Practice Direction 3 of 2026 - Access to Daily Court Lists

This Practice Direction applies to access to daily court lists of matters listed before the Children's Court of Western Australia (Children's Court).

For the purposes of this Practice Direction:

1. Daily Court List means any list or schedule, published, or otherwise made available, by or on behalf of the court, that identifies matters listed before the court on a specified day; and
2. eCourts Criminal Portal and eCourts Portal have the same meaning as in Practice Direction 2 of 2026: Juvenile Criminal Information on the eCourts Criminal Portal.

This Practice Direction is to be read alongside:

1. Practice Direction 1 of 2026: Request for Access to a Court Record; and
2. Practice Direction 2 of 2026: Juvenile Criminal Information on the eCourts Criminal Portal.

This Practice Direction has effect from 10 April 2026.

The content and form of a Daily Court List are determined by the court and may include any particulars the court considers appropriate, having regard to s 51A of the Children's Court of Western Australia Act 1988.

For the purposes of this Practice Direction:

1. De-Identified Civil List means a Daily Court List of civil proceedings that contains the same information as a Complete Civil List except that it does not include the names of the parties.
2. Complete Civil List means a Daily Court List of civil proceedings that includes the names of the parties, the nature of the proceeding, the time, location, and matter number.
3. Limited Criminal List means a Daily Court List of criminal proceedings that contains includes basic identifying, scheduling, and operational information for listed matters.
4. Detailed Criminal List means a Daily Court List of criminal proceedings that contains all information in a Limited Criminal List, in addition to information that is particularly confidential or sensitive in nature.

For the purposes of this Practice Direction, access to a Daily Court List means an ongoing ability to inspect or obtain a copy of the relevant Daily Court List.

Access to a Daily Court List is subject to the policy and procedures set out in this Practice Direction and may be rescinded by the court at any time.

Any person may access the De identified Civil List through the eCourts Portal.

A person described in paragraph 5 may access the Detailed Criminal List through the eCourts Criminal Portal.

Subject to 3.7, a person may access the Complete Civil List in the manner determined by the court, which will ordinarily be by email.

Subject to 3.7, a person may access the Limited Criminal List through the eCourts Criminal Portal.

The court may grant access to the Complete Civil List or the Limited Criminal List to a person who:

1. makes a request (a Daily Court List Request);
2. is considered by the court to be a suitable person, in all the circumstances, to have access to the relevant Daily Court List (a Suitable Person); and
3. satisfies any other requirements imposed by the court.

A Daily Court List Request must be made by completing the 'Request for access to daily court lists' form and submitting it to the registry of the Perth Children's Court.

When completing a Daily Court List Request, the person making the request (the Requestor) must provide:

1. identifying and contact details;
2. an indication of what Daily Court List is sought; and
3. any further information required by the court.

The court will approve or refuse a Daily Court List Request by determining whether the Requestor is a Suitable Person.

In addition to any other factor the court considers relevant, the court will determine whether a person is a Suitable Person by considering whether access to a Daily Court List:

1. is sought for a purpose consistent with the administration of functions under applicable legislation;
2. would give effect to the guiding principles of the applicable legislation; and
3. would assist in the efficient operation of the court.

For the purposes of 4.4(b), the guiding principles of legislation include, but are not limited to:

1. for criminal proceedings, the principles of juvenile justice under the Young Offenders Act 1994; and
2. for civil proceedings, the paramount consideration for performing functions under the Children and Community Services Act 2004, being the best interests of the child.

A person that may seek to make an application under 4.1, includes but is not limited to:

1. a legal practitioner who is acting in a duty lawyer capacity and seeking access for the purpose of duty appearances; and
2. a supporting agency or organisation performing functions ancillary to the administration of the applicable legislation.

Access to the Detailed Criminal List is restricted to a select category of persons (Designated Persons) who:

1. are entitled to access court records pursuant to s 51A(3) of the Children's Court of Western Australia Act 1988; and
2. have demonstrated a need for the detailed information contained in the Detailed Criminal List.

For the purposes of this Practice Direction, Designated Persons include:

1. the Commissioner of Police;
2. the Director of Public Prosecutions for Western Australia;
3. the CEO of the young offenders agency; and
4. with permission from the court, persons authorised by any of the above.

Each Designated Person must maintain a current register of all employees or authorised persons within their organisation who have been approved to access the Detailed Criminal List.

This paragraph adopts the definitions and terms of Practice Direction 2 of 2026: Juvenile Criminal Information on the eCourts Criminal Portal (Practice Direction 2 of 2026).

Subject to the modifications in this paragraph, access to a Daily Court List within the 'Court List' section of the eCourts Criminal Portal requires a person to:

1. be a Registered eCourts User as defined in paragraph 7 of Practice Direction 2 of 2026; and
2. accept and comply with the Department's conditions of access to the eCourts Portal.

In relation to Limited Criminal Lists, 7.3 and 7.4 of Practice Direction 2 of 2026 are to be read with the following modifications:

1. The Department must be satisfied that a person is a Suitable Person before granting access to the Limited Criminal List.
2. For clarity, the Department may be satisfied that a person is a Suitable Person with regard to the Limited Criminal List:
   1. through confirmation from the court following a Daily Court List Request; or
   2. as otherwise directed by the court.

In relation to Detailed Criminal Lists, 7.3 and 7.4 of Practice Direction 2 of 2026 are to be read with the following modifications:

1. The Department must be satisfied that a person is a Designated Person before granting access to the Detailed Criminal List.
2. For clarity, the Department may be satisfied that a person is a Designated Person:
   1. by reference to paragraph 5; or
   2. as otherwise directed by the court.

A person with access to a Daily Court List must not use or disclose information contained in the list except:

1. purposes authorised under applicable legislation; and
2. the lawful use of court records procedures set out in Practice Direction 1 of 2026: Request for Access to a Court Record.

Particular regard must be had to the confidentiality provisions in applicable legislation, including but not limited to:

1. s 35 and s 36 of the Children's Court of Western Australia Act 1988;
2. s 17 of the Young Offenders Act 1994; and
3. s 237 of the Children and Community Services Act 2004.