Australia
Courts in Australia
The High Court of Australia and the federal courts alongside each state and territory's own courts, which also exercise federal jurisdiction.
Facts on this page were checked against their sources on .
At the apex of the Australian system is the High Court of Australia, established under Chapter III of the Constitution. It interprets and applies Australian law, decides cases including challenges to the constitutional validity of laws, and hears appeals by special leave from federal, state and territory courts — the final court of appeal and the final interpreter of the Constitution.
- The federal courts
- Below the High Court, the Federal Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia handle matters under federal law. The judicial power of the Commonwealth is vested by section 71 in the High Court and the other federal courts.
- State and territory courts
- Each state and territory has its own court system — a Supreme Court and lower courts — which hears the great majority of criminal matters under that jurisdiction's own law.
- State courts doing federal work
- Rather than build a full parallel system, the Commonwealth invests state courts with federal jurisdiction (s.77(iii)), so a state court may decide a federal matter. This is a defining feature of the Australian judicature.
The same idea, explained generally
- What do courts do?
Courts resolve disputes, test the state’s case against individuals, interpret law, and review public decisions. This guide explains those functions and why judicial independence is structural.
- What is due process?
Due process is the requirement that the state follow fair, established procedures before it takes action against a person. This guide explains what it typically includes and how it differs between systems.
Sources
Sources
The High Court of Australia — Role of the High Court
High Court of Australia (hcourt.gov.au) · Government publication · link verified 2026-07-26
The High Court's own description of its role (official page, obtained by search retrieval of hcourt.gov.au). Supports that the High Court of Australia is established under the Constitution, interprets and applies Australian law, decides cases including constitutional-validity challenges, and hears appeals by special leave from federal, state and territory courts — the final court of appeal and final interpreter of the Constitution. Structural facts only.
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act (the Australian Constitution)
Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au) / Federal Register of Legislation · Legislation · 1901-01-01 · link verified 2026-07-26
The founding instrument, read verbatim from the official Parliament of Australia consolidated PDF. Supports: s.51, the ENUMERATED legislative powers of the Commonwealth ('The Parliament shall ... have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to' 39 heads) — there is NO general criminal-law head; s.107 (Saving of Power of State Parliaments): 'Every power of the Parliament of a Colony which has become or becomes a State, shall, unless it is by this Constitution exclusively vested in the Parliament of the Commonwealth or withdrawn from the Parliament of the State, continue' — so residual power is RESERVED to the States (the US model, the inverse of Canada); s.71 (the judicial power of the Commonwealth vested in the High Court of Australia and other courts); s.77(iii) (the Commonwealth may invest a State court with federal jurisdiction); and s.122 (the territories power). Establishes that criminal law is largely a State/Territory matter with no national code. WAVE 20 ADDITION. Read from the same Federal Register of Legislation text. Supports Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, s. 51(vi): “(vi.) The naval and military defence of the Commonwealth and of the several States, and the control of the forces to execute and maintain the laws of the Commonwealth:”. Supports Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, s. 61: “The executive power of the Commonwealth is vested in the Queen and is exerciseable by the Governor-General as the Queen's representative, and extends to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, and of the laws of the Commonwealth.”. Supports Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, s. 119: “The Commonwealth shall protect every State against invasion and, on the application of the Executive Government of the State, against domestic violence.”. Cited for the constitutional footing of Commonwealth defence and protective power and for the State-application condition in s. 119. It supports no claim about State or Territory emergency law, none of which was read, and no claim about any other country.