Court Appearances - WA

The first appearance is usually administrative.

The purpose of the first hearing is to confirm your details, outline the charges or issues before the court, and check whether you have legal representation. In almost every case, no evidence is heard at this stage and the matter will likely be adjourned for a period of 6 weeks to enable you to seek legal representation.

If you are on bail for the charges, your bail will likely be extended on the same terms that the bail was set. The prosecutor can, however, make an application to impose additional conditions depending on the charges. Similarly, a Magistrate could also impose stricter bail conditions if they believe it is necessary to do so.

If you appear whilst on remand, you will remain remanded in custody until such time that a bail application is made. A bail application can be made at your first appearance where you will appear from custody and will be brought before a Magistrate.

If you are required to attend court, there is no rule that requires you to have legal representation. However, having a lawyer to appear on your behalf is important for a number of reasons. It ensures that your rights are protected, that you are adequately prepared, and the court hears the strongest possible arguments having regard to the law.

The process of preparing for court can be stressful and overwhelming. It is often the case that a minor detail could be overlooked which could have considerable adverse impact on the outcome if not appropriately addressed.

An experienced criminal lawyer will ensure you receive the correct advice and thoroughly prepare your matter to overcome any obstacles you may face. It will also have an impact on the quality of the submissions made to the court which can have a considerable bearing on the outcome of your matter.

Missing a court date can have serious consequences. The court may issue a warrant for your arrest, impose penalties, or deal with the case in your absence.

Some matters can be dealt with in your absence, and it is important that you attend. A court that hears a matter in your absence can record a conviction which could be disastrous if you require a spent conviction.

If you are bailed to a certain date and part of your bail is surety bail, your failure to attend court will see that the surety is forfeited to the State.

The court can also issue a bench warrant for your arrest. If a warrant for your arrest is issued, the court will take that into consideration when considering any argument to support bail in the future. As bail is inherently an assessment of risk, and a failure to attend court when required impacts on the courts’ assessment of your capacity to adhere to bail and attend court when required.

If you cannot attend, you should speak to a lawyer immediately to see if alternative arrangements can be made.

For minor matters in the Magistrates Court, a lawyer may be able to appear on your behalf. This is particularly in circumstances where the accused is on a notice to appear and will be excused if legally represented.

If you are bailed to a date and required appear, you will generally have to appear at court. If you cannot attend (e.g., you are in hospital), your lawyer can appear on your behalf and request you be excused if there is a reasonable excuse. You will have to provide documents to the court to corroborate your reason, and it is likely that someone from the court will contact the person providing that documentation to verify or confirm its authenticity.

For more serious criminal charges, hearings involving witnesses, or matters in the District or Supreme Court, you will generally need to attend in person. Failure to do will likely result in the matter being adjourned to another date and/or a bench warrant issued for your arrest to be brought before the court.

It is important that you dress respectfully, however, this does not mean you need to go and buy a brand-new wardrobe. It is important that anything you wear is respectful (i.e., smart casual). It is also important to have your clothes are free from slogans or anything offensive.

It is also important that you arrive on time and make sure your phone is switched off before entering the courtroom.

Once you enter the court, there will be a court officer seated in a white shirt. If you are appearing by yourself, it is important you check your name with the officer to ensure that they know you are attending and to call your matter on. If you are appearing with a lawyer, they will do this for you.

All initial court matters take place in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia. Magistrate Court locations across Western Australia include:

Metropolitan Magistrates Courts:

a. Perth (Central Law Court)
b. Armadale
c. Fremantle
d. Joondalup
e. Midland
f. Rockingham
g. Mandurah

Regional Magistrates Court (this is not an exhaustive list, but shows locations which also have a District Court registry:

a. Albany
b. Broome
c. Bunbury
d. Busselton
e. Carnarvon
f. Derby
g. Esperance
h. Geraldton
i. Kalgoorlie
j. Karratha
k. Kununurra
l. South Hedland

There are other regional locations, however they do not necessarily sit every day.

Yes, in certain circumstances. The court is very likely to approve an adjournment of the first mention of the court date, even without reasons being provided. A court will be reluctant to adjourn a matter without a plea of guilty or not guilty being entered, if there have already been a number of adjournments granted. Your lawyer will also have to have good reasons for why a listed sentence hearing or defended hearing should be adjourned as the courts are often reluctant to do so.

The courts are equipped with many support services to assist you and your support network in navigating the court system and providing any necessary support. Some of these support networks include:

• Duty lawyer service: the duty lawyer is a court appointed lawyer who will meet with you briefly to discuss your matter and appear with you in some circumstances. Depending on the court, some duty lawyer services may not be available. They may also not be available after a certain time. Please speak with the court officers if you require a duty lawyer service.
• General court intervention program (GCIP): this program is voluntary. A case manager will assess your suitability and if deemed suitable will arrange for you to participate in regular sessions with an appointed support person. The benefit of this program is to allow you to gain an enhanced understanding of the offending, support any alcohol and drugs concerns if you have raised them, provide you with community support, and if suitable, a long-term support structure. The benefit for the GCIP is to provide information to the court which will assist in the sentencing outcome.
• Interpreters: the court can arrange and appoint an interpreter to appear with you during your hearing to ensure you are completely and fully informed of the outcome. This is a free service provided by the court.
• Family violence services: the family violence services help those who are experiencing family violence and can assist in preparing those attending court and assist in preparing an application for Family Violence Restraining Order. This service only sits in the Armadale, Fremantle, Joondalup, Midland, Perth and Rockingham Magistrates Courts.

In Australia, it is often state or federal police who lay charges. Making an allegation to police will cause decisions to be made internally as to whether charges are laid against a person/s a complaint is made about. If police decide not to lay charges, an individual can commence a private prosecution. To start a private prosecution in the Supreme Court, you must file and serve an originating summons or motion. A court date will then be provided. It is important to consider the consequences of a private prosecution, particularly costs.

A prosecutor often has important paperwork for your case. Your lawyer may need to speak to them to obtain a copy of, for example, your criminal record. Prosecutors are also our opponents in court, so it is important that both parties discuss what will be happening that day to ensure the matter can run as smoothly as possible.

If a registrar, magistrate or judge is already sitting on the bench when you enter or leave the court room you should bow towards them at the door. If there is no active matter on you do not need to bow at this time. If you are already in the courtroom and the registrar, magistrate or judge enters or leaves the courtroom you should bow towards them at the same time they bow.

You should leave your lawyer to do almost all of the talking for you. If asked a question directly by the magistrate or judge, for example, at the end of a sentence hearing, you can respond directly to them but if you have any doubts about what to say you can pause to speak with your lawyer before speaking. Whenever you are directly speaking to a magistrate or judge you should refer to them as “Your Honour”. You should refer to a registrar as “Registrar”.

You will generally be expected to enter any plea of guilty to a charge yourself. For example, a magistrate may read out the words of the charge, “You are charged that on 1 January 2025 in the Australian Capital Territory you assaulted Mr Smith, are you guilty or not guilty to that charge?”, and you can reply, “Guilty Your Honour”. At the end of a sentence hearing you might be asked if you understand the penalties given and you may reply, “yes Your Honour”.

It is generally appropriate that you remain seated next to your lawyer at the long table facing the judicial officer. You should stand whenever a judicial officer reads out the charge to you or you are responding to a direct question asked of you.

You should not speak over any other lawyer, registrar, magistrate or judge when they are already speaking. If you want to ask your lawyer something at the bar table you should whisper to them so that no one else can hear the conversation (noting that there are microphones at the bar table) or write your question or comment on a piece of paper for your lawyer to read.

Court usually starts at 9:30am and finishes at 5:00pm. The court will adjourn for a lunch break between 1:00pm – 2:15pm.

Depending on your matter, you may be called on early or later in the list. It is necessary that all matters that are listed to be heard that day are completed. Because of this, longer matters, such as sentencings, could be recalled after the lunch break.

If the matter is too complex, such as bail applications or matters that require further consideration from the court, it may be adjourned to a different date at which time you will be required to attend again.