Incoming work

In the reporting year, 4,469 cases were commenced in, or transferred to, the Court’s original jurisdiction. See Table A5.1 on page 130.

Matters transferred to and from the court

Matters may be remitted or transferred to the Court under:

• Judiciary Act 1903, s 44
• Cross-vesting Scheme Acts
• Corporations Act 2001, and
• Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999.

During the reporting year, 171 matters were remitted or transferred to the Court:

• 15 from the High Court
• 31 from the Federal Circuit Court
• 40 from the Supreme Courts, and
• 85 from other courts.

Matters may be transferred from the Court under:

• Federal Court of Australia Act 1976
• Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act 1987
• Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977
• Bankruptcy Act 1966
• Corporations Act 2001, and
• Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975.

During 2019–20, no matters were transferred from the Court.

Matters completed

Figure A5.2 in Appendix 5: Workload statistics shows a comparison of the number of matters commenced in the Court’s original jurisdiction and the number completed. The number of matters completed during the reporting year was 4,871.

Current matters

The total number of current matters in the Court’s original jurisdiction at the end of the reporting year was 3,425 (see Table A5.1 in Appendix 5: Workload statistics).

Age of pending workload

The comparative age of matters pending in the Court’s original jurisdiction (against all major causes of action, other than native title matters) at 30 June 2020 is set out in Table 3.1.

Native title matters are not included in Table 3.1 because of their complexity, the role of the National Native Title Tribunal and the need to acknowledge regional priorities.

The number of native title matters over 18 months old increased slightly compared with figures recorded in the 2018–19 annual report. The number of native title matters between 12–18 months and 18–24 months old also increased. Further information about the Court’s native title workload can be found in The Court's native title jurisdiction.

The Court will continue to focus on reducing its pending caseload and the number of matters over 18 months old. A collection of graphs and statistics concerning the workload of the Court is contained in Appendix 5: Workload statistics.