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 are expected to be familiar with their content and act according to the guidance, unless directed otherwise.
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.
| Code | Division |
| 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 The body of the practice note will contain its new operative date and a history of amendments and a copy of the superseded version will be retained in the Practice Notes Archive.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 share matters of a more temporal nature, including:
- advising judges responsible for specialist lists for the year
- reminders to practitioners about certain rules and practices if it appears there is confusion or non-compliance
- 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 set out the divisional structure of the Trial Division of the Court, the specialist Lists within the Trial Division and the allocation of matters within that… | General | SC Gen 2 Structure of the Trial Division (docx 58.03KB) SC Gen 2 Structure of the Trial Division (pdf 208.47KB) | |
| 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 52.82KB) SC GEN 13 Examinations De Bene Esse (pdf 220.02KB) | |
| The purpose of this Practice Note is to set out the procedure for bringing an application before the Supreme Court to enforce a foreign judgment under common law principles. Some guidance is also… | General | SC GEN 15 - Enforcement of foreign judgments (docx 56.07KB) SC GEN 15 - Enforcement of foreign judgments (pdf 243.96KB) | |
| This Practice Note replaces the Notice to the Profession Applications in Associate Judges’ Practice Court (Court 2). | Practice Court (Common Law) | SC Gen 22 Associate Judges' Applications List Practice Note (docx 78.12KB) SC Gen 22 Associate Judges' Applications List Practice Note (pdf 297.65KB) AJAL application form (pdf) (pdf 122.44KB) AJAL application form (Word) (doc 211.50KB) | |
| The purpose of this Practice Note is to set out the requirements in relation to the citation of authorities and legislation and the provision of those to the Court and other parties. | General | SC Gen 3 - Citation of authorities and legislation (docx 54.59KB) SC Gen 3 - Citation of authorities and legislation (pdf 236.27KB) | |
| The purpose of this Practice Note is to set out the procedures regarding notifications under the Open Courts Act 2013. This revised Practice Note revises and replaces the Practice Note issued on 30… | General | Practice Note SC Gen 9 Notifications under the Open Courts Act (docx 49.79KB) Practice Note SC Gen 9 Notifications under the Open Courts Act (pdf 233.10KB) | |
| Notice to the Profession on changes to the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2025 and Practice Note SC GEN 11 Costs Court. | Costs Court | Notice to the Profession - Legal Costs and GST (docx 59.52KB) Notice to the Profession - Legal Costs and GST (pdf 151.87KB) | |
Notice to the Profession - Commercial Court - schemes of arrangement This Notice to the Profession should be read in conjunction with Practice Note SC CC 9 Schemes of arrangement. |
Commercial Court | Notice to the Profession - Commercial Court - Schemes of Arrangement (pdf 627.92KB) | |
| Commercial Court | SC CC 1 Commercial Court (docx 81.66KB) SC CC 1 Commercial Court (pdf 512.04KB) | ||
Notice to the Profession — Commercial Court Short/Expedited cases list The main purpose of this Notice to the Profession is to provide information about a new list for the hearing and determination of urgent matters and shorter trials. |
Commercial Court | Notice to the Profession — Commercial Court Short/Expedited cases list (docx 197.66KB) Notice to the Profession — Commercial Court Short/Expedited cases list (pdf 427.25KB) |