Richlands Magistrates Court: what to expect

Why your matter ended up at Richlands

Richlands is a division of the Brisbane Magistrates Courts District rather than a district of its own. Schedule 1 of the Justices Regulation 2014 (Qld) defines the Richlands division as the Calamvale and Forest Lake electoral wards of the City of Brisbane, plus the part of Jamboree not in the Central division and the part of Moorooka not in the Holland Park division.

In practice, charges laid around Inala, Richlands, Forest Lake, Durack, Doolandella, Ellen Grove, Darra, Wacol, Calamvale, Algester, Sunnybank Hills and Parkinson are ordinarily listed here.

The distinction between a division and a district is technical, but it can matter. Because Richlands is part of the Brisbane district, a matter can properly move between places for holding courts within that district without any question of jurisdiction arising.

The Transport and Main Roads counter, and licence work

The building houses a Transport and Main Roads function alongside the court registry, which is why Queensland Courts prints a warning next to the phone number telling general transport callers to ring 13 23 80 instead. Expect a shared front counter, and expect a queue of people who are there to renew a registration rather than to face a magistrate.

The co-location is reflected in the court's work. The published calendar lists section 87 TORUM applications, which are restricted work licence applications, and section 131 applications for removal of a disqualification, in the same 9:00am list as arrests, remands, sentences and committals. Transport Department complaints and special hardship order applications sit in the second courtroom.

If you are making a work licence application, that volume is worth knowing about. This is a court that hears them routinely, which means the material is expected to be in proper form. A section 87 application turns on an affidavit and on eligibility that is determined by statute, not by how much you need to drive. Getting the eligibility question wrong is the most common reason these fail, and you generally only get one attempt.

Reading the list at Richlands

The daily law list is published on the Queensland Courts website and updated at 6:45am and again at 8:45am. Because Richlands runs three courtrooms, the courtroom number on the list matters as much as the time.

The published 2026 arrangements put arrests, remands, sentences, committals and the section 87 and section 131 applications in Court 1 at 9:00am, along with breaches of community based orders and youth justice matters. Court 2 at 9:00am takes hearings and long sentences, domestic violence applications, child protection, the Murri Court, the transport and special hardship list, the Commonwealth callover and the general callover. Court 3 takes enforcement hearings at 9:30am and QCAT sittings at 9:00am.

If your name appears more than once, or you cannot tell which room you are in, ask at the counter before 9:00am rather than guessing and sitting in the wrong courtroom for an hour.

What actually happens at a mention

A first mention is short and administrative. The magistrate establishes the charge, whether you have a lawyer, whether you have the police material, and what you intend to do.

You are not required to plead on the first date and in most cases should not. The QP9 is the police summary of what they allege, and it is a different document from the charge on your notice to appear. Read it before you decide anything.

• Note the courtroom, not just the time. Three rooms run here.
• Arrive by 8:15am and allow for the shared front counter.
• Bring the notice to appear and any correspondence.
• Ask the prosecutor for your QP9, or have the duty lawyer get it.
• If you are here for a work licence, bring the affidavit material, and do not expect to file it at the bar table.

Clothes, phones and conduct

Neat and covered. No singlets, thongs, hats or sunglasses inside. Cover offensive slogans.

Phones off or silent. No recording of any kind, no photographs of the list or the courtroom, and nothing about the matter online while it is running. Recording proceedings without permission is an offence.

Address the magistrate as Your Honour. Stand when you speak. Bow your head slightly entering and leaving the courtroom.

The duty lawyer at Richlands

Legal Aid Queensland runs a free duty lawyer service at Richlands covering the adult court and the Childrens Court. Ask at the counter as soon as you arrive.

General legal information is on 1300 65 11 88. Childrens Court matters go to Youth Legal Aid on 1800 527 527.

Duty lawyers generally will not take traffic matters, and that is the point to sit with at this particular court. Richlands hears a great deal of licence work, and a work licence application is exactly the kind of matter the duty lawyer service is not resourced to run. If your licence is what is at stake, you need someone acting for you before the date, not a ten minute conversation on the morning.

If you are late or cannot get there

Ring the registry on (07) 3565 4000. A matter can be stood down to later in the morning if the court knows why you are not there.

Failing to appear is a separate problem from the charge that brought you. It can produce a warrant, it affects bail, and it affects how a magistrate sees you later.

If you have a court date at Richlands and have not had advice, the first fifteen minutes by phone with us cost nothing. Call 07 5522 5777.