Inspecting Court Files

All parties to a case and their lawyers on record are entitled to:

• copies of documents from a court file, and
• inspect a court case file. 

Requesting copies of court documents

Copies of Divorce Certificates and court orders are supplied free of charge.

Copies of all other documents attract a fee of $1.00 per page for photocopying if the total number of pages exceeds 10 pages. Payment information is on the fees page.

How to make a request

Requests for copies of court documents or to inspect court case files must be in writing.

You can use the request forms below, or a signed letter or email is acceptable provided the request includes the following information:

• full name and contact details of person requesting
• full names of all parties to the case, including birth dates if known
• court file number if known
• date of divorce if known
• details of the document(s) being requested or file to inspect
• if not a party or lawyer to the case, a statement of their legal interest and purpose of the request, and
• signature of person requesting. Requests without a signature will not be processed.

If a lawyer has recently commenced acting for a party and that lawyer has not filed any documents with the court, they should file a Notice of Address for Service.

Requests can be sent by post or email:

Family Court of WA
GPO Box 9991
PERTH  WA  6848
family.court@justice.wa.gov.au

Emails must include a scanned signed request form or letter as an attachment to the email (.jpg or .pdf format).

Arranging the inspection appointment

After receiving a request to inspect a court file, the court will contact you by phone to arrange a date and time for inspection.

Personal identification

All persons inspecting court case files must produce identification such as a driver's licence, passport, bank cards, etc.

Lawyers and court experts may be asked to show evidence of their involvement with a case.

Inspection room

The inspection room is located on the ground floor of the court off the foyer opposite the public counter.

Only parties to a case, their lawyers or other persons authorised by the court are permitted into the inspection room.

For security and courtesy reasons, mobile phones are to be switched off and kept inside bags or brief cases.  The viewing room is monitored by camera surveillance at all times.

A photocopier is also available.  Charges for copying are 50c per page for persons doing their own copying and $1.00 per page if copying is done by court staff.

Inspection by non-parties

In special circumstances and with approval from a Registrar of the court, other persons may receive specific documents from a court case file or inspect a court case file for an approved legal purpose.

Other persons may also act as an agent for a party to a case, to request and receive documents from that party's court case file provided the agent supplies to the court written authority from the party to do so.

Inspection on behalf of a party

Where a person, who is not a party or lawyer to a case, is acting as an agent to request and receive documents on behalf of a party, they must have the party complete Part E of the "Request for Supply of Court Documents" form or attach a signed written authority from that party to do so.

Last updated: 1-May-2019

[ back to top ]