Case law

Supreme Court

Supreme Court of Western Australia sentencing remarks are available on the Supreme Court website for 28 days after the sentence decision.

Interested Parties may inspect the copy retained by the Law Library at the David Malcolm Justice Centre after obtaining permission of the Principal Registrar. For more information see the Supreme Court of Western Australia's Consolidated Practice Directions 2009 (updated 6 May 2024) 5.7.

Legal practitioners have access to more sentencing remarks through a specific database that is not accessible by students. The Supreme Court also offers a subscription service, providing automatic notification of sentencing remarks.

District Court

The District Court does not routinely publish the reasons given by Judges in sentencing offenders. However, you can search the District Court of Western Australia's Decisions and Publications database.

The Court makes a transcript of the reasons given by a Judge in sentencing each offender (the offender is given a copy). Members of the public may request a copy of a sentencing transcript by written application to the Principal Registrar setting out the reasons why they want a copy. If the sentencing judge determines that the reasons for sentencing to be of particular significance or public interest they will be published on the website once edited and validated by the judge. The sentencing remarks are edited to prevent identification of victims.

For more information, see: