Going to court

The first court date, is sometimes called a ‘mention.’

The Court will usually want to know if you are pleading guilty or not guilty. When you get to court you should find out what courtroom you are in by:

• looking for your name on a list on a noticeboard, or
• asking someone who works at the court.
  

Once you are in the courtroom, you should wait until your name is called. The magistrate or registrar might work their way through the list of cases, or they might first deal with requests for adjournments or with defendants who have lawyers.

Once your name is called, you will usually be asked to stand next to the bar table. The bar table is where the lawyers and prosecutor sit.

For information about how to find your courtroom, you should watch the video below.

Finding your courtroom

This video is available with the audio​​​ description.​

You should try to get to the court at least half an hour before the time in your Court Attendance Notice (CAN). You may be at the court for a few hours, and sometimes for most of the day. You should make arrangements with your work or childcare if necessary.

The magistrate or registrar may close the courtroom for morning tea (usually around 11:30am) and for lunch (usually from 1:00pm to 2:00pm). You will have to leave the courtroom during these breaks. You can check with the court officer or the registry what time the courtroom will reopen.

On the first court date you will have to tell the registrar or magistrate your plea. 

Before you go to court you should decide whether you are entering a plea of guilty or not guilty.  

Before you decide to plead guilty or not guilty, you should get legal advice.

For more information about deciding to plead guilty or not guilty, see Responding to a charge. 

If you are not ready to have your case heard at court, you can ask the magistrate to move it to another day. This is called an 'adjournment'.

Examples of why you may not be ready are:

• you need time to talk to a lawyer to help you decide how to plead
• you need time to get a lawyer to represent you
  
• you have written to the police to ask them to drop the charges or change the police facts sheet (making representations to police) and you are waiting for them to reply
  
• you are pleading guilty and you need time to prepare for the sentence
  
• you are pleading guilty and you need time to go to an intervention program or counselling. 
  

Tell the magistrate how long you need and why. For example, if you know that you have an appointment to see a lawyer in two weeks you can tell the magistrate that you need at least two weeks to give you time to see the lawyer.

You can ask the magistrate to refer you to an intervention program before you enter a plea. Your hearing date will be adjourned until after you have completed the program. For more information about intervention programs, see Preparing for court if you are pleading guilty.

If you think you won't be able to make it to court you can:

• ask for an adjournment
  
• ask for the court to move your case to another court (usually only if you are pleading guilty)
  
• send a Written Notice of Pleading.
  

If you are on bail you must attend court on the day written on the CAN. If you do not attend court you could be committing an offence and a warrant may be issued for your arrest.

If you don't go to court, the magistrate can make a decision without you being there. If you missed your court date you should call the court and find out what happened. If you are on bail and you don’t go to court, you may be committing an offence. 

For more information, see If you miss court, in After court.

It is best to speak to Legal Aid before your court date. If there is no available appointment before your court date, you might be able to speak to the duty lawyer at court on the day. If you can’t speak to a duty lawyer at court, you can ask the court for an adjournment to legal advice. Call 1300 888 529 to make an appointment.