The District Court deals with a wide range of criminal matters. The only charges that the District Court cannot deal with are murder or treason, which must be dealt with by the Supreme Court.

Types of criminal matters dealt with by the District Court:

• Offences against the person: including offences like manslaughter, malicious wounding to inflict grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving;
• Assaults: including offences like common assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault of police officers;
• Sexual assaults: including offences like sexual assault, indecent assault and carnal knowledge;
• Offences relating to property: including offences like robbery from the person, break enter and steal, larceny (stealing) and embezzlement;
• Offences involving drugs: including offences like the importation of heroin and other drugs into Australia, supply prohibited drug and possess prohibited drug; and
• Offences involving fraud: including offences like passing valueless cheques, obtaining money by deception and forgery.