Role of magistrates has changed significantly in recent decades: state attorney general
The New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice has highlighted that the change of the title of magistrates to judges in the state’s Local Court, pursuant to amending legislation introduced last year, has recently come into effect.
“Judicial officers in the Local Court do the same things as their counterparts in other courts in NSW,” said Michael Daley, NSW attorney general, in a media release. “Not only is there no reason not to make this change; it is absolutely deserved.”
The NSW department noted that the title change in the Local Court does not affect its judicial officers’ current powers, functions, or protections. The state department explained that this shift seeks to acknowledge the nature, volume, and importance of the Local Court’s work.
The Local Court, Australia’s busiest court jurisdiction, hears increasingly complex and numerous cases every year, with matters initiated rising by a third over the past decade and almost half a million commenced in 2024.
The NSW Local Court has joined the Northern Territory’s Local Court and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, which have likewise shifted the magistrate title to judge.
According to the NSW department, the Local Court has required its judicial officers to hold legal qualifications for over 70 years.
“The role of magistrates has changed significantly in recent decades, but their title hasn’t kept pace with the volume and [complexity] of matters they hear,” Daley said in the state department’s media release. “They perform a judicial role, and their title should reflect that.”
The NSW department noted that the historical title of magistrate came from a time when judicial officers appointed from the public service sat in the Court of Petty Sessions.
In November 2024, the NSW department shared the state government’s plans to designate the NSW Local Court magistrates as judges under changes to the Local Court Act 2007.
In September 2025, the NSW government introduced legislation amending the Local Court Act to change the titles of certain judicial officers, including the chief magistrate, deputy chief magistrate, children’s magistrate, chief industrial magistrate, industrial magistrate and acting magistrate.
“This important change is not just about a name,” Daley said in the state department’s media release from that time. “It’s about ensuring the skill and contributions of judicial officers in the Local Court are properly recognised.”
