❓ This Question on Notice concerns the closure of circuit courts in regional Western Australia, seeking details on affected locations, redirected cases, and government-funded accommodation for those impacted. The Attorney General's response confirms temporary suspensions due to police auxiliary officer availability and provides a comprehensive list of affected circuit locations and their designated home courts.
AnsweredQoN 429Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
Court security—Regional and remote courts
429. Hon Neil Thomson to
the parliamentary secretary representing the Attorney
General:
I refer to the—
Hon Stephen Dawson: Honourable member, who is
it to?
Hon Neil Thomson: It is to the Attorney General.
I refer to the
closure of circuit courts across regional WA.
(1) What are the locations of those
circuit courts that will no longer operate but previously operated in the
2025–26 financial year?
(2) How many of the court cases have been
redirected as a result of the closure of circuit courts?
(3) Do those facing court have any access
to government-funded accommodation in the towns they now have to travel to?
(4) If yes, who pays for that?
429. Hon Neil Thomson to
the parliamentary secretary representing the Attorney
General:
I refer to the—
Hon Stephen Dawson: Honourable member, who is
it to?
Hon Neil Thomson: It is to the Attorney General.
I refer to the
closure of circuit courts across regional WA.
(1) What are the locations of those
circuit courts that will no longer operate but previously operated in the
2025–26 financial year?
(2) How many of the court cases have been
redirected as a result of the closure of circuit courts?
(3) Do those facing court have any access
to government-funded accommodation in the towns they now have to travel to?
(4) If yes, who pays for that?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for notice of the question.
(1)–(4) The affected circuit locations and their
designated home courts are set out in a table, which I will get to in a minute.
The suspended circuit locations sit with varying frequencies, sometimes sitting
as infrequently as two times per year. These circuit locations have been
temporarily suspended until 28 August 2026; however, the intention is to resume
normal operations earlier, dependent on police auxiliary officer availability.
District Court circuits to Derby and Esperance have been transferred to Broome
and Kalgoorlie respectively.
The bulk of the answer is in
tabular form and I seek leave to have it incorporated into Hansard .
Leave granted for
the following material to be incorporated.
Table 1: Home Court and Circuit Locations
Home Court to Circuit locations
Circuit location impacted since 1 June 2026
Broome
Bidyadanga
Dampier
Peninsula
*Derby
Fitzroy
Crossing
Looma
Kununurra
Wyndham
Warmun
Kalumburu
Balgo
Halls Creek
South Hedland
Newman
Jigalong
Karratha
N/A
Carnarvon
Tom Price
Exmouth
Wiluna
Meekatharra
Cue
Shark Bay
Geraldton
Mullewa
Three Springs
Kalgoorlie
Warburton
Blackstone
Warakurna
Leonora
Laverton
*Esperance
Northam
*Merredin
Albany
*Katanning
*Narrogin
Bunbury
*Collie
*Manjimup
Harvey
Busselton
Margaret
River
Joondalup
*Moora
*Department of
Justice staffed court location – no resident Magistrate. Registry remains open.
3 – 4. No.
However, the Department of Justice has a Stranding Policy which provides
assistance to persons who become stranded following release from court custody
from a Home Court location.
for notice of the question.
(1)–(4) The affected circuit locations and their
designated home courts are set out in a table, which I will get to in a minute.
The suspended circuit locations sit with varying frequencies, sometimes sitting
as infrequently as two times per year. These circuit locations have been
temporarily suspended until 28 August 2026; however, the intention is to resume
normal operations earlier, dependent on police auxiliary officer availability.
District Court circuits to Derby and Esperance have been transferred to Broome
and Kalgoorlie respectively.
The bulk of the answer is in
tabular form and I seek leave to have it incorporated into Hansard .
Leave granted for
the following material to be incorporated.
Table 1: Home Court and Circuit Locations
Home Court to Circuit locations
Circuit location impacted since 1 June 2026
Broome
Bidyadanga
Dampier
Peninsula
*Derby
Fitzroy
Crossing
Looma
Kununurra
Wyndham
Warmun
Kalumburu
Balgo
Halls Creek
South Hedland
Newman
Jigalong
Karratha
N/A
Carnarvon
Tom Price
Exmouth
Wiluna
Meekatharra
Cue
Shark Bay
Geraldton
Mullewa
Three Springs
Kalgoorlie
Warburton
Blackstone
Warakurna
Leonora
Laverton
*Esperance
Northam
*Merredin
Albany
*Katanning
*Narrogin
Bunbury
*Collie
*Manjimup
Harvey
Busselton
Margaret
River
Joondalup
*Moora
*Department of
Justice staffed court location – no resident Magistrate. Registry remains open.
3 – 4. No.
However, the Department of Justice has a Stranding Policy which provides
assistance to persons who become stranded following release from court custody
from a Home Court location.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.