Appeals and Reviews

Appeals, Annulments and Reviews in the Local Court

There are a number of pathways to appeal or review a Local Court decision.

Annulment Application

If the defendant was not present when convicted and sentenced:

In all criminal and Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) cases, if a person is convicted and sentenced, and is not present at court when that occurs, an appeal can be made to the Local Court. This is called a Section 4 Review (or application for annulment). The Local Court can decide to annul the previous conviction and sentence (this means set aside those orders) and then re-determine the case.

The time limit for making a Section 4 Review application is 2 years from the date of conviction or sentence.

The application for a Section 4 Review is lodged at the Local Court. There is a fee for this application.

Appeal to a higher Court instead of a Section 4 Review can only be made with leave of the higher Court.

Appeals in Criminal and AVO Cases

Where a defendant was present when convicted and sentenced, an appeal is made to the District Court. An appeal can be made against the conviction or sentence, or both.

The time limit for a District Court appeal is 28 days after date of conviction or sentence. Leave to appeal can be made up to 3 months after the date of conviction and sentence.

An appeal form is lodged at the Local Court and a fee applies for lodging an appeal.

Appeals in the Civil Jurisdiction

The right of appeal in civil cases is limited. A Magistrate of the Local Court can review a decision of a Registrar, such as decisions in Notices of Motion, however, a Magistrate cannot review a decision of an Assessor.

Where a civil case has been referred to an Arbitrator and an award is made, an appeal against the Arbitrator's decision can be made to the Local Court. A Magistrate can re-determine the case. This is called an application for a rehearing of an arbitration which is made by filing a Notice of Motion. There are time limits for filing an application for re-hearing and fees apply.

Decisions in cases heard in the Small Claims Division are appealed to the District Court but only on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction or denial of procedural fairness.

Decisions in cases heard in the General Division are appealed to the Supreme Court but only on a question of law. Leave to appeal may be sought on other grounds.

Appeals in civil cases are made by summons and are lodged at the higher Court. The time limit for appeal is 28 days after the order. Fees apply to file a summons at a higher court.

Appealing Environment Offences

Where a defendant was present when convicted and sentenced, appeals against decisions of the Local Court in environment offences are made to the Land and Environment Court.

The time limit for a Land and Environment Court appeal is 28 days after the conviction or sentence.

The form of appeal against environment offences is lodged at the Land and Environment Court.

Apply for the Review of a Registrar's Decision

If you are unhappy with a direction, order or action of the Registrar during your case, you may be able to apply within 28 days for a review by the Court.

Before applying for a review, you should get legal advice

Further Information

You can read more about appeals on the Legal Aid website, click here.