Court records research guide
What information is in court records
Court records include unpublished decisions, transcripts of proceedings (a verbatim account of statements given during proceedings), letters, lists of trials, depositions, circulars, and bench books et cetera, and may cover the topics of wills (grants of probate or letters of administration); divorce; bankruptcy; civil and criminal cases; naturalisation; newspaper registrations; and conscientious objectors.
When it comes to recent cases, records may not be accessible for privacy reasons. Original court records are usually closed from time of creation for 75 years for adults and 99 years for children. Many original court records are held at the relevant National or State/Territory archives.
Samuel White Sweet, (1869), Supreme Court, Adelaide, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-144217269
Samuel White Sweet, (1869), Supreme Court, Adelaide, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-144217269
Key sources
The Library does not hold original court records. However, some indexes and transcriptions of historic records can be found in the Library and/or online. A selection of resources are listed here by jurisdiction.
Use the online catalogue to find and retrieve material using your Library login.
In the Library
- High Court of Australia. Transcripts of proceedings held by the Library (1965+)
- Other federal court and tribunal transcripts are held by the Library from the 1970s to 1996. Check the catalogue under the name of the court or tribunal for more details, e.g. Australia. Family Court. Transcript of proceedings.
Online
- Hight Court of Australia. Transcripts of proceedings available online on AustLII (1983+)
- Various federal court records are held by the National Archives of Australia, e.g. the High Court from 1903+ (PDF, 176KB).
In the Library
In the Library
- Great Britain. Colonial Office. Colonial Secretary's papers, 1788-1825 [Microform]. Also available on the Ancestry database. (Access via the eResources portal and search for Ancestry in the Browse eResources tab).
- Genealogical research kit. Stage IV. Archives Authority of New South Wales. [Microform] Court records in this collection include: Reports of inquests 1796-1824, 1828; registers of coronial inquests 1834-1942, with indexes 1859-1894.
- Colonial trials and court records benches of magistrates: [reels 665-667: Brisbane Water, Camden, Cawdor, Dungog] [microform]. Sydney: Archives Authority of New South Wales. Includes Brisbane Water 1841-1855, Camden 1847-1850, Cawdor 1825-1828, Dungog 1834-1835, 1843-1848.
- Colonial trials and court records benches of magistrates: [Reels 671-676: Muswellbrook, Picton, Queanbeyan]. [Microform] Sydney: Archives Authority of New South Wales. Includes Queanbeyan bench books 1841-1862.
- Supreme Court of N.S.W. probate index. 1800-1984. [Microform]. See also the State Records of NSW guide to Probate Packets (Wills).
- Magistrates records in New South Wales, 1788-1945 / Hilary Golder
- Guilty or not guilty / Pamela Sheldon
Online
State Records of NSW provide an alphabetical list of research topics. These include:
In the Library
- Northern Territory Supreme Court of probates and index of administrations granted and sealed 1875-1991. Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory. [Microform]
- Probate indexes, 1885-1941. Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory. [Microform]
- Cossons index, NT. Borooloola, Anthony's Lagoon, Newcastle, Adelaide River, Brocks Creek, Rankine River and Pine Creek police journals: indexed death abstracts from police journals. Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory. [Microform]
In the Library
- Queensland intestacies, insolvencies and wills: index to notices in the Queensland Government Gazette, 1859-1885 / [microform]: edited by Mary Geiger and Rosemary Kopittke. Queensland Family History Society.
- Queensland intestacies, insolvencies and wills: index to notices in the Queensland Government Gazette, 1886-1900 / [microform]: edited by Mary Geiger and Rosemary Kopittke. Queensland Family History Society.
- Queensland wills, 1857-1900 [microform]. Queensland State Archives. This is a combined index to the Supreme Court (Southern, Central and Northern Districts) Ecclesiastical Files for the period 1857-1900.
- Queensland intestacy returns index 1896-1910 [microform] / compiled by Mary Geiger and Rosemary Kopittke. Queensland Family History Society. An alphabetical index of intestacy returns which were published in the Queensland Government Gazette between 1896-1910.
- Queensland intestacy returns index 1911-1916 [microform] / compiled by Mary Geiger and Rosemary Kopittke. Queensland Family History Society. An alphabetical index of intestacy returns which were published in the Queensland Government Gazette between 1911-1916
- Moreton Bay Supreme Court records 1857-1859 [microform] / compiled by Marianne Eastgate. Queensland Family History Society.
- Miscellaneous records of the Moreton Bay region 1855-59 [microform] / compiled by Marianne Eastgate. Queensland Family History Society.
Online
- Queensland State Archives guide to court records. Includes online indexes.
In the Library
- South Australian legal records, compiled by Robert Foster, with the assistance of Alex Castles and Wilfred Prest. Adelaide: Adelaide Law Review Association, 1996.
- Inquests, 1877-1899 [microform] / by Jill Statton.
- Inquests, 1900-1945 [microform] / by Jill Statton.
- Testamentary index [microform] / Supreme Court of South Australia.
Online
- State Records of South Australia guide to courts. Includes some online indexes.
In the Library
- Index to court records of Tasmania: from Tasmanian Papers held in the Mitchell Library, N.S.W. Tasmanian Family History Society Inc., Hobart branch, 2017
- Lower court records of Tasmania: index to records of cases heard in petty sessions. Sorell. Tasmanian Family History Society Inc., Hobart branch, 2008
Online
Libraries Tasmania has the following guides to records:
In the Library
- Divorce index Victoria 1861-1900. [microform] / Wendy Baker & Sue McBeth
- Courts of petty sessions : transcriptions of original records for convictions in North East Victoria / Wadonga Family History Society
- Cops and robbers : a guide to researching 19th century police and criminal records in Victoria, Australia / by Helen Doxford Harris and Gary Presland
- Lucas's County Court cause list, County Court at Melbourne: list of causes for trial. Melbourne: County Court. Issues held: 1861-1867.
- Register of convictions, orders and other proceedings in the court of Petty Sessions at Kerang, [microform] 1888-1920
- Keilor & district historical records [microform] / transcribed & compiled by Angela M. Evans. Includes Keilor Court Books, Keilor Watchhouse Book and other historical records.
- Victorian Argus court reports, 1851-1856 [microform] / indexed and supplied by Marion Button.
Online
Public Record Office Victoria has the following guides (including online indexes):
In the Library
- Order in the court: a guide to the records of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. State Archives of Western Australia. [Perth, W.A.]: Library and Information Service of Western Australia, 1990
Online
Ancestry (Library Edition) and Findmypast
A range of court and criminal records are available on both Ancestry (Library Edition) and Findmypast. You can access either of these databases in our reading rooms by visiting our eResources portal and searching for each under the "browse eResources" tab.
The Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP)
The Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) is a collection of unique historical material relating to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific dating from 1560 to 1984. It located, described and filmed thousands of classes and collections of records from all over Britain and Ireland, including court records.
Use the AJCP portal to find court records under various county Public Record Offices, Old Bailey Sessions returns of convicted prisoners, and several criminal, convict and prison registers for the late 1700s to the mid 1800s.
For more information see the Library’s Convicts Research Guide – Trial records.
Records relating to the Privy Council in London
- Records of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, 1814-1972. These contain printed papers prepared for cases heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London on appeal from courts in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
- Record of proceedings in the Privy Council.... Includes miscellaneous court records and transcripts of evidence of cases brought to the Privy Council from lower courts in Australia and other Commonwealth countries from 1946-1986.
How to search and find court records
The Library does not hold original court records. However, some indexes and transcriptions of historic records can be found online and/or at the Library.
You can’t browse the Library’s shelves in person, but you can use the Catalogue to search by title, author, subject or Dewey number.
To search for indexes and transcriptions of court records, try searching either by subject or keywords. Some examples are:
- Court records--[Jurisdiction]
- Divorce records--[Jurisdiction]
- Probate records--[Jurisdiction]
- Criminal registers
- Convicts--[country/state]--Registers
Summaries of court proceedings are sometimes reported in daily newspapers. You can search for newspaper reports in Australian historic newspapers on Trove, generally up to 1954. For more recent reports, go to our eResources portal, click on “browse eResources” and click on Newpapers & Media under category to find a list of online full-text newspaper databases to search.
If you’re finding it difficult to find court records, check to see if a law report (a summary of the judge’s decision) exists, as it may provide some details. Only legally significant cases are reported on.
Get help with your research
Our specialist staff can help you with your research, to locate resources and to use our microfilm and scanning equipment but they cannot undertake extensive or ongoing genealogical, historical or other research on your behalf.
Find out more in our Information and Research Policy.
