Visitors

Accessibility

The Court is committed to making our building and events accessible to all visitors. A range of services are available to facilitate your visit to the building.

Public entry into the building is through the Level 2 forecourt entrance, situated at the top of the ceremonial ramp from King Edward Terrace, and between the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery of Australia. The accessibility entrance is located at the Ground Level of the building, via Parkes Place East. Accessible drop-off and pick-up spots are located on Parkes Place East. Please ring the accessibility bell for assistance. All visitors are required to go through security screening.

Public areas of the building are accessible to all visitors. Wheelchair and motorised scooter users are required to access the five public levels via the lifts.

Accessibility toilets are located on Level 1, past the Australian Constitution Centre exhibition.

Trained assistance animals are welcomed when accompanied by their handler.

Our friendly Court Guide team is available to answer any of your pre-visit questions, please email bookings@hcourt.gov.au or call 02 6270 6998.

Court Guides

Visitors are welcome to visit the building at any time during ordinary opening hours. A Court Guide is available in each open courtroom to provide information about the history, role and function of the High Court, the art and architecture of the building and interesting facts and anecdotes along the way. 

Public Tours

General visitors and groups of less than 10 people are welcome to self-guide throughout the building, with Court Guides on hand around the building

A free public tour for social groups of more than 10 participants is available at 10:45am but must be booked.

Book your free public tour at Book Canberra Excursions.

If you have any queries, or require assistance, please contact the bookings coordinator by emailing bookings@hcourt.gov.au or phone (02) 6270 6998.

Cloaking of Certain Items

Articles to be cloaked at building entrances include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. bags, backpacks, cases, parcels or other containers that are longer than 30cm on any one side, helmets, large coats or any other item that a Security Officer determines as requiring to be cloaked.
2. umbrellas, camera tripods, aerosol containers, foodstuffs (including drinks) or any other article (at the discretion of a Security Officer) capable of being used to cause damage to, or interfere with, the operation of the Court.

The cloaking facilities at the Level 2 Forecourt entrances are available for storing these items.

Any electronic devices (e.g. tablet, laptop, camera, recording device etc.) that have not been approved for use within the Court (ie. for practitioners only) are required to be cloaked at the entry to a sitting court.

Court Etiquette

All oral arguments in the High Court are open to the public, subject to seating being available. To contain the flow of people in and out of the courtrooms, and as a mark of respect to the Court, visitors are requested to remain in the courtroom for at least 10 minutes.

Visitors should be aware that some cases attract large crowds or a large group of people might want to enter a courtroom in session at the same time. Sometimes there are unavoidable delays associated with processing and seating large numbers of visitors and your cooperation and patience are appreciated. Court Guides will make every effort to explain the protocol of the Court and inform you as soon as possible whether you can expect to secure a seat in the courtroom.

The High Court building closes to the public each day at 4.30pm, but if a particular courtroom is still in session after that time you have a right of access to that courtroom – again providing there is seating available.

When you visit the High Court we request your cooperation in respecting our restrictions and requirements for visitors. Court Guides are stationed around the Public Hall and will advise you of courtroom protocol.

It is customary, as a matter of respect to the Court when it is in session, that you bow on entry into the courtroom and again on leaving. Please remain silent while inside the courtroom and in the area immediately outside its entrance. We do not recommend bringing infants or very young children into the courtroom while the Court is in session.

We ask that you do not take any of the following items into the courtrooms when the Court is in session: cameras, laptops, tablets, radios, pagers, tape players, tape recorders or any other electronic equipment. These items are to be cloaked at the Security desk, located inside the main entry (Level 2). Mobile phones may be kept on your person but must be switched off for the entire duration of your time inside a sitting court. Newspapers, and other documents that may cause a disruptive rustling, are also not allowed in the courtrooms.

Legal practitioners involved in the hearing and others involved in instructing a party are permitted to use electronic equipment at the instructing solicitors’ tables, at the bar table, and in the body of the Court, as directed by the Court Guides provided the equipment is silent. 

Recording or transmitting of audio or video of proceedings without prior approval is strictly prohibited under the Court Security Act 2013.

Inappropriate clothing may not be worn. You should be adequately and neatly dressed, including footwear. Large bags, backpacks and the like are to be cloaked at the Security desk.

Smoking is prohibited throughout the building. Food and drink may only be consumed outside the building, except at functions.

Photographs

The High Court permits members of the public to take photographs inside the Court building and courtrooms, and outside the building in the Court precinct, during non-sitting periods and for private purposes only.

A person shall not use a camera for commercial purposes within the building without the permission of the Chief Executive or a person authorised by the Chief Executive. If photographs are taken in public areas of the Court and precinct for commercial purposes, permission may be granted on the basis that the Court receives an unlimited irrevocable and worldwide licence to reproduce the images for the Court's purposes.

Photographs may not be taken in any sitting courtroom without the permission of the Justices of the Court. Permission may be granted on a case-by-case basis in exceptional circumstances, such as when a Justice retires and another is sworn in at a ceremonial sitting.

Audio and film recording – sitting courtrooms

Laptops, tablets, cameras, radios, pagers, tape players, tape recorders and any other electronic equipment are required to be cloaked at the Security desk, and a receipt is given. No audio recordings of proceedings are permitted by anyone other than Court staff. Transcripts of hearings are available within a day or two of most hearings, and where citations are referred to, the relevant extracts are included in the transcript.

On rare occasions, the Court permits film crews to film the commencement of a sitting, i.e. the arrival of the Justices and them sitting at the bench, the Court staff positioned in the Court, and the barristers and solicitors at their tables in the courtroom. Permission may be granted on condition that the footage is shared with other television networks and a copy given to the Court with an unlimited irrevocable worldwide licence to use the footage.

Audio and film recording - public areas of the Court and precinct other than sitting courtrooms

The High Court considers request for commercial and private filming inside the public areas of the Court on a case-by-case basis. No filming for commercial purposes may occur within the building without the permission of the Chief Executive or a person authorised by the Chief Executive.

The Court permits filming and photography in the precinct outside the building provided the footage or images are not intended to be used for extremist or unlawful purposes.

Audio and film recording – private areas of the Court building

It is up to individual Justices as to whether filming may occur in their chambers.

Filming is not permitted in other private areas of the Court for security reasons.