Queensland runs one of the largest and most geographically spread court systems in Australia, and finding an accurate QLD court list for the right location and the right day can be genuinely difficult when hearings move between registries, circuits and remote sittings. This page brings the daily law list for every tier of the Queensland court hierarchy into one searchable place, so solicitors, defendants, families, journalists and witnesses can confirm a courtroom, a time and a matter without opening a dozen separate government pages. Whether you need the position of a matter today, tomorrow or later in the week, the goal here is simple: give you the current listing quickly, in plain language, with the context you need to make sense of it.
The scale of activity is worth understanding, because it explains why a reliable listing tool matters. According to the Magistrates Court of Queensland Annual Report 2024-2025, the Magistrates Court dealt with adult defendants across roughly 130 sitting locations, stretching from Brisbane and the Gold Coast to the Torres Strait Islands, the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape York Peninsula. That network operates across a state covering about 1.85 million square kilometres, which is more than five times the size of Germany. A daily, centralised Queensland court list is not a convenience in a jurisdiction that large; it is close to a necessity.
How the Queensland court hierarchy is structured
Queensland's courts are arranged in tiers, and knowing which court hears which matter helps you find the correct list the first time. The Magistrates Court sits at the base and hears the overwhelming majority of proceedings. Above it, the District Court handles serious indictable offences and mid-range civil disputes. The Supreme Court sits at the top for the most serious crimes and the largest civil claims, with the Court of Appeal as the final state-level appellate body. Alongside these, specialist courts and tribunals deal with coronial, children's, planning, land and industrial matters.
Almost every criminal proceeding in Queensland starts in the Magistrates Court, even when it later moves to a higher court. That is why so many people searching for a daily court list QLD begin with a magistrates listing. If you are unsure where a matter sits, starting with the Magistrates Court list for the relevant town is usually the right move, and you can follow it up the hierarchy from there.
Magistrates Court of Queensland
The Magistrates Court is the workhorse of the system and finalises close to 95 per cent of all criminal matters in the state. In the 2024-2025 reporting year, the adult criminal jurisdiction actually eased, with the number of defendants falling by 9,541 (5.85 per cent) and charges dropping by 17,009 (4.58 per cent) compared with the previous year. Not every category moved the same way, though. Child protection applications rose sharply to 8,123 lodgements, an increase of 1,497 matters or 22.59 per cent, while domestic and family violence protection applications fell by 1,986 (7.13 per cent) to 25,871, and civil claims decreased by 7.25 per cent. Ipswich alone accounted for 14.24 per cent of criminal lodgements, underlining how concentrated activity can be at a handful of busy registries. You can browse listings for high-volume centres such as the Brisbane Magistrates Court list today and work outward to regional and remote sittings from there.
District Court of Queensland
The District Court is the intermediate court and remains, in the words of its own Chief Judge, one of the largest and busiest higher courts in Australia. In 2024-2025 it received 6,373 criminal lodgements, down from 6,659 the year before, and 3,928 civil lodgements. It finalised 3,947 civil matters for a clearance rate of 100.5 per cent, meaning it cleared slightly more than it received. Trials commenced fell from 664 to 630, with an average trial running about 3.6 days. The court exercises civil jurisdiction generally up to $750,000 and hears serious indictable offences such as armed robbery, serious drug offences, fraud and sexual offences, as well as appeals from the Magistrates Court. District Court judges sit at up to 32 centres statewide, so its lists span far more than the capital.
Supreme Court of Queensland and the Court of Appeal
The Supreme Court handles the most serious criminal matters, including murder, manslaughter and large-scale drug trafficking, and has unlimited civil jurisdiction. In the 2024-2025 year there were 1,626 criminal lodgements in the Trial Division, a slight rise on the 1,604 recorded the previous year. One of the sharpest movements was in bail: the court heard 1,302 bail applications, up almost 27 per cent, with self-represented applicants making up about a quarter of them. In the Court of Appeal, 447 matters were started, of which 294 were criminal and 153 civil. Supreme Court sittings are anchored at the Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law in Brisbane, with circuit sittings at regional centres including Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Mackay and Toowoomba.
Coroners Court and specialist jurisdictions
The Coroners Court investigates reportable deaths, suspected deaths, and fires or explosions across Queensland. In 2024-2025 it managed 5,990 lodgements and recorded a clearance rate of 110.6 per cent, having cleared more matters than were lodged during the year. The number of permanent coroners in the state has grown to ten, based in Brisbane, Cairns, Mackay and other centres. Queensland also runs specialist jurisdictions including the Childrens Court, the Planning and Environment Court, the Land Court and the Industrial Court, each with its own listing practices.
What a Queensland daily law list shows you
A daily law list is the official schedule of matters set down to be heard on a given day at a given courtroom. For most people, the useful details are the defendant or party name, the courtroom or hearing room, the scheduled time, the presiding magistrate or judge, and the type of appearance, such as a mention, a callover, a sentence or a trial. Understanding those labels saves a wasted trip. A mention is a short procedural appearance, a callover sets timetables for a group of matters, and a sentence or trial is a substantive hearing that can take much longer.
Queensland's official lists are refreshed on a strict daily rhythm. Lists for the Supreme and District Courts are published no later than 6:00pm for the following day, while Magistrates Court lists are updated at 6:45am for the current day and again at 8:45am to capture overnight arrests. Because listings can change after publication, particularly for bail and remand matters, it is always worth checking the most recent version before you travel.
Popular Queensland court lists people search for
Search demand tends to cluster around the busiest registries. These are among the most frequently requested Queensland court listings:
- The Southport court list today, one of the highest-volume registries on the Gold Coast.
- The Cairns magistrates court list today, covering the Far North.
- Townsville magistrates court listings for North Queensland matters.
- Ipswich court listings, reflecting one of the state's busiest criminal registries.
- Brisbane District Court and Supreme Court lists at the Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law.
If you know the town but not the exact court, searching the town name together with the word "court" is usually enough to reach the right daily listing. For matters that have moved up the hierarchy, check the District or Supreme Court list for the same centre.
Why hearings move and lists change
Court listings are not fixed once published. Matters are adjourned, defendants are added after overnight arrests, bail applications are brought at short notice, and circuit sittings shift between regional centres depending on the volume of work. This is one reason a matter you saw on a list yesterday may sit in a different courtroom, or on a different day, today. The safest approach is to treat any listing as current only for the day and time you view it, and to confirm again on the morning of the hearing.
Geography adds another layer. Queensland conducts circuit sittings at remote locations such as Mount Isa, Longreach, Cloncurry and Thursday Island, where a court may sit only on scheduled circuit days rather than continuously. For these communities, the timing of the next sitting matters as much as the list itself.
Using CourtListAU to find your Queensland matter
This platform is built to remove the friction of searching multiple government PDFs. You can look up a matter by location and date, move between the Magistrates, District and Supreme Court lists for the same centre, and reach regional and remote sittings that are easy to miss on the official portal. For a state-by-state overview and access to other jurisdictions, the CourtListAU homepage links through to every state hub, which is useful if your matter has been transferred interstate or you are tracking parties across borders.
The information here is drawn from publicly available court listings and is intended to help you locate and understand a hearing. It is not legal advice. Non-publication and suppression orders apply to some matters, and the responsibility for complying with any such order rests with the person using the material. If you need advice about your own matter, speak with a solicitor or contact the relevant registry directly.
Frequently asked questions
How often are Queensland court lists updated?
Supreme and District Court lists are published by 6:00pm for the next business day. Magistrates Court lists are updated at 6:45am for the current day and again at 8:45am to account for overnight arrests, so it is worth refreshing before you leave for court.
Which court will my matter be listed in?
Almost all criminal matters begin in the Magistrates Court, which finalises around 95 per cent of criminal cases. More serious indictable offences and larger civil claims move up to the District Court, generally for civil disputes up to $750,000, while the most serious crimes and the largest civil matters are heard in the Supreme Court.
Can I search a Queensland court list by name?
Daily law lists are organised by court location and date, and each list shows the parties scheduled to appear that day. If you know the registry town and the hearing date, you can locate the matter and the courtroom quickly from the relevant listing.
What do the terms on a court list mean?
Common entries include a mention, which is a brief procedural appearance, a callover, which sets timetables for a group of matters, and a sentence or trial, which is a substantive hearing. The list will usually also show the courtroom, the scheduled time and the presiding magistrate or judge.
Are remote and regional Queensland courts covered?
Yes. Coverage extends to circuit and remote sittings across the Gulf, Cape and Torres Strait, including centres such as Mount Isa, Longreach and Thursday Island, where courts sit on scheduled circuit days rather than every day.