NSW Dubbo District Court List Today

The Dubbo District Court is the intermediate criminal and civil trial court serving the Orana and Far West regions of New South Wales. It sits inside the Dubbo Court House on Brisbane Street, a complex that has hosted judicial proceedings for the district since the 1880s and today shares its building, registry and contact details with the Dubbo Local Court. Matters listed here have generally been committed up from the Local Court, which means the people appearing are facing charges too serious for a magistrate to finalise, or civil claims too large for the Local Court's monetary ceiling.

Understanding what appears on the daily list is easier once you know how the court is structured. The District Court of New South Wales is the largest trial court in Australia. Under section 4 of the District Court Act 1973 it may hear every indictable criminal offence except murder, treason and piracy, which remain reserved to the Supreme Court. On the civil side it hears all motor accident claims regardless of value, and general claims between $100,001 and $1,250,000. That upper limit was lifted from $750,000 on 16 December 2022 by the District Court Amendment Act 2022, the first increase since 18 July 1997. The same amendment raised the equity and temporary injunction limits from $20,000 to $100,000. Parties can also consent to the court hearing a claim above the ceiling.

Sitting Pattern at Dubbo in 2026

Dubbo is not a fly-in circuit venue. In the District Court's published criminal sitting calendar for 2026, Dubbo is listed as sitting for the full law term, placing it in the same category as Sydney, Sydney Western (Campbelltown, Parramatta and Penrith), Gosford, Lismore, Newcastle, Wagga Wagga and Wollongong. Only nine entries in the entire state carry that designation. Every other regional venue, including Bathurst, Orange, Parkes, Moree, Bourke and Coonamble, receives fixed blocks of one to five weeks. Coonamble, for example, is allocated a single week for the whole of 2026, commencing 16 November. Bourke receives two single weeks, on 23 March and 14 September.

Civil sittings run to a different and much narrower calendar. For 2026 the District Court has listed Dubbo civil sittings to commence at 10:00 am on Monday 23 March 2026 for one week, and Monday 19 October 2026 for one week. Sittings for the 2026 year resumed on Monday 2 February following the summer vacation, which ran from 19 December 2025 to 30 January 2026. If your matter is civil rather than criminal, those two weeks are when a judge is physically allocated to Dubbo for that work.

What This Means for the Daily List

• Criminal listings, including trials, sentences, arraignments and Local Court appeals, can appear on the Dubbo list across the whole law term.
• Civil listings cluster heavily around the two allocated sitting weeks in March and October.
• Directions, mentions and callovers are frequently dealt with by audio visual link rather than in person.
• Priority trials are listed to run first in a given week, with back up trials sitting behind them and often not reached.

If your matter is still in the committal stage, or you are appealing a magistrate's decision, it will begin at the Dubbo Local Court in the same building before it ever reaches this list. Charges of murder, treason or piracy do not sit here at all. Those are reserved to the Supreme Court sittings at Dubbo, which run to their own calendar. Checking the correct list first saves a wasted trip to Brisbane Street.

Court House Details and Registry Information

The registry operating details published by the District Court for Dubbo are as follows.

• Street address: Brisbane Street, Dubbo NSW 2830
• Postal address: PO Box 50, Dubbo NSW 2830
• Telephone: 1300 679 272
• Fax: 6885 7697
• Registry hours: 9:00 am to 4:30 pm
• Telephone hours: 9:00 am to 4:30 pm
• Days open: Monday to Friday
• Audio visual link: available in Courts 1, 2 and 3, plus three additional AVL suites

The AVL capacity is worth noting. Six separate audio visual points is a substantial allocation for a regional courthouse, and it reflects Dubbo's role as a hub for correctional facilities across western New South Wales. A significant share of appearances on the Dubbo list are made remotely by accused persons in custody rather than in the courtroom itself.

Caseload and Delay: What the Numbers Show

The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research publishes the most reliable picture of how the District Court is performing. In 2025, NSW criminal courts finalised 156,256 court appearances across all jurisdictions, an increase of 8.3 per cent on 2024. District Court finalisations moved in the opposite direction, falling 7.5 per cent from 3,374 matters in 2024 to 3,120 in 2025. That decline was driven almost entirely by sentence matters, which dropped 11.9 per cent from 2,452 to 2,161. Trial finalisations actually rose 4.9 per cent, from 656 to 688.

Delay is the figure most people appearing at Dubbo care about. BOCSAR recorded a median District Court trial delay of 843 days in 2025, up slightly from 834 days in 2024. Measured across the 2024/25 financial year, the median for proceeded trials was 826 days, which is 96 days longer than the equivalent figure for 2018/19. In practical terms, a person committed for trial from the Dubbo Local Court should expect roughly two and a quarter years between arrest and the finalisation of a contested trial. Matters resolved by a plea of guilty move considerably faster.

Sentencing outcomes have also shifted. The proportion of defendants with a proven outcome who received a custodial penalty rose from 9.1 per cent to 10.0 per cent between 2023/24 and 2024/25. In raw numbers that was an increase of 16.8 per cent, from 11,157 to 13,035 proven defendants receiving custodial penalties.

Statewide Court Workload

The District Court's own Annual Review for 2024 records 1,273 criminal trials registered during the year. Across the same period the court heard 1,361 trials, 5,401 sentence hearings and 1,350 conviction appeals. Super callovers were held at various locations across the state and resolved a large number of pending trials. On the civil side, 88 per cent of cases were finalised within 24 months, a result the court described as pleasing given the increased caseload following the jurisdictional limit rise. The comparable 2023 figures were 1,488 criminal trial registrations and 4,100 civil registrations, up from 3,724 the previous year, with 89 per cent finalised within 24 months.

The court has been led since April 2024 by the Hon Justice Sarah Huggett, the first woman appointed Chief Judge of the District Court of New South Wales. The Chief Judge also serves as President of the Dust Diseases Tribunal.

Not every serious matter in the region is finalised at Dubbo. Some District Court trials and sentences are heard on circuit at nearby registries, so it is worth confirming whether your listing has moved to the Orange District Court or across to Coonamble during its November sitting week. Reportable deaths from the same catchment are dealt with separately by the local Coroner's Court, not on the District Court list you are reading here.

Why the Dubbo List Is Busy: Regional Context

Dubbo Regional Council recorded a population of 54,922 at the 2021 Census, making Dubbo the largest centre in the Orana region and the service point for a catchment that extends well past the local government boundary. The court's workload reflects the offending profile of that catchment rather than the city alone.

BOCSAR data shows the Far West and Orana statistical region recorded the highest rate of domestic violence related assault in New South Wales in the twelve months to March 2025, at 1,534.4 incidents per 100,000 population. That is more than three times the state average. Across NSW in 2025, the number of adult alleged offenders proceeded against for domestic violence offences reached a record 45,984, accounting for more than one in four adult court proceedings. The share of domestic violence assault incidents resulting in a charge rose from 65.7 per cent to 69.4 per cent in a single year, producing a 9.5 per cent increase in court actions even though incident numbers were stable. Serious matters arising from that enforcement activity flow upward from the Dubbo Local Court into the District Court list.

A Short History of the Dubbo Court House

The current building is the third court house to serve Dubbo. The first operated from 1852, replaced by a second structure in 1863 which was later altered and extended by the office of Colonial Architect James Barnet and eventually demolished in 1909. The present building on Brisbane Street was commissioned in 1884 and completed in 1887 after delays caused by the original builder's bankruptcy. It was designed in the office of James Barnet in a Classical Revival treatment featuring Corinthian columns, gardens and the state coat of arms, and it remains the most imposing public building in the city.

A commemorative plaque marking the centenary of the court house was unveiled on 13 May 1989 by the then Attorney General of New South Wales, the Hon John Dowd. By 1976 the growth of Dubbo as a regional centre had outstripped the 1887 building, and a modern court building was constructed on the open ground between the rear of the old court house and the Old Dubbo Gaol, preserving the heritage streetscape while adding contemporary courtrooms.

Attending Dubbo District Court

Before the Day

• Confirm your listing on the day of attendance rather than relying on an earlier printout, since matters are frequently relisted, adjourned or moved between courtrooms.
• Check whether your appearance is required in person or has been set down for audio visual link.
• Speak to your solicitor or the Legal Aid NSW duty service if you do not have representation.
• Note that back up trials often do not proceed in their listed week.

On the Day

• Allow time for security screening at the entrance.
• Mobile phones must be switched off inside courtrooms.
• Photography and recording inside the court building are prohibited.
• Interpreters and disability access assistance can be arranged in advance through the registry.

Frequently Asked Questions

What cases does the Dubbo District Court hear?

It hears indictable criminal offences committed from the Local Court, including sexual offences, serious assaults causing grievous bodily harm, robbery, large scale drug supply and serious fraud. It also hears sentence matters where a plea of guilty was entered below, appeals against Local Court convictions and sentences, and civil claims including motor accident damages, workplace injury damages, breach of contract, personal injury and defamation.

What is the monetary limit for civil claims at Dubbo District Court?

General civil claims range from $100,001 to $1,250,000. Motor accident and workplace injury damages claims are unlimited. Claims above the general limit may proceed if all parties consent.

When does the District Court sit at Dubbo?

The criminal jurisdiction sits at Dubbo across the full law term. Civil sittings for 2026 are listed to commence at 10:00 am on Monday 23 March and Monday 19 October, each for one week.

How long does a District Court trial take to reach finalisation?

BOCSAR recorded a median of 843 days from arrest to finalisation for District Court trials in 2025. Matters resolved by a plea of guilty are finalised substantially faster than contested trials.

Is Dubbo District Court in the same building as the Local Court?

Yes. The Local Court and District Court sit in the same court house on Brisbane Street and share the same registry, telephone number and postal address, as is standard practice in regional New South Wales.

Can members of the public attend a hearing?

Court proceedings are ordinarily open to the public under the open justice principle. Some matters are closed or subject to non publication orders, particularly proceedings involving child complainants or certain sexual offences.

What is a priority trial and a back up trial?

A priority trial has been given precedence in a particular sitting week and will run first. A back up trial sits behind it and will only proceed if the priority trial resolves early or does not proceed.

Who is the head of the District Court of New South Wales?

The Hon Justice Sarah Huggett has been Chief Judge since April 2024 and is the first woman to hold the position.