What it does
The Local Court Act 2007 (LCA 2007) constitutes the Local Court of New South Wales as a court of record (s 7(1)) and delineates its jurisdiction, structure, procedure and administration. At its core, the Act replaces the fragmented system under the repealed Local Courts Act 1982 (LCA 1982) with a single statewide court exercising civil, special and criminal jurisdiction (s 9).
In civil jurisdiction (Part 3), the Court determines money claims (defined in s 29A) up to $100,000 in the General Division or $20,000 in the Small Claims Division, together with claims for detained goods (s 30). A lower $60,000 limit applies to personal injury or death claims (s 29(2)). The Small Claims Division operates informally: rules of evidence do not apply (s 35(3)), cross-examination is restricted (s 35(4)), and Judges or Assessors must endeavour to conciliate settlements before giving judgment (s 36). Specific jurisdiction is conferred over company title home unit disputes (s 34A), allowing orders for injunctions, damages, declarations as to constitutions or contracts, but not exceeding the relevant monetary limit.
The special jurisdiction (Part 4) captures proceedings conferred by other Acts that are neither criminal nor Part 3 civil matters (s 44). Proceedings commence by application notice (s 45), with detailed rules for service, time limits (generally six years under s 51), hearings in open court (s 54), representation (s 57), evidence on oath (s 59), and enforcement (ss 68-69). The Court may stay proceedings (s 64), issue arrest warrants (s 65), and award costs at discretion (s 69).
Criminal jurisdiction is conferred by reference to other laws (s 9(c)), with "criminal proceedings" exhaustively defined in s 3(1) to include summary hearings, committals, bail, sentencing and certain reviews under the , but excluding forensic procedures, child protection prohibition orders, law enforcement powers applications, offender registration orders and certain fisheries appeals.