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Supreme Court of Victoria

The Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court in the state. The Chief Justice presides over the court, which is divided into two divisions: the Court of Appeal and the Trial Division.

Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal determines appeals against decisions of single judges of the Supreme and County Courts in both civil and criminal jurisdictions. It also hears appeals from proceedings heard before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and other tribunals.

The organisational structure of the Court of Appeal is:

• Chief Justice
• President
• Court of Appeal Judges
• Associate Judges.

Trial Division

The Trial Division is divided into three divisions: the Commercial and Equity Division, Common Law Division and Criminal Division. Any proceedings listed for hearing in the court are allocated into one of these divisions. Each has a 'Head of Division', a judge who manages the work of the division in addition to their judicial duties.

In addition to the three divisions, the Practice Court hears interlocutory applications, relevant to all divisions, which are not within the jurisdiction of an Associate Judge. Associate Judges are members of the court who carry out judicial functions, generally in the Civil jurisdiction of the court. The Practice Court also hears and determines urgent injunction applications.

The organisational structure of the Trial Division is:

• Chief Justice
• Trial Division Judges
• Associate Judges.

Administration

The court's primary administration, such as issuing writs and maintaining files and registers, is overseen by the Prothonotary (Principal Registrar of the Supreme Court), while the Registrar of Probates is responsible for grants of probate applications and letters of administration.

Locations

The Supreme Court has locations in Melbourne and in eleven regional areas of Victoria. Supreme Court locations in Melbourne include:

• 210 William Street (Main Building, Courtrooms and Administration)
• 436 Lonsdale Street (Courtrooms and Court of Appeal Registry)
• 469 La Trobe Street (Funds in Court Office).

The regional Supreme Court locations include:

• Ballarat
• Bendigo
• Geelong
• Hamilton
• Horsham
• Mildura
• Sale
• Shepparton
• Wangaratta
• Warrnambool
• Wodonga.

Further information on the Supreme Court, including court locations, court processes and court forms, is available on the Supreme Court website (link available in the menu on the right).