Practice Notes provide information about particular aspects of the Court's practice, procedure and organisation. They sit alongside the Rules of Court to provide guidance in relation to the conduct of proceedings. Lawyers with the conduct of proceedings are expected to be familiar with their content and act in accordance with that guidance unless directed otherwise.
From 30 January 2017 the Court introduces a new system of publishing and organising its Practice Notes to make them easier to locate and navigate and ensure the information provided is up to date.
Each Practice Note is designated with the letter "SC" followed by an abbreviation denoting the Division of the Court to which it applies or the General designation followed by a number.
| SC CA | Court of Appeal |
| SC CC | Commercial Court |
| SC CL | Common Law Division |
| SC CR | Criminal Division |
| SC GEN | General |
Where changes are made to a Practice Note, it will retain its designation. The body of the Practice Note will contain its new operative date and a history of amendments and a copy of the superseded version will be retained in the Practice Notes Archive.
Notices to the Profession provide information to practitioners about matters of a more temporal nature such as advising which judges are responsible for which specialist lists for the year; reminders to the profession about certain rules and practices if it appears there is confusion or non-compliance and notices from the Prothonotary or a Registrar about a matter of registry practice.
| Practice note | Division | Date of publication | Documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| The purpose of this Practice Note is to confirm and clarify the circumstances in which an ‘Entry to List fee’ is payable in the Commercial Court. This Practice Note was reissued on 21 December 2017… | Commercial Court | SC CC 7 Imposition of fees (First revision) (docx 53.01KB) SC CC 7 Imposition of fees (First revision) (pdf 156.32KB) | |
Proceedings in the Commercial Court Taxation List (First revision) As from the date of this Notice, Victorian Taxation Appeals are to be initiated in the Commercial Court Taxation List. Commencing 2 January 2018, all Taxation List proceedings are to be filed in… |
Notice to the Profession | Proceedings in the Commercial Court Taxation List (First revision) (docx 70.70KB) Proceedings in the Commercial Court Taxation List (First revision) (pdf 199.43KB) | |
| This Practice Note was issued on 30 March 2017 and will apply to sentencing hearings in the Supreme Court and the County Court commenced on or after 1 July 2017, but only to expert evidence which… | Criminal Division | SC CR 7 Expert reports on mental functioning of offenders (docx 74.03KB) SC CR 7 Expert reports on mental functioning of offenders (pdf 235.90KB) | |
| The purpose of this Practice Note is to set out the fees chargeable by examiners for the conduct of examinations de bene esse. | General | SC GEN 13 Examinations De Bene Esse (docx 75.50KB) SC GEN 13 Examinations De Bene Esse (pdf 135.66KB) | |
| The Supreme Court (Chapter I Email Service Amendment) Rules 2017 SR No 32/2017 will come into effect from 1 August 2017. The amending Rules can be accessed here. The amendments require parties in… | Notice to the Profession | Service by Email (docx 65.36KB) Service by Email (pdf 23.19KB) | |
| From 1 June 2017 the Court of Appeal will commence a six month pilot of making audio-visual recordings of its criminal hearings publicly available through the Supreme Court of Victoria’s website.… | Notice to the Profession | Pilot streaming of proceedings (pdf 246.15KB) | |
Double sided printing of court books and books of authorities This Notice sets out the practice to be followed in the Supreme Court of Victoria (including the Court of Appeal) in respect of the form in which court books and books of authorities are to be… |
Notice to the Profession | Double sided printing of court books and books of authorities (pdf 20.83KB) Double sided printing of court books and books of authorities (docx 64.59KB) | |
| The purpose of this Practice Note is to describe the procedures to be followed in relation to applications listed in paragraph 4.1 of this Note, or of a similar nature, or are related to an… | Criminal Division | SC CR 6 Applications in the Criminal Division (docx 52.60KB) SC CR 6 Applications in the Criminal Division (pdf 138.99KB) | |
| The purpose of this Practice Note is to describe the procedures to be followed in applications and reviews heard under the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997. Applications… | Criminal Division | SC CR 5 Crimes Mental Impairment (pdf 231.03KB) SC CR 5 Crimes Mental Impairment (docx 57.31KB) | |
| The purpose of this Practice Note is to provide guidance on the operation of the Practice Court (Common Law). The Practice Court (Common Law) hears certain applications in proceedings in, or which… | Common Law Division | SC CL 10 Practice Court (Common Law) (doc 56.53KB) SC CL 10 Practice Court (Common Law) (pdf 158.42KB) |