What it does
The Magistrates Court Act 2004 is the constitutive statute for the state's busiest judicial tier. Section 4(1) expressly establishes "a court called the Magistrates Court of Western Australia" and declares it a court of record under s 4(2). This status carries evidentiary and precedential consequences: s 34(1) creates presumptions that the Court "was constituted according to law" and "had jurisdiction to deal with the case" unless the contrary is proved. The Act does not itself fully delineate civil jurisdiction; s 10 defers that entirely to the Magistrates Court (Civil Proceedings) Act 2004. Criminal jurisdiction is spelled out in s 11(2): hearing and determining simple offences, summarily triable indictable offences, committal to the District or Supreme Court for indictable matters, and any other matter a court of summary jurisdiction may handle. These powers are expressly "subject to" The Criminal Code, the Criminal Procedure Act 2004, the Children’s Court of Western Australia Act 1988 Part 3, and any other conferring statute (s 11(3)).
Part 3 Division 2 confers discrete procedural powers. Section 17 allows a registrar to refuse lodgment of a document that appears frivolous, vexatious or an abuse of process unless a magistrate grants leave; the affected person may apply ex parte for that leave (s 17(3)–(6)). Section 22 authorises the Court to enter land or structures for inspection relevant to its jurisdiction and to delegate that power to a registrar or other person. Section 23 permits correction of accidental slips, omissions, arithmetic errors or misdescriptions on application or on the Court's own motion after notice. Contempt is exhaustively codified in s 15. Subsection (1) captures wilful interruption, misbehaviour, insult, obstruction of persons attending court, refusal to take an oath when required, refusal to give competent evidence, and non-compliance with a lawful direction "in the face of the Court". Subsection (2) extends to non-attendance pursuant to summons or non-production of records (unless that omission itself constitutes a separate offence). Subsection (3) catches non-compliance with non-monetary orders where no other enforcement mechanism exists in another written law. Territorial reach is extended extra-territorially by s 15(4).