Registry committals

A registry committal is an administrative process that moves serious (indictable) charges  from the Magistrates Court to a higher court, like the Supreme or District Court.

If both parties agree, this process replaces the need for a committal hearing in the Magistrates Court, saving time and money.

The application is typically made by the defendant’s lawyer, but only if the defence and prosecution have agreed to send the charges to a higher court.

Applications must be completed online using the Online Services Portal for some Magistrates Courts or manually for others.

When you can apply

You can apply for a registry committal if:

• the offence is a serious (indictable) offence and must be dealt with in the Supreme or District Court
• the defendant has a lawyer
• the prosecution and defence have agreed to send the charges to a higher court for trial or sentencing
• the charges meet the legal requirements for committal (the registrar can't decide if there’s enough evidence).

When you can’t apply

You cannot apply for a registry committal if:

• the offence is minor or summary (e.g. punishable in a Magistrates Court)
• the matter is being heard in the Childrens Court
• the defendant:
  • doesn’t have a lawyer
  • has breached bail conditions
  • has been referred to a specialist court or program for the charges
  • plans to give evidence or call witnesses.

If any of these apply, the charges can’t be included in the registry committal.

Committal deadlines

A committal callover is a court event where the charges are reviewed, and deadlines are set for the committal process.

The charges are usually adjourned for 28 days to give the prosecution time to prepare and file their evidence.

Key deadlines include:

14-day filing deadline

The prosecution must file their full brief of evidence (i.e. all the evidence they will rely on) in the registry within 14 days of the committal callover.

28-day application deadline

The defence must submit the registry committal application within 28 days of the committal callover.

If deadlines are not met

If these deadlines are missed, the registry committal may be refused.

The case will then proceed to a Magistrates Court hearing on the date set at the committal callover.

How to apply

For matters in regions using OSP:

1. Log in to the Online Services Portal using your verified digital identity (e.g. myID or QDI).
2. Complete the registry committal application and attach supporting documents.
3. Submit the application.
   • Submit your application within 28 days of the committal callover.

For matters in regions where the rollout is yet to go live:

1. Download and complete the relevant form:
   • Notice of intention to proceed via registry committal (PDF, 541.6 KB)  or DOC version (57.0 KB).
   • Notice of intention to proceed via registry committal on amended/substituted charge (PDF, 480.5 KB)  or DOC version (57.0 KB).
2. Lodge the application with the relevant Magistrates Court registry.
   • Lodge the application within 28 days of the committal callover.

What happens after you apply

After you apply:

1. The registrar will check if all conditions are met.
2. You’ll be told if your application is accepted or refused:
   • If accepted: The case will go to the Supreme or District Court for trial or sentencing.
   • If refused: The case will proceed to a Magistrates Court hearing on the date set at the committal callover.

Webinars: How to use the Online Services Portal

The following webinars are designed to help defence and prosecution lawyers make the transition:

Defence webinar

Learn how to:

• connect to the OSP
• create, edit, submit, withdraw, or delete a registry committal application.

Prosecution webinar

Learn how to:

• connect to the OSP
• locate and review, approve, return or reject a registry committal application.

More information

• Practice Direction 14 of 2010
• Defence Lawyers User Guide – Registry Committal Application OSP (PDF, 3.0 MB)
• Prosecutions User Guide – Registry Committal Application OSP (PDF, 1.6 MB)