| Name | Court Room | Time |
|---|---|---|
| FRANKS K** A** | Court 1 | 9:00AM |
| PLATH B** L** | Court 1 | 10:00AM |
Last updated: 11 Sep 2026, 10:37 am. Names are partially masked for privacy. Details may change — always check with the Registry.
The Gladstone Magistrates Court sits at 14 Yarroon Street, Gladstone Central QLD 4680, and it is the first place almost every local criminal, traffic, and civil matter is heard in the Port Curtis region. If you are trying to find out who is listed, when a matter is being called, or which courtroom to attend, the Gladstone court list on this page is refreshed to reflect the official Queensland Courts daily law list, which is published at 6:45am and updated again at 8:45am each sitting day to account for overnight arrests. That twice-daily update cycle is why checking the list on the morning of your hearing matters, because a matter added after a late-night charge will not appear until the second publication.
Gladstone is a genuine regional hub rather than a small country registry, and the caseload reflects that. The Gladstone Region recorded a population of 63,515 at the 2021 Census, up from 61,640 in 2016, while the Gladstone urban centre itself was home to 34,703 people. Around 7.1 per cent of residents identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, noticeably higher than the Queensland figure of 4.6 per cent, and the median age of 35 is younger than the state and national median of 38. A younger, industrial, and fast-growing population feeds a steady stream of summary matters through a courthouse that serves a local government area covering 10,484 square kilometres, roughly 550 kilometres north of Brisbane and about 108 kilometres south-east of Rockhampton.
What the Gladstone Magistrates Court list covers
The daily law list for Gladstone brings together a broad mix of proceedings under the one roof. On any given sitting day you may see summary criminal offences, drink driving and traffic prosecutions, domestic and family violence protection order applications, bail applications, civil disputes, committal mentions for more serious charges, sentence hearings, and defended hearings. The Magistrates Court is where the vast majority of the criminal justice system is actually finalised, so most people who appear in Gladstone will have their matter dealt with here from start to finish rather than being sent elsewhere.
The scale of that work is easier to appreciate at the state level. According to the Magistrates Court of Queensland Annual Report 2023-2024, 163,197 adult defendants were dealt with on 371,644 charges across the state in a single reporting year. The same court network handled 25,871 domestic violence protection order applications and 8,123 child protection applications, the latter a 22.59 per cent jump on the prior year. The Magistrates Court of Queensland operates from roughly 130 locations, stretching from the south-east corner to the Torres Strait, the Gulf of Carpentaria, and Cape York, and Gladstone is one of the busier central Queensland registries within that network.
Criminal and traffic matters
Most listings at Gladstone fall within the summary criminal and traffic jurisdiction. This includes public order offences, common assault, stealing, drug possession, breaches of bail or probation, and the very high volume of driving matters that a port-and-industry town generates, from mid-range drink driving to driving while suspended. For indictable offences that are too serious to be finalised summarily, the Magistrate conducts a committal, testing whether there is enough evidence to commit the accused for trial or sentence in a higher court. Those more serious files then move to the Gladstone Supreme and District Court list when the higher courts sit on circuit in the same building.
Domestic and family violence applications
Domestic and family violence protection order applications form one of the largest and most sensitive categories on the Gladstone list. These matters are frequently listed for mentions, adjournments, or contested hearings, and the volume statewide, close to 26,000 applications a year, shows how central this jurisdiction has become to the everyday work of Queensland magistrates. Because these listings involve safety and privacy, published names on any court list are partially masked, and the underlying orders can carry non-publication conditions.
Civil disputes and minor debt
The court also resolves civil claims within the Magistrates Court monetary limit of $150,000, covering minor debt claims, consumer disputes, and matters referred from the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for enforcement. Civil listings sit alongside the criminal callover, which is why the daily list can look long even on a quiet crime day.
A courthouse with more than a century of history
Justice has been dispensed in Gladstone since the earliest days of the settlement. Captain Maurice Charles O'Connell, the first Government Resident and Police Magistrate of the Port Curtis District, began hearing matters from a tent office at Barney Point in 1854, before moving into a slab building on Auckland Hill that became the town's first courthouse. A purpose-built courthouse followed around 1860, then a two-storey timber courthouse and lands office in 1873-1874. The Magistrates Court as a formally recorded agency traces its lineage to 1922, when it succeeded the earlier Court of Petty Sessions, the District Court, and the Small Debts Court at Gladstone.
The building most locals recognise today is the heritage-listed Gladstone Court House at 16 Yarroon Street, erected between 1940 and 1942 at a cost of nearly £16,000. Designed in the Queensland Department of Public Works office and attributed to architect Raymond Clare Nowland, it is a two-storey red-brick, stripped-classical building, H-shaped in plan, with a Doric-columned portico and "COURT HOUSE" in raised lettering above the entrance. It was at least the third purpose-designed courthouse on the site and was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 29 May 1998. The main upstairs courtroom still contains its original purpose-built silky oak furniture, including the judge's bench, witness dock, jury benches, and public gallery, making it one of the more architecturally intact regional courthouses in the state.
Visiting the Gladstone courthouse
Planning your visit properly saves stress on the day. The registry sits on the ground floor at 14 Yarroon Street, Gladstone Central, and handles filing, enquiries, fee payments, and general assistance. The key practical details are summarised below.
- Address: 14 Yarroon Street, Gladstone Central QLD 4680, in the Gladstone Regional Council local government area of Central Queensland.
- Registry phone: (07) 4899 1200 for enquiries and for matters that do not appear on the published list.
- List update times: 6:45am and again at 8:45am on each sitting day, so always check the later version on the morning of your matter.
- Parking: street parking is available along Yarroon Street, though some bays are time-limited, so arrive early to allow for a walk and security screening.
- Justice of the Peace services: a JPs in the Community service operates from the ground-floor registry during set weekday hours for document witnessing and statutory declarations.
The Queensland Courts app for Android and iOS lets you search and follow the Gladstone Magistrates Court list on your phone, which is useful if you are travelling in from Boyne Island, Tannum Sands, Calliope, Miriam Vale, or Agnes Water and want to confirm your listing before you leave home.
How Gladstone fits into the Central Queensland court network
Gladstone does not operate in isolation. It shares circuits, practitioners, and a duty lawyer scheme with neighbouring registries, and matters sometimes move between centres depending on where an accused is located or where a higher court is sitting. If your matter has been transferred or you are comparing listings across the region, it is worth checking the nearby Rockhampton Magistrates Court list today, which is the largest registry immediately to the north, as well as the Bundaberg court list to the south. For a complete state-wide picture across every tier, our Queensland court list hub lets you search every Magistrates, District, and Supreme Court sitting location in one place.
Duty lawyer and legal help
Legal Aid Queensland runs a duty lawyer service at Gladstone on sitting days, providing free, on-the-spot advice to eligible people appearing without a lawyer, particularly for first appearances, bail, and simple pleas. A duty lawyer roster is published each quarter. If your matter is complex, contested, or carries a real risk of imprisonment, arranging your own representation before your court date is strongly advised, because the duty lawyer cannot run a full defended hearing for you on the day.
Reading the daily law list correctly
Court lists follow conventions that can confuse first-time attendees. Names are usually shown alphabetically with a court number and a listed time, but a listed time is the time the callover begins, not a guaranteed time your specific matter will be reached. Matters are often grouped, so a 9:00am listing may mean your case is one of many called from 9:00am onward. Where a suppression or non-publication order applies, details are withheld to comply with the law, and the onus sits with anyone using the information to ensure they do not breach an order. If your name is missing from the published list entirely, do not assume your matter has been withdrawn; contact the registry on (07) 4899 1200 to confirm.
Why the Gladstone court list matters to the local community
Gladstone's economy is built on heavy industry, with the Port of Gladstone ranking among Australia's largest multi-commodity export ports and major operations including the Queensland Alumina Refinery and the LNG terminals on Curtis Island. A workforce dominated by technicians, trades workers, machinery operators, and labourers, combined with a transient fly-in fly-out population, produces a distinctive pattern of court work in which traffic, workplace-related, and alcohol-related matters feature heavily. Keeping a clear, accurate, and current record of who is appearing and when is a public service that benefits defendants, victims, employers, journalists, and legal practitioners alike, and it is exactly what this page is built to provide.
Frequently asked questions
What time is the Gladstone Magistrates Court list published each day?
The official Queensland Courts daily law list for Gladstone is published at 6:45am and updated again at 8:45am on each sitting day. The second update captures matters arising from overnight arrests, so the 8:45am version is the most complete.
Where is the Gladstone Magistrates Court located?
The court is at 14 Yarroon Street, Gladstone Central QLD 4680, in the historic heritage-listed court house on Auckland Hill. Street parking is available on Yarroon Street, with some time-limited bays.
What is the phone number for the Gladstone court registry?
The registry can be reached on (07) 4899 1200 for enquiries, filing questions, and for any matter that is not showing on the published daily law list.
What types of cases are heard at Gladstone Magistrates Court?
The court hears summary criminal offences, drink driving and traffic matters, domestic and family violence protection order applications, bail applications, civil disputes up to $150,000, committals for serious charges, and sentence and defended hearings.
Can I see the Gladstone court list for tomorrow or a future date?
Magistrates Court lists are generally published for the current sitting day rather than far in advance, because overnight arrests change the list. To confirm a future listing date, check the list close to the day or contact the registry directly on (07) 4899 1200.
Is there free legal help at the Gladstone courthouse?
Yes. Legal Aid Queensland provides a duty lawyer service on sitting days for eligible people, offering free advice for first appearances, bail, and simple pleas. For contested or serious matters, arrange your own representation before your court date.
