importance or where there has been a substantial miscarriage of justice. Reform regimes such as the Criminal Cases Review Commission (operating in some states) can refer cases back for reconsideration after conventional appeal rights are exhausted. The 2014 South Australian establishment of a right to a second appeal where new and compelling evidence emerges (later adopted in Victoria and other states) addressed long-standing concerns about wrongful convictions.