QLD Townsville Supreme District Court List Today

The Townsville Supreme and District Court sits at Level B, 31 Walker Street, Townsville QLD 4810, and serves as the principal superior court venue for the whole of North Queensland. This page publishes the daily law list for both the Supreme Court of Queensland (Trial Division) and the District Court of Queensland as they sit in Townsville, giving defendants, civil litigants, legal practitioners, jurors, victims and members of the public a single place to confirm what is listed, in which courtroom, and before which judge. Townsville is a permanent District Court registry, one of only four in the state alongside Brisbane, Cairns and Rockhampton, which means its workload is heavier and more continuous than the many centres visited only on circuit.

Because superior court matters carry serious consequences, checking the correct daily law list before you attend matters a great deal. A criminal trial, a sentence, a bail application or a civil hearing can be moved between courtrooms, brought forward, adjourned or reallocated to a different judge at short notice. The Townsville Supreme and District Court list on this page is designed to reflect those sittings clearly so you arrive at the right courtroom at the right time, rather than relying on memory or an out-of-date notice.

What the Townsville Supreme and District Court law list covers

The Townsville superior courts hear a wide range of proceedings, and the daily law list reflects that breadth. On any given sitting day the list may include Supreme Court criminal trials, Supreme Court civil applications, District Court criminal trials, judge-alone trials, sentence hearings, bail and remand applications, civil trials, and District Court appeals from decisions of the Townsville Magistrates Court. Each entry typically shows the party or defendant name, the matter type, the courtroom, the presiding judge and the scheduled time.

The two courts occupy different rungs of the Queensland court hierarchy, and understanding the split helps you read the list correctly:

Supreme Court of Queensland (Trial Division) at Townsville

The Supreme Court is the highest court in Queensland. In its Trial Division it hears the most serious criminal offences, including murder, manslaughter, and large-scale drug trafficking, and it deals with civil disputes involving amounts above $750,000. In Townsville the Supreme Court is served by the resident Northern Judge, and its sittings appear on the same daily law list as the District Court. Serious indictable matters heard here often run over several days and involve juries, so listings can shift as trials finish early or run long.

District Court of Queensland at Townsville

The District Court is the intermediate court in the Queensland system. It handles serious indictable offences such as armed robbery, sexual assault, grievous bodily harm and significant fraud, and it exercises civil jurisdiction for claims generally between $150,000 and $750,000. It also sits as an appellate court for many decisions of the Magistrates Court. The District Court of Queensland has 39 judge positions and sits at around 32 locations statewide, with Townsville among the busiest regional registries in the north.

Townsville Supreme and District Court: verified facts and figures

The following details are drawn from Queensland Courts and the courts' published annual reports, and they help put the Townsville listings in context.

• Address: Level B, 31 Walker Street, PO Box 1032, Townsville QLD 4810.
• Phone: (07) 4781 8600.
• Business hours: 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 8:30am to 4:00pm Tuesday.
• Facilities: the Townsville court complex offers Wi-Fi, videoconferencing and a remote witness room, consistent with other major Queensland regional registries.
• Registry status: Townsville is one of only four permanent District Court registries in Queensland, alongside Brisbane, Cairns and Rockhampton.
• Distance: Townsville sits roughly 1,360 kilometres north of Brisbane and is the largest urban centre in tropical Australia.

Statewide caseload figures show how much work moves through the District Court that Townsville helps carry. The District Court of Queensland Annual Report for 2023/2024 recorded 6,659 new criminal lodgements across the state, a fall of about 2.2% on the previous year's 6,811, while jury trials rose from 628 to 664. The following year's report noted a further easing of criminal lodgements, down 4.3% for the whole of Queensland, with 3,928 civil lodgements and a District Court criminal clearance rate reported at 99.5% in the Childrens Court stream. These numbers underline why the court manages its calendar tightly and why daily lists can change.

The Supreme Court also carries a substantial and growing civil load. The Supreme Court of Queensland Annual Report for 2023/2024 recorded 3,526 civil lodgements, a rise of around 10% on the previous year, together with 1,604 criminal lodgements in the Trial Division. Townsville, as a northern superior court seat, takes its share of that work, with civil applications and criminal trials both listed regularly through the sitting year.

How Townsville fits the North Queensland circuit

Townsville does more than hear its own matters. Its resident judges also travel on circuit to nearby centres, principally Bowen, Charters Towers and Mackay, so that people in remote, rural and regional Queensland can have serious matters heard closer to home. In some years the northern registries have seen sharp swings in demand; in an earlier reporting period Townsville recorded a 44% increase in new civil matters, one of the largest regional jumps in the state. This circuit function means judges rostered to Townsville may sit elsewhere on particular days, which is another reason the daily law list is the reliable source for who is sitting where.

If your matter began in the lower court, you may also need the Townsville Magistrates Court list, since most criminal and civil proceedings in Queensland start there before serious matters are committed or appealed up to the District or Supreme Court. Parties with matters further north or in Central Queensland can compare sittings at the Cairns Supreme and District Court and the Rockhampton court list, the other permanent northern and central registries.

When the Townsville daily law list is updated

Queensland law lists are refreshed on a set schedule, and knowing the timing helps you avoid checking too early. Lists for the Supreme and District Courts are published no later than 6:00pm for the following day, so a matter listed for tomorrow is usually visible from the evening before. Magistrates Court lists, by contrast, are updated at 6:45am and again at 8:45am to allow for overnight arrests. Because listings can still move on the day, it is worth refreshing the list shortly before you leave for court. Every effort is made to comply with non-publication and suppression orders, and the responsibility to respect any such order rests with anyone using the information.

Who should check the Townsville Supreme and District Court list

• Defendants and their families, confirming a trial, sentence, mention or bail application and the courtroom it is listed in.
• Legal practitioners, checking allocations, judge assignments and hearing times across multiple clients in a single sitting.
• Jurors, confirming panel and attendance instructions, which for Supreme Court trials are published with the daily list.
• Civil litigants, tracking applications, directions hearings and trials in disputes above the Magistrates Court threshold.
• Victims and witnesses, planning attendance, arranging remote witness facilities, and understanding when they may be required.
• Journalists and the public, following matters of public interest heard in open court in North Queensland.

You can browse every superior and lower court in the state from the Queensland court list hub, which links through to each regional registry and circuit location across the Gulf, Cape and Torres Strait.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Townsville Supreme and District Court located?

The Townsville Supreme and District Court is at Level B, 31 Walker Street, Townsville QLD 4810, with a postal address of PO Box 1032. The general contact number is (07) 4781 8600, and counter hours run from 8:30am, closing at 4:30pm on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and 4:00pm on Tuesday.

What is the difference between the Supreme and District Courts in Townsville?

The Supreme Court is Queensland's highest court and hears the most serious criminal matters, such as murder and manslaughter, plus civil disputes above $750,000. The District Court is the intermediate court and deals with serious indictable offences like armed robbery and sexual assault, and civil claims generally between $150,000 and $750,000. Both sit at Townsville and appear on the same daily law list.

When is the Townsville superior court list published each day?

Supreme and District Court lists are published no later than 6:00pm for the following sitting day, so tomorrow's list is generally available the evening before. Because matters can be reallocated or adjourned on the day, refresh the list before travelling to court.

Is the historic Townsville Court House still a working court?

No. The heritage-listed former Townsville Court House at 81 Sturt Street, designed by Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and built between 1874 and 1876, no longer operates as a court. Current Supreme and District Court sittings take place at 31 Walker Street, so make sure you attend the correct building.

Does the Townsville court hear matters from other North Queensland towns?

Yes. Townsville is a permanent registry and its judges also travel on circuit to centres such as Bowen, Charters Towers and Mackay, hearing serious criminal and civil matters for surrounding communities. Judges rostered to Townsville may therefore sit elsewhere on particular days, which the daily law list will reflect.