What responsibility do state and territory courts have?

State and territory courts are responsible for hearing the vast majority of criminal and civil cases in Australia, including matters arising under state and territory law and many matters arising under Commonwealth law through cross-vesting arrangements. Each jurisdiction operates its own hierarchy of courts.

The typical state court structure has three or four tiers. At the bottom are local or magistrates' courts (called Local Court in NSW, Magistrates' Court in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, and the ACT, and Northern Territory Local Court), which hear minor criminal matters, committal hearings for serious offences, small civil claims, family violence intervention orders, and traffic matters. Above them sit intermediate courts (District Court in NSW and Queensland, County Court in Victoria, District Court in Western Australia and South Australia, no intermediate court in Tasmania, ACT, or NT), which hear more serious criminal trials and larger civil matters. At the top sit the supreme courts of each state and territory.

The supreme courts have general jurisdiction across all civil and criminal matters not exclusively reserved to the federal courts, including the most serious criminal trials (murder, rape), large civil claims, appeals from lower courts, and judicial review of executive action. Each Supreme Court has a Court of Appeal division that hears appeals from trial divisions and intermediate courts. The High Court of Australia is the final court of appeal from state supreme courts on matters of public importance or substantial miscarriage of justice.

Specialist courts and tribunals operate alongside the main court hierarchy. Children's courts handle matters involving children and young people under 18. Drug courts and Koori courts (in some states) handle specific categories of offending with therapeutic or culturally appropriate approaches. Coroners' courts investigate sudden, unexpected, or violent deaths. State civil and administrative tribunals (NCAT, VCAT, QCAT, SACAT, SAT, TASCAT, ACAT, NTCAT) handle residential tenancy, consumer, guardianship, administrative review, and many other matters in less formal settings than courts. Together the state courts and tribunals handle about 1.5 million matters across Australia each year, with judges, magistrates, and tribunal members appointed by the state governments and operating under judicial independence protections.