The Magistrates Court of Western Australia sitting at the Supreme Court Building in Stirling Gardens is one of the busiest summary jurisdiction venues in the Perth legal precinct, and its daily cause list is published each business day through the WA eCourts Portal. If you are a solicitor confirming a mention time, a defendant checking which courtroom your matter has been allocated, or a member of the public following a hearing, the listing for this venue tells you the case name or number, the allocated courtroom, the scheduled start time, and the type of proceeding. Court lists for Western Australia are typically finalised and uploaded in the late afternoon of the preceding business day, so the most reliable time to confirm tomorrow's schedule is after about 4:30pm, with same-day amendments appearing throughout the morning.
This page brings the Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court listing into one clean, searchable format so you do not have to navigate multiple government systems to find a single hearing. Because listings can be reallocated at short notice, checking on the morning of your hearing remains the safest way to confirm your courtroom and time.
About the Magistrates Court at the Supreme Court Building, Stirling Gardens
The Supreme Court Building at Stirling Gardens, on the corner of Barrack Street and St Georges Terrace in Perth, is one of three sites the Supreme Court of Western Australia operates alongside the David Malcolm Justice Centre at 28 Barrack Street and the District Court Building at 500 Hay Street. The Stirling Gardens site hosts the Court of Appeal, civil and criminal matters, the Industrial Appeal Court, and a Magistrates Court list. There is no public registry in this building, and parking is not available on site, so most lodgement and registry business is handled either online or at the Central Law Courts registry.
The building itself is a landmark of Western Australian legal history. The present Supreme Court Building was constructed in 1903, is classified by the National Trust, and forms part of the state-registered heritage place known as the Supreme Court Buildings and Gardens, Old Court House, Stirling Gardens, which was entered on the Western Australia Heritage Register on 14 February 2003. The precinct has held a judicial role since one of the colony's first courthouses was built on this location in 1836. That original structure, the Old Court House, still stands adjacent to the Supreme Court and is the oldest surviving public building in the City of Perth, now used as the Francis Burt Law Education Centre.
Where the Magistrates Court sits in the WA court hierarchy
The Magistrates Court of Western Australia is the first tier of the state court system. It was established in May 2005 through the amalgamation of the former Court of Petty Sessions, the Small Claims Tribunal, and the Local Court, and it operates under the Magistrates Court Act 2004 (WA). It is an inferior court and a court of record, with matters heard by a magistrate sitting alone rather than before a jury. Appeals generally proceed to the District Court or the Supreme Court depending on the nature of the matter. The court is currently led by Chief Magistrate Steven Heath, with Elizabeth Woods as Deputy Chief Magistrate.
Understanding the hierarchy helps you work out whether a matter you are following is likely to appear on this list or somewhere higher up. All criminal proceedings against adults begin in the Magistrates Court, which disposes of the large majority of criminal matters summarily. Serious indictable offences move up to the District Court, which hears matters carrying maximum penalties up to 25 years and handles civil claims up to $750,000, while the most serious criminal trials and complex civil disputes above $750,000 are dealt with by the Supreme Court.
What appears on the Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court list
The daily Magistrates Court list at this venue covers the full breadth of the court's summary jurisdiction. On any given sitting day you may see a mix of the following matter types scheduled across the allocated courtrooms:
- Summary criminal matters, including minor assaults, disorderly conduct, drug possession, and property offences dealt with without a jury.
- Traffic and driving matters, from serious driving charges to extraordinary driver's licence applications.
- Committal hearings for indictable offences before they are transferred to the District or Supreme Court.
- Bail applications and related listings.
- Restraining order applications, including Family Violence Restraining Orders and Violence Restraining Orders, which are among the highest-volume matter types in the WA court system.
- Civil claims up to the Magistrates Court limit of $75,000, and Minor Cases Procedure claims up to $10,000 under a simplified, less formal process.
- Dividing fences and uncollected goods matters and other administrative applications the court is empowered to hear.
Western Australia's civil jurisdictional limit of $75,000 is deliberately lower than in several other states, reflecting a policy of channelling higher-value disputes up to the District Court. That structural choice means the Magistrates Court list stays weighted toward high-volume criminal, traffic, and protective order work, which is part of why these lists change so frequently through the day.
Reading a court list correctly
A court list, sometimes called a cause list, is the official schedule a court publishes showing every matter set down for hearing on a given day. Each entry combines the case name or number, the courtroom, the listed time, and a short abbreviation describing the proceeding type, such as a mention, a directions hearing, a trial, or a sentencing. Times shown are the times a matter is called into the list rather than a guaranteed start, so several matters may share the same listed slot and be dealt with in an order set by the court on the day. If your matter does not appear where you expect, it may have been reallocated to another courtroom, adjourned, or removed for legislative reasons, and the registry can confirm the current position.
How to find today's and tomorrow's list
Court listings for every court and tribunal in Western Australia are published through the eCourts Portal at ecourts.justice.wa.gov.au, where the daily hearing list is searchable by name, jurisdiction, and location. For matters set beyond the next sitting day, the portal also allows a forward search of future court listings. Some listings are not displayed publicly because of legislative requirements or court orders, so an absent entry does not always mean a matter has been withdrawn.
The lodgement and case management for Perth Magistrates Court matters is also handled through the eCourts Portal. Parties who cannot access the portal can attend the Central Law Courts registry at 501 Hay Street, Perth, or contact the Magistrates Court registry directly. For a broader view of the metropolitan precinct, our overview of WA court lists aggregates the Supreme, District, Magistrates, Family, and Coroners courts and the State Administrative Tribunal across more than 60 venues into one searchable directory.
Getting to the Stirling Gardens precinct
The Supreme Court Building sits within the compact Perth legal precinct bounded by Barrack Street and St Georges Terrace. Because there is no parking at the court itself, City of Perth parking stations nearby are the practical option, including the below-ground station behind Council House with an entrance off 27 St Georges Terrace and the stations on Terrace Road. The building is within a short walk of the Supreme Court Building criminal and appeal courtrooms, the District Court Building on Hay Street, and the David Malcolm Justice Centre on Barrack Street, so it is common for practitioners to move between venues on the same day.
Frequently asked questions
What time are WA Magistrates Court lists published?
Lists for the following business day are generally uploaded to the eCourts Portal in the late afternoon, commonly from around 4:30pm, with amendments made through the morning of the hearing. Checking again on the day itself is the most reliable way to confirm your courtroom and time.
Is the Magistrates Court at Stirling Gardens the same as the Central Law Courts?
No. The Magistrates Court sits at more than one Perth location. The Stirling Gardens list relates to matters heard within the Supreme Court Building precinct, while the highest-volume metropolitan summary list runs at the Central Law Courts at 501 Hay Street. Always check the venue named on your notice so you attend the correct building.
Can I attend a hearing as a member of the public?
Yes. Courts in Western Australia are open to the public, and most tribunal hearings and directions are as well. Some listings are not publicly displayed and certain proceedings, such as compulsory conferences and mediation sittings, are closed. If you cannot locate a listing for the day, contacting the relevant court registry is the best next step.
What is the civil claim limit in the WA Magistrates Court?
The Magistrates Court hears civil disputes up to $75,000, with a simplified Minor Cases Procedure for claims up to $10,000. Claims above $75,000 are generally dealt with by the District Court, and the most complex or high-value civil matters proceed to the Supreme Court.