| Name | Court Room | Time |
|---|---|---|
| D**, S** OR DISPOSE | Court 2 | 9:30AM |
Last updated: 10 Sep 2026, 10:00 am. Names are partially masked for privacy. Details may change — always check with the Registry.
The daily criminal court list for the District Court of South Australia is published here so defendants, victims, legal practitioners, journalists and members of the public can confirm exactly when and where a matter is being heard. As the state's principal indictable trial court, the District Court sits above the Magistrates Court and below the Supreme Court in the South Australian hierarchy, and its criminal list moves quickly. Checking the current sitting details before you travel to Victoria Square saves you a wasted trip and helps you plan your day around the correct courtroom and start time.
The District Court of South Australia is established under the District Court Act 1991 and is the principal indictable trial court for the state. It has jurisdiction to hear every indictable offence except murder, treason and offences directly related to those charges, which are reserved for the Supreme Court. Almost all criminal matters reach the District Court after a committal process in the Magistrates Court, which means the list you see each day reflects serious charges that have already progressed through a lower court. Common matters include armed robbery, serious assault, sexual offences, serious fraud, and drug trafficking.
Where the SA District Court sits and when it hears criminal matters
The District Court's criminal jurisdiction is centred at the Sir Samuel Way Building, 241 to 259 Victoria Square, Adelaide SA 5000, in the heart of the city's legal precinct. The registry is open from 9:00am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday, and criminal sittings generally commence in the morning. Beyond Adelaide, the Court runs criminal circuits at Mount Gambier in the South East and Port Augusta in the Upper Spencer Gulf, so regional defendants and witnesses are not always required to travel to the capital. Civil circuits also run at Berri, Port Pirie, Whyalla and Port Lincoln as required, which is a separate stream from the criminal list published on this page.
Because a single building can host dozens of concurrent matters, the daily list is the fastest way to identify your courtroom number, the presiding judge, the scheduled time and the type of appearance. Arraignments, directions hearings, pre-trial conferences, jury trials and sentencing submissions can all appear on the same day, so reading the list carefully matters.
How to read the daily criminal list
- Party or defendant name: matters are usually indexed by surname, so search the name you are following.
- Courtroom and judge: confirms exactly where in the Sir Samuel Way Building to attend.
- Listing type: tells you whether the appearance is a directions hearing, arraignment, trial or sentence.
- Time: most criminal sittings begin at 10:00am, but check for earlier or split listings.
How the District Court fits into the South Australian court system
South Australia operates a three-tier court structure. The Magistrates Court handles the greatest proportion of litigation in the state and is where nearly every criminal matter begins. The most serious charges, including murder and treason, are heard in the Supreme Court. The District Court occupies the intermediate tier and carries the bulk of serious jury trials. Understanding this hierarchy helps explain why a case can move between court lists over its lifetime, starting in the Magistrates Court and being committed upward for trial or sentence.
If the matter you are tracking has not yet been committed for trial, it may still appear on a lower court list rather than the District Court list. In that situation the Adelaide Magistrates Court case list is the correct place to look, since committal hearings and summary matters are dealt with there before any transfer to the District Court.
Criminal versus civil in the District Court
The District Court exercises both criminal and civil jurisdiction, and the two streams are listed separately. This page covers the criminal list. In its civil jurisdiction the Court hears unlimited claims for general and personal injury matters, along with administrative, disciplinary and criminal injuries compensation work. If you are looking for a claim, a directions hearing or a civil trial rather than a criminal charge, use the SA District Court civil listings instead so you are reading the correct daily schedule.
Verified statistics on criminal matters in South Australia
National figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics give useful context for the volume and outcomes of criminal matters in the state. In 2023 to 2024 there were 26,963 defendants finalised across all criminal courts in South Australia, making up around 5 per cent of the national total. Nationally, the Higher Courts, which include the District and Supreme Courts, dealt with a defendant population that was 87 per cent male, the highest male proportion of any court tier.
Across Australia's criminal courts in 2023 to 2024, the median case duration was around nine weeks and roughly 97 per cent of adjudicated matters resulted in a guilty outcome, which reflects the high share of matters resolved by guilty plea rather than contested trial. For defendants sentenced to custody in a correctional institution, the median custodial sentence length was about nine months. These national benchmarks are a helpful guide to how quickly and how often serious matters resolve, though outcomes in any individual District Court matter depend entirely on the charges and the evidence.
Historical South Australian data shows how the tiers divide the workload. In an earlier ABS reference year, about 90 per cent of finalised defendants in the state were dealt with in the Magistrates Court, roughly 6 per cent in the Children's Courts, and about 4 per cent in the Higher Courts. The Higher Court share is small in volume but large in significance, because it captures the most serious indictable offending that requires a judge and, in contested trials, a jury.
Why guilty pleas shape the daily list
Because the overwhelming majority of finalised matters resolve in a guilty outcome, a large share of any given day's criminal list will be sentencing submissions, directions hearings and pleas rather than full contested trials. Jury trials, while central to the District Court's role, occupy fewer listings than the day-to-day case management appearances that keep matters moving. This is one reason the list changes so frequently and should be checked close to the hearing date.
Who relies on the SA District Court criminal list
- Defendants and their families confirming a courtroom, time and appearance type before attending.
- Legal practitioners and paralegals managing multiple matters across the Adelaide precinct and regional circuits.
- Victims and witnesses who want to know when a matter they are involved in is being heard.
- Journalists covering serious criminal proceedings in the public interest.
- Researchers, students and the public exercising the right to observe open court.
For anyone following matters across more than one South Australian venue, the state overview brings every jurisdiction together in one place. You can move between the Adelaide precinct courts and regional venues through the central court listings South Australia hub, which links the Magistrates, District, Supreme, Youth, ERD and Coroners lists without any login or fee.
Regional and specialist criminal lists
Not every serious South Australian matter is heard in Adelaide. The District Court's criminal circuits at Mount Gambier and Port Augusta mean regional defendants may appear closer to home. If you are following a matter in the Upper Spencer Gulf, the Port Augusta criminal court listings cover both the Magistrates work and District Court circuit sittings held in that region. Youth matters are handled separately again through the dedicated Youth Court stream, which applies different procedures for defendants under 18.
Frequently asked questions
What cases does the SA District Court hear in its criminal jurisdiction?
The Court hears serious indictable offences such as armed robbery, serious assault, sexual offences, serious fraud and drug trafficking. It can hear any indictable offence except murder, treason and directly related charges, which go to the Supreme Court. Most matters arrive after committal from the Magistrates Court.
Where is the District Court of South Australia located?
Criminal sittings are held at the Sir Samuel Way Building, 241 to 259 Victoria Square, Adelaide SA 5000. The Court also runs criminal circuits at Mount Gambier and Port Augusta.
Are jury trials held in the District Court?
Yes. The District Court conducts jury trials for eligible criminal matters. Contested trials are heard before a judge and jury, while pleas and sentencing submissions are heard by a judge alone.
How often is the daily criminal list updated?
Listings change frequently as matters are added, adjourned or reallocated between courtrooms. Check the list on the morning of the hearing, and again shortly before you leave, to confirm the courtroom and start time.
What is the difference between the District Court and the Magistrates Court?
The Magistrates Court handles summary offences and the early stages of serious matters, including committal hearings. The District Court is the intermediate trial court that hears the serious indictable matters committed up from the Magistrates Court, and it can conduct jury trials.
Do I need to register or pay to view the list?
No. The daily criminal list is provided in a clean, accessible format that requires no registration, no login and no fee.
