The Supreme Court of South Australia is the highest court in the state and the court that decides the largest and most consequential civil disputes brought anywhere in South Australia. When you follow the SA Supreme Court civil list, you are tracking matters that sit at the very top of the state's court hierarchy, above both the District Court and the Magistrates Court. Because the Court holds unlimited civil jurisdiction, there is no upper limit on the value of the claims it can determine, which is why the most significant commercial, equity, defamation, personal injury and estate disputes in the state are heard here rather than in a lower court.
The Court was established on 2 January 1837, less than two weeks after the proclamation of the colony of South Australia, making it one of the oldest continuously operating superior courts in the country. Its modern authority flows from the Constitution Act 1934 (SA) and the Supreme Court Act 1935 (SA), and its civil work is governed day to day by the Uniform Civil Rules 2020. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and up to twelve other judges, giving it a bench of thirteen judicial positions, and judges hold office until the mandatory retirement age of 70. Laura Stein was appointed Chief Justice of South Australia on 19 February 2026, becoming the presiding judicial officer over both the civil and criminal jurisdictions of the Court.
What the SA Supreme Court civil list covers
The civil list published for the Supreme Court is a daily schedule of every civil matter set down for hearing before the Court on a given sitting day. Each entry typically identifies the parties, the file or action number, the presiding judicial officer, the courtroom, the listing time and the type of hearing, whether that is a directions hearing, an interlocutory application, a trial, an appeal or the delivery of judgment. Reading the list correctly lets legal practitioners, litigants, journalists and members of the public confirm exactly where and when a matter will be called, without needing to telephone the registry.
The civil jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is broad. It includes major commercial litigation, contractual and debt disputes, equity proceedings, corporations law matters, administrative law and judicial review of decisions made by South Australian government bodies, appeals from the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and appeals from the Magistrates Court in civil matters. The Court also holds exclusive jurisdiction over probate, which means it is the only court in South Australia that can grant probate of a will or letters of administration for a deceased estate. If you are searching the South Australia court listings for an estate matter, a will dispute or a large contractual claim, the Supreme Court civil list is almost always the correct place to look.
Where the Supreme Court sits
The Supreme Court's civil and criminal registries are located on the Lower Ground Floor of the Sir Samuel Way Building at 241 to 259 Victoria Square, Adelaide, South Australia 5000. The building sits at the heart of the Adelaide justice precinct around Victoria Square and Gouger Street, alongside the District Court, the Magistrates Court and other specialist courts. The building carries the name of Sir Samuel James Way, who served as Chief Justice of South Australia from 1876 until his death in 1916, one of the longest tenures in the Court's history. Historically, civil trials were often heard in the older Supreme Court building across the road, while the Court also conducts sittings at regional circuit locations such as Mount Gambier and Port Augusta when the caseload requires it.
How the Supreme Court fits within the South Australian court hierarchy
Understanding where the Supreme Court sits helps you work out whether a particular civil matter will appear on this list or on the list of a lower court. South Australia operates a three-tier court structure for civil claims, and the monetary value of a claim is usually the deciding factor in where it is filed.
- Magistrates Court: the minor civil division handles claims up to $12,000, while the general civil division deals with claims up to $100,000. The Magistrates Court hears the greatest share of civil litigation in the state by volume, with roughly 90 per cent of all civil disputes commencing there.
- District Court: the principal intermediate trial court, generally hearing civil disputes valued between $100,001 and $1,000,000, along with appeals from the Magistrates Court.
- Supreme Court: the superior court with unlimited civil jurisdiction, hearing the largest and most complex claims, probate matters, judicial review and appeals. Civil claims over $100,000 can be commenced in either the District Court or the Supreme Court, though cost penalties may apply where an amount awarded in the Supreme Court falls below a threshold that could have been dealt with in a lower court.
If your matter involves a debt or general civil claim below the six-figure threshold, it is more likely to appear on the Adelaide Magistrates Court civil list. Mid-range disputes are typically found on the SA District Court civil list. Only the highest-value and most complex matters reach the Supreme Court civil list.
The Court of Appeal and the Full Court
Appeals within the civil jurisdiction are heard by a bench of more than one judge. South Australia historically used the term "Full Court" for its appellate bench, typically constituted by three judges reviewing decisions of single Supreme Court judges and the District Court. In more recent years the Court of Appeal has taken on the state's senior appellate civil work. Appeals from the Supreme Court itself lie to the High Court of Australia, which sits at the apex of the national court hierarchy. This appellate structure is why some entries on the civil list are marked as appeals rather than first-instance trials, and why they may be listed before multiple judges rather than a single judge.
Supreme Court civil workload: the numbers
The volume of civil work moving through the Supreme Court gives a useful sense of scale. According to the Supreme Court of South Australia Annual Report for 2023 to 2024, the Court received 3,526 civil lodgements across the state during the reporting year. Civil lodgement, finalisation and pending figures for South Australia are compiled using the counting methodology set by the Australian Government's Productivity Commission for its annual Report on Government Services, which allows workload to be compared consistently across every state and territory. These statistics are published openly through the Courts Administration Authority and through South Australian open-data channels, and they cover the criminal and civil jurisdictions of the Supreme Court, the District Court and the Magistrates Court.
Because the Court hears cases with unlimited monetary value, a single Supreme Court civil trial can involve claims worth many millions of dollars, complex expert evidence and hearings that run for weeks. That is one reason the daily count of matters on the Supreme Court civil list is far smaller than the count on a busy Magistrates Court list, even though the sums in dispute are far larger. The Court's Commercial List is designed specifically to manage significant commercial matters efficiently through active case management, keeping large disputes moving toward resolution.
Who administers the Court
The Supreme Court, like every court in the state, is administered by the Courts Administration Authority, an independent body through which the judiciary controls its own administration rather than being managed by a government department. This independence is a deliberate feature of the South Australian justice system, designed to keep the courts separate from the executive arm of government. The South Australian court network covers an enormous geographic area, extending from the Adelaide central business district to remote communities in the far north of the state more than 1,200 kilometres away, which is why circuit sittings remain an important part of how justice is delivered.
How to read and use the daily civil list
Court lists are working documents, and they change. Matters settle, are adjourned, are consolidated or are moved between courtrooms at short notice, sometimes on the morning of the hearing. To use the SA Supreme Court civil list effectively, check it on the day of the hearing rather than relying on an earlier version, and confirm the courtroom and listing time against the most recent update. Sentencing remarks and judgments in significant matters are published on the official Courts SA website, often within a short time of being delivered, so the list also acts as a signpost to the written outcomes that follow.
For anyone monitoring a matter without a lawyer, three details on the list matter most: the action number, which uniquely identifies the file; the type of listing, which tells you whether the matter is a substantive hearing or a procedural step; and the judicial officer, which confirms who will preside. Getting these three right avoids the common mistake of attending the wrong courtroom or arriving on the wrong day.
Frequently asked questions
What types of cases appear on the SA Supreme Court civil list?
The list covers major civil trials, Full Court and single-judge civil appeals, commercial disputes, equity matters, probate applications, corporations law proceedings, administrative law and judicial review, and appeals from the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. In short, it captures the most significant civil disputes in the state, both by monetary value and by legal complexity.
Is there a limit on the value of a claim the Supreme Court can hear?
No. The Supreme Court holds unlimited civil jurisdiction, so there is no ceiling on the amount that can be claimed. Claims over $100,000 may be brought in either the District Court or the Supreme Court, but the very largest and most complex matters are generally reserved for the Supreme Court.
Which court handles wills and deceased estates in South Australia?
The Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction over probate, meaning it is the only South Australian court that can grant probate of a will or letters of administration. Contested estate matters and applications for a grant are therefore heard within the Supreme Court's civil jurisdiction.
How often is the civil list updated?
Court lists are published for each sitting day and can change up to and including the morning of the hearing. Always check the current day's list and confirm the courtroom and time before attending, because adjournments and reallocations are common.
Where is the Supreme Court civil registry located?
The civil and criminal registries are on the Lower Ground Floor of the Sir Samuel Way Building at 241 to 259 Victoria Square, Adelaide SA 5000, within the central Adelaide justice precinct. Electronic filing and remote appearance requests are handled through the CourtSA online portal.
What happens if I want to appeal a Supreme Court civil decision?
Appeals from a single judge of the Supreme Court are heard by the Court of Appeal or Full Court, and a further appeal from the Supreme Court lies to the High Court of Australia. If you are researching a related death investigation or inquest rather than a civil claim, those matters are listed separately on the SA Coroners Court list.