A decision made by the Magistrate’s court under the Restraining Orders Act 1997 (WA) may be the subject of an appeal to the District Court. The decisions that can be appealed from are:

• A decision dismissing a telephone application or an application initially heard in the absence of the respondent

• A final decision.

The rules governing these appeals are the same as those governing appeals from decisions of the Magistrates Court in its civil jurisdiction.

An Appeal against the decision of a Magistrate in civil proceedings must be commenced within 21 days of that decision.

The appeal involves a rehearing of the original case on the material and evidence that were before the Magistrate. The Judge may allow further evidence to be filed, but only in exceptional circumstances and with the leave of the Court. The Judge can make any order that the Magistrate could have made.

There will be an initial directions hearing before a Registrar of the District Court. Should the Appeal not be dismissed by the Registrar and when it is ready for the final hearing, it will be listed before a Judge.

It will be the Judge's role to decide the application afresh based on all the evidence presented to the Magistrate, and any other evidence or information the Judge may decide to receive.

An appeal is commenced by the appellant filing a serving an appeal notice. The relevant forms are set out at the end of this webpage. The Court has produced a Procedure Guide to assist parties to an appeal.

If you do appeal after 21 days, you must apply to the court to seek leave to appeal out of time by circling yes for “Is an Extension of Time Required?” on the Form 6 and file and serve an affidavit in support. The affidavit should be filed with the appeal papers.

There is a filing/hearing fee for an individual to commence the appeal, these fees are set out in the District Court's Fee Chart - Item 5.

The law governing appeals from Magistrates Court decisions to the District Court is found in Restraining Orders Act 1997 (WA) section 64, Magistrates Court (Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 (WA) Part 7, District Court Rules 2005 (WA) Part 6.