The 249 Magistrates' Court is one of the administrative venue listings that appears within the daily court schedule of the Magistrates' Court of Victoria. Rather than being a standalone courthouse building open to the public, a venue code such as "249" is used by the court's case management system to group and publish specific hearings, callovers or administrative matters that need to be tracked separately from the main public list. If you have found this page, you are most likely checking whether a matter is listed under this venue today or tomorrow, confirming an appearance time, or following a case that has been allocated here. The daily list on this page is drawn directly from official court scheduling data and refreshed each sitting day, so you can see what is set down without needing to phone a registry or queue at a counter.
Understanding where this venue sits in the wider Victorian court structure helps explain what you are looking at. The Magistrates' Court of Victoria was established in 1836 and is the first and busiest level of the state's court hierarchy. It sits at 51 locations across Victoria, from inner-city Melbourne through to regional centres and remote communities, and it hears the overwhelming majority of matters that reach a Victorian court each year. Independent commentary and court data consistently put the Magistrates' Court's share at roughly 90 per cent of all cases in the state, which makes accurate, up to date listing information genuinely useful to the tens of thousands of people who interact with the court annually.
What the 249 Magistrates' Court venue is used for
Venue and courtroom codes like 249 are part of how a court that processes such enormous volumes keeps its listings orderly. In a single financial year the Magistrates' Court of Victoria sentenced 85,462 cases in 2023 to 2024, and in 2022 to 2023 it finalised 160,959 criminal cases, a 21 per cent increase on the prior year as the court worked through pandemic backlogs. To manage numbers on that scale, the court separates its work into headquarter courts, regional venues, specialist lists and administrative venue codes. A code such as 249 typically carries a very small number of matters at any one time, which is exactly why a centralised, searchable list is helpful: a venue that shows only one or two cases can be easy to miss on a printed sheet but simple to find in a search tool.
Because the Magistrates' Court determines each matter before a single judicial officer and without a jury, listings move quickly and can change at short notice. A matter allocated to a particular venue one day may be adjourned, consolidated with another list, or reallocated the next. Checking the current published list on the day of your hearing is the single most reliable way to confirm where you need to be and at what time.
The jurisdiction behind the listing
Whatever venue code a matter appears under, it is governed by the same jurisdiction that applies across the Magistrates' Court of Victoria. On the criminal side, the court hears all summary offences, which are the less serious offences such as many traffic matters, low level assault, theft and drug possession, along with indictable offences that are heard summarily where the law and the parties allow. It also conducts committal proceedings, the filtering stage where a magistrate decides whether a serious indictable matter such as an alleged armed robbery, sexual offence or large fraud has sufficient evidence to be sent to the County Court or Supreme Court for trial.
On the civil side, the court hears disputes involving claims of up to $100,000, including debt recovery, property damage and consumer disputes. Matters above that threshold are dealt with by the County Court. The Magistrates' Court also carries a very large family violence and personal safety workload; family violence intervention order applications alone have run at more than 40,000 across the state in recent years, reflecting the reforms that followed the 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence. This breadth is why a single day's statewide schedule can contain criminal callovers, civil hearings, intervention order lists and administrative venue codes side by side.
How to read and use this daily court list
The list on this page mirrors the structure used in the official Magistrates' Court schedule. Each entry generally identifies the party or accused, the type of matter, the listing or hearing type, and the time or session. If you are a party, a witness, a support worker or a legal representative, you can scan for the relevant surname or matter to confirm the details rather than relying on memory or an older notice. Because listings are published per sitting day, it is worth checking again on the morning of the hearing, as overnight changes to allocation are common in a court that processes hundreds of matters daily.
Practical tips before you attend
- Confirm the venue and building. A venue code is not always the same as a public street address. If your matter is physically heard at a metropolitan courthouse, check which building and floor applies before you travel.
- Arrive early. Security screening at the larger Victorian courts can take time, and lifts in busy buildings add further delay. Allowing extra time reduces the risk of missing a call.
- Check for an online or audio-visual appearance. Many Magistrates' Court matters can be conducted by audio-visual link. If your listing indicates a remote appearance, you may not need to attend in person at all.
- Bring your case or reference number. Having the case number and party details on hand makes it far easier to confirm your matter against the published list.
- Seek legal advice if you are unsure. Duty lawyers and Legal Aid services are available for many criminal and intervention order matters, and it is sensible to arrange representation before your hearing where you can.
Where this venue fits within the Victorian court system
The Magistrates' Court is deliberately spread across the state so that justice is accessible regardless of where a person lives. The trade off is that resourcing is uneven, and some regional and outer-suburban venues sit only a limited number of days each week, which can lengthen the time from filing to finalisation. The court has responded with a sustained push on efficiency: by late 2023 its pending caseload had fallen back to around 68,000 matters, roughly pre-pandemic levels, helped by a 53 per cent reduction in cases lasting more than 12 months and the wider use of online hearings and a dedicated service centre. Understanding this context explains why some venue codes carry heavy lists while others, like this one, carry very few.
The court is led by the Chief Magistrate, currently Justice Lisa Hannan, supported by deputy chief magistrates and magistrates appointed under the Magistrates' Court Act 1989. Above the Magistrates' Court sit the County Court of Victoria, which hears more serious indictable matters and larger civil claims, and the Supreme Court of Victoria, which deals with the most serious criminal trials and high value or complex civil litigation, along with appeals. Matters can move upward through this hierarchy, which is one reason committal work in the Magistrates' Court matters so much: it determines what proceeds to a higher court.
How official listings are published
The Magistrates' Court publishes its daily criminal and civil lists through its own case management system. From 30 June 2026 the court's CMS Portal Hearing Search replaced the earlier electronic filing and appearance search components for the criminal and civil jurisdictions, allowing parties and practitioners to track a listed matter by case number or surname. It is worth noting that family violence intervention order and personal safety intervention order hearings are generally not shown in the public hearing search, for the safety of the people involved. The list on this page draws on the same publicly available scheduling data, presented in a format that is quick to search across venues and courts.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 249 Magistrates' Court a physical courthouse I can visit?
Not in the usual sense. The number is a venue or administrative code used within the Magistrates' Court of Victoria's listing system to group particular matters. If a case listed here requires an in-person appearance, the physical location and courtroom will normally be specified in the listing or in correspondence from the court. Always confirm the building and floor before attending.
How often is this court list updated?
Listings are published per sitting day and can change overnight or during the day as matters are adjourned, reallocated or resolved. For that reason it is best to check the current list on the morning of your hearing rather than relying on an earlier version.
What types of matters might appear under this venue?
Because it is an administrative venue within the general Magistrates' Court, matters can include criminal callovers, mentions, adjourned hearings or administrative listings. The court's overall jurisdiction covers summary criminal offences, some indictable offences heard summarily, committals, civil claims up to $100,000, and intervention order applications, although intervention order hearings are usually excluded from public search results.
What should I do if I cannot find my matter on the list?
First, double check the spelling of the surname and the case number, and confirm you are looking at the correct sitting day. If your matter still does not appear, it may be listed under a different venue, may have been adjourned, or may not be included in the public search, as is the case with intervention orders. Contacting the relevant registry or your legal representative is the safest next step.
Do I need a lawyer for a Magistrates' Court matter?
You are not required to have a lawyer, but legal advice is strongly recommended, particularly for criminal charges or contested matters. Duty lawyer and Legal Aid services assist many people at court, and arranging representation in advance generally leads to a smoother hearing. This page provides listing information only and is not legal advice.
For a broader picture of how listings work across the state, including the busier metropolitan and regional venues, you can browse the full range of daily court lists for Victoria. If your matter involves a person in custody or a first appearance after arrest, the Bail and Remand Court listings are often the relevant starting point. Many central matters are heard through the Melbourne Magistrates' Court, the largest venue in the state, and you can also compare this venue with its companion administrative listing at the 123 Magistrates' Court venue to understand how low-volume venue codes are published.