Judgments and Orders

What is an order?

Court orders are the way the decisions or judgments of judicial officers are described.

They can include:

• an order made after a hearing by a judicial officer, or
• an order made after parties who have reached their own agreement have applied to a court for consent orders. Consent orders, if they become a formal court order, have the same status as if the order had been made after a hearing by a judicial officer.

When an order is made, each person bound by the order must follow it.

What is a judgment?

A judgment is the decision of the Court in a particular case. Judgments typically include a statement of the facts, an analysis of the relevant law, the application of the law to the facts and the orders made.

Judgments may be given orally or in writing, although the complexity of the matters coming before the Federal Court means that judgments are more usually given in writing.

More information about judgments is available on the Court’s website.

How long does it take to get a decision after the trial?

After a trial has finished, the Court has a policy of trying to give a decision (judgment) within three months. Although this is not always possible, it is the Court’s aim.

Where can I find judgments?

Judgments of the Federal Court are published from 1977 to the present and updated daily on the Court’s website. Judgments are searchable by keyword and in full-text.

You may also find information on an online free-access database of Australian legal information at AustLII.