NSW Court Lists: How to Search the Online Registry and Daily Lists

A NSW court list tells you which matters are before a court or tribunal on a given day, at what time, in which courtroom and before which judge, magistrate or member. This page covers the NSW Online Registry search, the printed daily lists each court publishes, what the lists leave out, and the rules on reusing them. For lists in other states and territories, see court lists in Australia. For judgments and court files, see court records in NSW.

Where NSW court lists are published

NSW has one central search and a set of per-court printed lists.

The central search is the NSW Online Registry court lists, also available as the NSW Court Lists mobile app. NSW Courts describes its purpose plainly: "Use the court lists to find the time and place of your court appearance or to find out what is happening in the courtrooms on a particular date."

According to the Registry, the search covers:

• the Supreme Court, District Court, Local Court, Coroner's Court and Land and Environment Court
• the Industrial Relations Commission, the Industrial Court and the Dust Diseases Tribunal
• NCAT's Administrative and Equal Opportunity Division, Consumer and Commercial Division, Occupational Division, Appeal Panel and Enforcement Jurisdiction

Each court and tribunal also uploads printed PDF lists to its own website. NSW Courts says these show "matters listed for tomorrow" and are "updated at 3.30 pm each day". Some include extra information for practitioners, such as the specialist case management list a case sits in and available hearing dates.

How to search the NSW Online Registry

You can search by case number or party name, then refine by jurisdiction, court, tribunal, presiding officer and listing type. NSW Courts adds that searches can also be done by location and date. Each result shows the time the case is listed, the courtroom and the presiding judicial officer.

A few practical points:

• Use your case number if you have it. It appears on your court paperwork, and using it avoids confusion with people who share your name.
• Check the date range. The Registry says lists cover matters "up to three weeks in the future, and one week in the past". If your hearing is further out, it will not appear yet.
• Export if you need a record. The Registry lets you export up to 1,000 search results as a CSV or PDF file.
• Check again close to the day. The Registry says listing information is updated every 60 seconds, and NSW Courts encourages you to check "the night before, or on the morning of the court hearing", because cases settle and trials run longer or shorter than expected.

If you know a matter is listed but cannot find the courtroom or location, the Registry asks you to contact the relevant registry. NSW Courts lists contact details for every court and tribunal on its contact page.

Court by court

The courts publish on slightly different schedules and windows. Where a court's own page gives a figure, it is below.

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court says a daily court list "showing matters listed before the Court for the next working day will be published at approximately 3:30pm each day". It warns that variations may occur after publication and that "any late changes may not be displayed on the final Court List". Listings from the last seven days can be obtained through the Online Registry.

The Supreme Court's PDF list starts with the duty roster, such as the Common Law and Equity duty judges, before the Court of Appeal and other lists.

Local Court

The Local Court page says you can search for cases "listed up to two weeks in advance, and for previous listings that have occurred in the last seven days", and that the online list is updated several times a day.

The official pages describe different forward windows. The Online Registry, the Land and Environment Court and NCAT say three weeks ahead; NSW Courts' court lists page and the Local Court page say two weeks. If your date is close to the edge of either window and does not show, contact the registry rather than assuming it has been vacated.

Land and Environment Court

The Land and Environment Court's lists show matters listed for a directions hearing, final hearing, conciliation or mediation, "with the date, time and courtroom or on-site location". You can search up to three weeks ahead and seven days back. Its daily court list, sorted by case management list, is published not before 3:30pm on the court's website and posted on a notice board in the foyer at 225 Macquarie Street, Sydney. The registrar's lists also show available commissioner hearing dates and the duty judge.

NCAT

NCAT's hearing lists "show you the time and place of cases listed for a hearing or other listing type". You can search by case file number (for example, 2014/00001234) or party name. The default view shows today's listings, and the filters let you look at past or future hearings. NCAT's Guardianship Division does not publish hearing lists.

What NSW court lists do not show

NSW Courts states that "each court with the exception of the NSW Children's Court publishes a daily schedule of cases called a court list". Children's Court matters will not be found by searching the lists.

NCAT Guardianship Division matters are also absent, because that division does not publish hearing lists.

Other gaps are less clear-cut:

• AVO matters. The NSW Courts and Online Registry pages do not say whether apprehended violence order matters in the Local Court appear by name, appear with initials, or are left out. If you are a party and cannot find your AVO listing, ask the registry. For how AVOs work, see our guide to AVOs in NSW.
• Suppression and non-publication orders. NSW courts can make these orders under the Court Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010. The Judicial Commission of NSW's bench book bulletin on the Act notes that a primary objective of the administration of justice is "to safeguard the public interest in open justice", and lists the grounds on which a court may make an order, including the proper administration of justice and the safety of any person. The NSW pages we reviewed do not explain how suppressed matters are shown on the online list, so do not read anything into a matter's absence.
• Matters outside the window. A hearing more than two to three weeks away, or one that finished more than seven days ago, will not appear.

If your matter is missing or has changed

Courts move matters at short notice. NSW Courts says last-minute changes can happen because a case has settled or a trial has run longer or shorter than expected, and the Supreme Court warns that late changes may not reach the final printed list.

If something does not match your paperwork:

1. Search by case number rather than name, and check the courthouse and date.
2. Check both the Online Registry and the court's printed list for the next day.
3. Contact the registry for the court named on your notice, using the NSW Courts contact page.

If you are on bail, a missing or changed online listing does not by itself change a date you have been told to attend. If in doubt, confirm with the registry or your lawyer. See bail in NSW for how bail works.

Court list, judgment or court file

A court list is a schedule. It shows that a matter is listed, not what happened in it. Two other sources answer different questions:

• Judgments and decisions. NSW Caselaw "publishes selected judgments and decisions of all New South Wales courts and tribunals administered by the Department of Communities and Justice", for some jurisdictions dating back to 1988. Because publication is selective, many listed matters, especially in the Local Court, never have published reasons. Coronial findings are published on the NSW Coroner's Court website.
• The court file. Documents filed in a case, and who may inspect them, are covered in our guide to court records in NSW.

Rules on reusing NSW court lists

Clause 9.2 of the Online Registry terms and conditions says the Creative Commons licence that covers most Department of Communities and Justice content does not apply to court lists. It states that "the downloading, reproduction, communication, and other uses (particularly commercial) of the court lists is prohibited" without the Department's prior written permission.

You do not need permission for:

• personal, non-commercial uses
• uses within your organisation
• other uses permitted by law

Each of those uses must be fair, accurate and not misleading. The terms also say content on the NSW Court Lists app is provided for information purposes only and is not advice.

If you believe a third party is republishing your listing unfairly, the Registry's guidance is that it "cannot give you legal advice on your rights and obligations or resolve individual complaints". It points to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner for privacy complaints, the ACCC for business practices, and independent legal advice.

Two further limits apply on top of the terms. Family law lists are federal, and section 114R of the Family Law Act 1975 makes it an offence to publish a family law list to the public that identifies parties by name; see court lists in Australia for detail. Any suppression or non-publication order also binds anyone who publishes information about the case.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I check the NSW court list for my case?

Go to the NSW Online Registry court lists page or the NSW Court Lists app and search by your case number or your name. You can narrow the results by court, jurisdiction, presiding officer and listing type. The result shows the time, courtroom and judicial officer for each listing.

How far ahead do NSW court lists go?

The Online Registry says its court lists cover matters up to three weeks in the future and one week in the past. Other official pages give their own ranges: NSW Courts' court lists page and the Local Court page say two weeks in advance, while the Land and Environment Court and NCAT say three weeks. Printed PDF lists cover only the next day.

Can I look up whether someone else has a court date in NSW?

The Online Registry search accepts any party name. A result only covers matters the courts publish within the search window, and Children's Court and NCAT Guardianship matters are never on the lists. Common names can return many people, so a name match alone does not identify a person.

Why is my matter not on the NSW court list?

The date may be outside the search window, the matter may be in a court that does not publish lists, the name may be entered differently, or the listing may have changed. If you know a matter is listed but cannot find the courtroom or location, the Online Registry asks you to contact the relevant registry.

Are AVO matters on the NSW Local Court list?

The NSW Courts and Online Registry pages we reviewed do not say whether apprehended violence order matters are shown, anonymised or omitted from the online list. If you are a party to an AVO matter and cannot find it, ask the Local Court registry for the courthouse named on your paperwork.

Someone is republishing my court listing. What can I do?

The Online Registry says its terms prohibit misuse of court lists but that it cannot give legal advice or resolve individual complaints. It points people to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner for privacy complaints and the ACCC for business practices, and suggests independent legal advice.

Is the court list the same as the judgment?

No. The list is a schedule of what is on. Judgments are published separately on NSW Caselaw, which publishes selected decisions only, so many listed matters never have published reasons. To inspect a court file, see our guide to court records in NSW.