Summary
Key findings
In 2024/25 the NSW Criminal Courts finalised 151,113 court appearances, an increase of 7.4% compared to 2023/24.
Local Court
- Local Court finalisations rose 7.7%, up 10,168 matters to 141,616 in 2024/25 .
- Domestic violence-related finalisations increased 12.1%, now accounting for 27.1% of Local Court finalisations (up from 26.0% in 2023/24).
- Median time for defended hearings was 263 days, 16 days shorter than 2023/24 but 65 days longer than 2018/19.
District Court
- District Court finalisations in 2024/25 remained stable at 3,261, unchanged from the previous year
- Sentence matters decreased slightly by 33 cases ( down 1.4%), from 2,364 to 2,331, while trial finalisations were consistent.
- Median time for proceeded trials was 826 days, similar to last year but 96 days longer than 2018/19.
Children’s Court
- Finalisations increased by 5.4% (up 318 cases) from 5,840 in 2023/24 to 6,158 in 2024/25.
Custodial Penalties
- The proportion of defendants with a proven outcome receiving a custodial penalty rose from 9.1% to 10.0%.
- The number of proven defendants receiving custodial penalties increased by 16.8%, from 11,157 in 2023/24 to 13,035 in 2024/25.