District Court's Jurisdiction Increased

On 25 November 2022, the District Court Amendment Act 2022 No72 was assented to.

Changes were made (effecting sections 4 and 44 of the District Court Act 1973 (NSW)) which amongst other things, increased the monetary limit from $750,000 (for matters that would normally fall under the Common Law Division of the Supreme Court of NSW) to $1,250,000. Lawyers need to be aware of this amendment, as starting a claim in the Supreme Court's Common Law Division could have costly repercussions if the correct court should have actually been the District Court under the updated legislation.

In a nutshell, if you've got a matter where the damages are expected to be $1,250,000 or less and it's a "common law" claim, it should be filed and run in the District Court, not the Supreme Court.

James Michos

13 March 2023