QLD Maryborough Supreme District Court List Today

The Maryborough Supreme and District Court sits within one of the oldest working courthouses in Queensland, serving the Fraser Coast and the wider Wide Bay region from 170 Richmond Street, Maryborough QLD 4650. Unlike the permanent Brisbane registries, the Supreme and District Courts do not sit here every day. Maryborough is a circuit location, which means a judge travels to the region for scheduled sitting periods to hear serious criminal trials, sentencing matters and higher-value civil disputes. Between those sitting blocks the building continues to operate as a busy registry and as the base for the Maryborough Magistrates Court, so if you have received a court date it is worth confirming exactly which court and which jurisdiction your matter belongs to before you attend.

This page brings together the practical details you need for the Supreme and District Court sittings at Maryborough, including where the court is, what each jurisdiction handles, how circuit sittings are scheduled, and how to read the daily law list so you know when and where to appear. The information is written for people appearing in person, for family members supporting a defendant or party, for witnesses and jurors, and for anyone trying to locate a matter on the Maryborough court list. Court dates change frequently, so always cross-check the published daily law list on the day and follow any direction from the registry.

Where the Maryborough Supreme and District Court is located

The Maryborough courthouse is at 170 Richmond Street, Maryborough, in the historic Wharf Street precinct near the banks of the Mary River. The registry can be reached on (07) 4190 2400, and the general email for the location is courthouse.maryborough@justice.qld.gov.au. Business hours are 8.30am to 4.30pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and 8.30am to 4.00pm on Thursday. The complex is the shared home of the Supreme Court, the District Court and the Magistrates Court, which is why a single address covers three very different levels of jurisdiction.

The building itself is a genuine landmark. It was designed by Queensland Colonial Architect Francis Drummond Greville Stanley, built in 1877 by John Thomas Annear and has been in continuous use by the Supreme, District and Magistrates Courts since it was completed in 1878. That makes it the oldest courthouse still in use in Queensland. It was the first large court building designed for a rural town in the colony and became a template for other regional courthouses. The site was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 under reference 600714, and it stands alongside the neighbouring Maryborough Government Offices, the Customs House and the Post Office as part of a nationally significant heritage streetscape.

Getting to the courthouse and what to expect on arrival

Maryborough sits roughly 250 to 255 kilometres north of Brisbane and about 34 kilometres south-west of Hervey Bay, so many people travelling to a Supreme or District Court sitting are driving in from across the Fraser Coast and Wide Bay–Burnett. Allow extra time to find parking, pass through security screening and locate the correct courtroom, because a single circuit sitting can involve multiple matters listed at the same start time. The facilities at Maryborough include Wi-Fi, videoconferencing and a remote witness room, which allows vulnerable witnesses and some parties to give evidence without being in the same room as other people involved in the case.

Understanding the three courts at one address

The word "court" covers three separate tiers of the Queensland system, and the difference matters because it determines which list your matter appears on. The Magistrates Court deals with the highest volume of everyday matters. The District Court is the intermediate court. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. At Maryborough all three operate from the same heritage building, but the Supreme and District Court sittings are the ones that run on the circuit calendar rather than continuously.

The Maryborough District Court

The District Court is established under the District Court of Queensland Act 1967 and is generally constituted by a single judge, with a jury for most criminal trials. It handles serious indictable offences that carry a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment or less, and it can also deal with a defined group of more serious offences such as arson, burglary, armed robbery and rape. On the civil side, the District Court hears disputes where the amount in issue falls up to $750,000, which in practice covers a great deal of personal injury litigation, building and construction disputes, professional negligence claims, breach of contract actions and debt recovery for the Fraser Coast community. It also hears appeals from decisions of the Magistrates Court.

The Maryborough Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Queensland is the state's highest court and exercises the broadest jurisdiction. On circuit at Maryborough it deals with the most serious criminal offences, including murder and manslaughter, and with large or complex civil matters that fall outside the District Court's monetary limit. Supreme Court criminal trials are heard by a judge with a jury, and the standard of proof for the jury is satisfaction beyond reasonable doubt. Because these are the gravest matters in the system, a Supreme Court sitting at Maryborough is scheduled carefully and often runs across a defined sittings block rather than as isolated single days.

How the District Court fits between the other two

A helpful way to picture the structure is a ladder. The Magistrates Court handles minor criminal matters and civil claims up to $150,000. The District Court sits in the middle, dealing with serious indictable offences and civil claims broadly between $150,000 and $750,000. The Supreme Court sits at the top with unlimited civil jurisdiction and the most serious crimes. Certain matters, such as disputes over trusts, co-ownership or caveats, must be dealt with in the District or Supreme Court regardless of the dollar value, which is a point litigants frequently miss when they assume everything below $150,000 belongs in the Magistrates Court.

How circuit sittings work at Maryborough

Because Maryborough is a circuit registry for the higher courts, the Supreme and District Courts do not sit continuously the way they do in Brisbane. Instead, sittings are scheduled in blocks throughout the year, and a judge travels to the Wide Bay region to hear the matters listed for that period. The published law list for the location will often carry notices such as the dates on which the next sittings are due to commence, along with jury information for anyone who has been summoned. When a sittings block finishes, jurors are usually excused for the remainder of that period and the higher-court rooms may be quiet until the next block begins.

This circuit model exists so that residents of the Fraser Coast and surrounding towns do not have to travel to Brisbane for every serious matter. The District Court model of travelling judges dates back well over a century in Queensland, when the Central District judge visited Maryborough, Gympie, Bundaberg, Gladstone and other Wide Bay centres on rotation. The same principle applies today. Neighbouring circuit centres such as Hervey Bay, Bundaberg and Gympie run their own sittings, and matters are sometimes managed across these locations depending on where the parties, witnesses and legal representatives are based.

Reading the daily law list

The daily law list, sometimes called the daily court list or daily law list, is the official schedule of matters set down for hearing on a given day. For the higher courts it is published under a heading such as "Supreme and District Courts Maryborough Law List" and dated for the specific sitting day. To use it effectively, look for the party or defendant name, the matter type, the courtroom number and the listed start time. If your matter is not shown, it may have been adjourned, transferred to another circuit centre or listed on a different date, and the registry is the fastest way to confirm what has happened. You can also compare the Maryborough entries against the broader Queensland court lists if your matter has moved between jurisdictions.

The region the Maryborough court serves

The Maryborough registry serves the Fraser Coast Region, a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett with a resident population of 111,032 at the 2021 Census and an estimated 117,940 people by 2023. The region spans 7,105 square kilometres and is centred on the twin cities of Maryborough and Hervey Bay, taking in K'gari as well. Maryborough itself is one of Queensland's oldest settlements, established in 1847 as a wool and pastoral export port, and the surrounding community has a notably older age profile, with the median age across the Fraser Coast recorded at 51 in the 2021 Census. That demographic profile shapes the mix of civil work the District Court sees locally, from estate-related disputes to personal injury and property matters.

The heritage of the courthouse is part of the character of the district. Maryborough is well known as the birthplace of P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, and retains one of the largest collections of preserved nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings in regional Queensland. The court complex, first used in 1878, remains a living part of that story rather than a museum piece, hearing modern criminal and civil matters within a building that predates Federation.

Practical guidance for attending a sitting

If you are appearing at a Supreme or District Court sitting at Maryborough, preparation makes the day far less stressful. The points below cover the most common questions people have before they attend.

• Confirm your court and date. Check your court attendance notice, notice to appear, bail conditions or any correspondence from your lawyer for the exact court, courtroom and date, then verify it against the published law list on the day.
• Arrive early. Allow time for parking and security screening, and aim to be at the courthouse well before your listed start time, as several matters may share the same time slot.
• Dress and behave respectfully. Neat clothing, silenced phones and quiet conduct in and around the courtroom are expected in the higher courts.
• Bring your documents. Carry any paperwork relating to your matter, including notices, orders and correspondence, in case the court or registry needs to refer to them.
• Seek legal advice. Serious criminal and higher-value civil matters carry significant consequences, and Legal Aid Queensland provides grants for eligible serious criminal matters in the District Court subject to a means and merit test.

If you have been summoned for jury service

Jurors are central to trials in both the District and Supreme Courts. If you receive a jury summons for a Maryborough sitting, the accompanying notice and the published jury information will tell you when and where to attend. Because circuit sittings run in blocks, jurors are frequently excused for the remainder of a sittings period once the relevant trials conclude, so it is important to follow the specific instructions on your summons and any updates from the court.

Nearby courts and related lists

The Maryborough higher courts operate as part of a network of Wide Bay circuit and registry locations, and many people searching for a Maryborough matter also need details for neighbouring courts. The nearby Hervey Bay court list covers the closest sister circuit, only around 34 kilometres away, while the Bundaberg District Court list serves the northern end of the Wide Bay–Burnett. For everyday summary matters heard locally, the Maryborough Magistrates Court list is the correct starting point, since a large share of criminal and minor civil matters begin and finish in that jurisdiction before any question of a higher court arises.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Maryborough Supreme and District Court?

The court is at 170 Richmond Street, Maryborough QLD 4650, in the historic Wharf Street precinct. The registry phone number is (07) 4190 2400 and the email is courthouse.maryborough@justice.qld.gov.au.

Does the Supreme and District Court sit at Maryborough every day?

No. Maryborough is a circuit location for the higher courts, so the Supreme and District Courts sit in scheduled blocks throughout the year rather than continuously. The Magistrates Court operates from the same building on a more regular basis, and the registry is open on standard business days.

What types of matters does the Maryborough District Court hear?

The District Court hears serious indictable criminal offences, most of which are tried by a judge and jury, and civil disputes with a value up to $750,000. It also hears certain appeals from the Magistrates Court. The Supreme Court sittings deal with the most serious crimes, such as murder and manslaughter, and the largest or most complex civil matters.

How do I find my matter on the Maryborough court list?

Look for the daily law list published for the relevant sitting day under the Supreme and District Courts Maryborough heading, then search for the party or defendant name, the matter type, the courtroom and the start time. If your matter is not listed, contact the registry, as it may have been adjourned or moved to another circuit centre.

How old is the Maryborough courthouse?

The courthouse was built in 1877 and has been in continuous court use since 1878, making it the oldest courthouse still in use in Queensland. It was heritage listed on 21 October 1992 and remains an operating court within a nationally significant heritage precinct.

What is the difference between the Magistrates, District and Supreme Courts at Maryborough?

The Magistrates Court handles minor criminal matters and civil claims up to $150,000. The District Court handles serious indictable offences and civil claims up to $750,000. The Supreme Court is the highest court and handles the most serious crimes and the largest civil disputes. All three sit at the same Richmond Street address, but the Supreme and District Courts run on the circuit calendar.