22 How Cases are Published
It is helpful to know how judgments are published in Australia to help determine the difference between the cases you find when researching.
Which courts produce written decisions?
Not all courts produce written decisions. Generally speaking, most federal courts will produce and publish written decisions. In state court hierarchies, superior courts (Supreme Courts and Courts of Appeal) and intermediate courts (District Courts or County Courts) will also produce and publish written decisions. However, matters heard in the Magistrates or Local Courts will rarely lead to a written decision. Jury trials do not necessarily result in a written decision. However, if an accused pleads guilty, or a jury finds an accused guilty at trial, there will be a sentencing hearing which may be transcribed.
Unreported decisions
Unreported decisions are those handed down by a Judge in the initial instance. Unless they have been suppressed on the grounds of privacy or public interest, they are published online on the website of the presiding court or AustLII.
These decisions are given a medium neutral citation which is a standardised system of citation that was adopted by Australian courts for unreported decisions from 1992 onwards.
See AIJA Guide to uniform production of judgments, section 6 Court Designated (medium neutral) citations
Sentencing remarks
Sentencing remarks are different to case law. A sentence is delivered ex tempore (spoken in court) and will outine:
- the facts of the offending
- defendant’s criminal history
- relevant legislation, e.g. Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld) and Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld)
- relevant personal factors, e.g. attempts to rehabilitate.
Generally, sentencing remarks will only be made available if there is public interest in the matter and some will be anonymised to protect the privacy of the victim and defendant. If available, sentencing remarks can be found on the website of the Court the sentence was heard in (e.g. Supreme Court Library Queensland, select the CaseLaw tab) or AustLII. If they are not available online you may be able to request a copy of the transcript of the hearing from the Registry of the relevant Court.
Reported decisions
An unreported decision may become a reported decision if it:
- raises significant points of law
- introduces a new principle of law
- significantly modifies an existing principle of law
- settles a question of law
- applies an established principle in a new area
- defines or interprets legislation or legal terms in a particularly instructive way.
There are three different types of report series:
- authorised report series (e.g. Commonwealth Law Reports, see Table 5 for a full list)
- generalist unauthorised report series (e.g. Australian Law Reports)
- subject-specific unauthorised report series (e.g. Australian Criminal Reports).
Which version of the judgment should be used?
Important or instructive decisions may be published in an unauthorised and an authorised law report series as well as in their unreported format. Whether citing a case in your assignment or using it in court, it is important to always use the authorised version of the case where possible. The fourth edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation recommends this in Rule 2.2.2 and a number of courts have formalised this preference by issuing practice directions. Reports found in the unauthorised report series and the medium neutral citation are referred to as parallel citations.
Commonwealth v Tasmania
Commonwealth v Tasmania, an important case about the balance of powers between the Commonwealth and the states, exists in unreported format and was reported (published) in the Commonwealth Law Reports, Australian Law Reports, and Australian Law Journal Reports.
| Commonwealth v Tasmania | [1983] HCA 21 | Unreported (medium neutral citation) |
| (1983) 158 CLR 1 | Authorised law report series | |
| (1983) 46 ALR 625 | Unauthorised law report series | |
| (1983) 57 ALJR 450 | Unauthorised law report series |
If citing this case in your assignment or in court you would use the CLR version.
Australia – Current list of Authorised Reports
| Court | Law report abbreviation | Full title |
|---|---|---|
| High Court of Australia | CLR | Commonwealth Law Reports |
| Federal Court of Australia | FCR | Federal Court Reports |
| Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory | ACTLR | Australian Capital Territory Law Reports (2007-onwards) |
| Supreme Court of New South Wales | NSWLR | New South Wales Law Reports (1971-onwards) |
| Supreme Court of the Northern Territory | NTLR | Northern Territory Law Reports (1991-onwards) |
| Supreme Court of Queensland | QR (formerly Qd R) | Queensland Reports (1959-onwards) |
| Supreme Court of South Australia | SASR | South Australian State Reports (1921-onwards) |
| Supreme Court of Tasmania | Tas R | Tasmanian Reports (1979-onwards) |
| Supreme Court of Victoria | VR | Victorian Reports (1957-onwards) |
| Supreme Court of Western Australia | WAR | Western Australian Reports (1960-onwards) |
United Kingdom – Authorised Reports
| Court | Law report abbreviation | Full title |
|---|---|---|
| Supreme Court House of Lords Privy Council |
AC | Law Reports, Appeal Cases |
| High Court (Chancery Division) | Ch | Law Reports, Chancery Division |
| High Court (Family Division) | Fam | Law Reports, Family Division |
| High Court (Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division) | P | Law Reports, Probate |
| High Court (Queen’s Bench Division) | QB | Law Reports, Queen’s Bench |
