Full Court Minute Books

About the Registry

Generalstacked_registers

The Registry is responsible for the secure custody and safekeeping of Court records; collecting and accounting for all fees received by the Court; and all aspects of proceedings and appeals.

Registry Services & Support

For Registry services and support please contact us by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Face to face services are no longer provided at the Registry Counter.

Documents for cases should be lodged through the HCA DLS Portal, more information on the DLS Portal is available here: https://www.hcourt.gov.au/digital-lodgment-system/digital-lodgment-system-information

The office hours of the Registry shall be from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm. Documents must be lodged by 4.00 pm Monday to Friday to be filed on that day, any act done after 4.00 pm on a day shall be taken to have been done on the next day on which the Registry is open.

Location

The Principal Registry of the High Court of Australia is located at the seat of the Court in Canberra.  There are offices of the Registry at the capital city of each State and in Darwin.

The Registry services in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Darwin are provided by staff of the Federal Court of Australia.  Registry services in Hobart are provided by the Supreme Court of Tasmania.

A complete list of the offices and their locations is available at the Offices of the Registry page.

Hours

The office hours of the Registry shall be from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm. Documents must be lodged by 4.00 pm Monday to Friday to be filed on that day, any act done after 4.00 pm on a day shall be taken to have been done on the next day on which the Registry is open.

Each office of the Registry shall be open during office hours on each day except:

  • Saturdays and Sundays;
  • any day observed as a holiday by the Australian Public Service or observed as a public holiday in the State or Territory of that office;
  • the days between Christmas Day and New Years Day inclusive; and
  • any day on which the building in which the office of the Registry is located is closed to the public.

Holiday Closure 2023-2024

The High Court Registry will be closed from 4.00pm on Friday, 22 December 2023 and will re-open on Tuesday, 2 January 2024.

Any party seeking to file a document due to be filed between 23 December 2023 and 1 January 2024 has an automatic extension of time under the High Court Rules 2004 (Rule 4.01.5) until 4:00pm on Tuesday, 2 January 2024 to file the document. Any documents lodged between 23 December 2023 and 1 January 2024 will be reviewed on 2 January 2024.

All inquiries for the High Court will be considered when the Registry re-opens on Tuesday, 2 January 2024.  If a matter is of extreme urgency, such as imminent deportation, you may telephone 02 9230 8000.

Digital Lodgment System Portal

In 2020 the High Court of Australia moved from a paper-based Court to one that provides for the electronic lodgment of Court documents.

The Digital Lodgment System Portal (DLS Portal) is an external facing portal that allows legal firms, legal practitioners and self-represented litigants to register, file documents, receive notifications and track the progress of their cases around the clock.

The system provides for mandatory electronic lodgment of all documents filed in any case commenced after 1 January 2020.  Register with a simple 3 step process of email verification, registration and approval by the Registry dls.hcourt.gov.au.