Appeals from the Local Court to the District Court
Your right to appeal a Local Court conviction or sentence, the 28-day limit, what a rehearing involves, the risk that the sentence goes up, and the different remedy if you were sentenced in your absence.
Anyone convicted or sentenced in the Local Court can appeal to the District Court as of right, by filing a notice within 28 days. The appeal is a rehearing: a District Court Judge decides the matter again, on the same facts plus anything new you tender, and can impose a lighter sentence, the same sentence, or a heavier one. If you were convicted because you did not attend, the remedy is an annulment application in the Local Court, not an appeal.
- Count 28 days from the date of sentence and write it down; file inside it even if you are still decidingSection 2 of this guide
- Ask yourself what has changed since the Local Court that the District Court would see differentlySection 6 of this guide
- If you were sentenced in your absence, go to the Local Court registry about an annulment, not an appealSection 5 of this guide
A sentence appeal can end with a heavier sentence. Before you file, have someone who does this for a living tell you the realistic prospects. This is the one step in the process where that assessment is cheap relative to the risk.
| Right to appeal | As of right, against conviction, sentence, or both |
| Time limit | 28 days from conviction or sentence; leave required after that, up to three months |
| Nature | Rehearing by a District Court Judge |
| Risk | Sentence can be increased; the court must warn you first |
| Sentenced in absence | Annulment application, Local Court, within two years |
| Fee | Filing fee payable; waiver available on hardship |
1The right to appeal
Start here
A person convicted or sentenced by the Local Court may appeal to the District Court against the conviction, the sentence, or both. No permission is needed if the appeal is filed within 28 days. The prosecution also has a right of appeal against sentence, which is rarely exercised on minor matters but exists.
The appeal is started by filing a notice of appeal at the Local Court registry where the matter was decided. A filing fee is payable, and the registry can waive it on hardship grounds. The Local Court sends the file to the District Court, which lists the appeal, usually within two to three months at metropolitan registries.
Legal basis: Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW) ss 11, 12; Criminal Procedure Regulation 2017 (NSW) (fees). This is a summary for general understanding. The full provisions are more detailed and may not apply in all circumstances.
2The time limit
28 days
The notice of appeal must be filed within 28 days after the conviction or sentence. After 28 days, and up to three months, you can apply for leave to appeal, and you must explain the delay. After three months there is no appeal at all. The limit is applied strictly, and the registry cannot extend it for you.
If you are considering an appeal, file inside the 28 days and decide afterwards whether to proceed. An appeal can be withdrawn at any time before the hearing, and withdrawing costs nothing but the filing fee. Missing the deadline costs the right.
Legal basis: Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW) s 13. This is a summary for general understanding. The full provision is more detailed and may not apply in all circumstances.
3What a District Court appeal involves
Rehearing
An appeal against sentence is a rehearing on the material before the Local Court plus anything new. The District Court Judge is not asking whether the Local Court made an error. They are deciding the sentence afresh, applying the same law, on the evidence and submissions before them. You can tender updated references, evidence of a program completed since, and anything else that has changed. The prosecution tenders the facts and your record, and the Judge hears submissions from both sides.
An appeal against conviction is a rehearing on the transcript of the Local Court hearing. Witnesses do not usually give evidence again; the District Court reads what they said and the Judge decides whether the conviction was correct. Fresh evidence can be led only with leave and only where it could not reasonably have been produced at the hearing.
An appeal hearing on a sentence for a minor matter takes twenty minutes to an hour. It is a formal proceeding in a higher court, and the etiquette in the guide on your court day applies with the volume turned up.
Legal basis: Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW) ss 17, 18, 19. This is a summary for general understanding. The full provisions are more detailed and may not apply in all circumstances.
4The risk
It can go up
On a sentence appeal the District Court can confirm the sentence, reduce it, or increase it. Before increasing it the Judge must warn you, and you are then entitled to withdraw the appeal and keep the original sentence. In practice the warning is given, the appeal is withdrawn, and the person leaves with what they had and a filing fee gone. That is the floor. The ceiling is a heavier sentence if you press on after the warning.
On a conviction appeal the District Court can confirm the conviction, set it aside, or substitute a different verdict, and if the conviction stands it resentences you, with the same power to increase.
Sentence appeals seeking a non-conviction outcome after a fine are the most common on minor charges. They succeed where the Local Court sentenced an unprepared plea and the preparation has since been done properly. They fail, and sometimes go up, where the Local Court had everything and disagreed. Be honest about which of those you are.
Legal basis: Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW) s 20. This is a summary for general understanding. The full provision is more detailed and may not apply in all circumstances.
5If you were sentenced in your absence
Annulment, not appeal
If the conviction was recorded because you did not attend court, the remedy is different. You apply to the Local Court for an annulment of the conviction, within two years, and you must show that you were not aware of the proceedings until after they were finalised, or that you were unable to attend for reasons such as illness or accident, or that it is otherwise in the interests of justice. If granted, the conviction is set aside and the matter goes back on the list as if you had appeared. Annulment applications on a first absence with a real explanation are granted readily. Applications by people who simply did not turn up are not.
If you were on bail and missed court, there may also be a warrant and a separate charge of failing to appear. Go to the courthouse the next morning and ask the registry what to do, before the warrant is executed at your door.
Legal basis: Crimes (Appeal and Review) Act 2001 (NSW) Part 2, ss 4 to 10; Bail Act 2013 (NSW) s 79. This is a summary for general understanding. The full provisions are more detailed and may not apply in all circumstances.
6Deciding whether to appeal
Three questions
What has changed since the Local Court sentence that the District Court would see differently? Is the gap between what you got and what you are seeking worth the fee, the months of waiting, and the risk of a heavier result? Has someone who does this for a living told you the realistic prospects? If the answer to the third is no, that is the first thing to fix, inside the 28 days.
Write the 28-day date on your one-page sheet. If there is any chance you will appeal, file the notice this week and decide later.
7Appeals from the District and Supreme Courts
Higher courts
Appeals from a District or Supreme Court trial or sentence go to the Court of Criminal Appeal, require leave, and are decided on error of law, unreasonable verdict, or manifest excess in sentence, not by rehearing. That is a different process with different time limits, and it is outside anything a self-represented person should attempt.
Legal basis: Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW) ss 5, 5D, 10. This is a summary for general understanding. The full provisions are more detailed and may not apply in all circumstances.
Before filing a sentence appeal
An appeal is a second sentence hearing in a higher court with the possibility of a worse result, and whether the Local Court sentence was outside the range is a question of experience. A consultation with the lawyers who built Standard inside the 28-day window is the right step, and it is cheap relative to what is at stake.
Request a consultationGeneral information only, not legal advice. NSW-specific. Every matter turns on its own facts and laws can change. Reading this guide does not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and the lawyers who produced it.