The High Court of Australia was formally established in 1901 under section 71 of the Australian Constitution. Its role is to interpret and apply the laws of Australia, to decide cases of federal significance, and to hear appeals from federal, state, and territory courts. While the High Court is the highest avenue of appeal in Australia, further appeals could be made to the Privy Council in Britain until 1975.
Following the passage of the Judiciary Act, 1903 the first appointments were made to the High Court bench:
By 1906, the High Court had become established as a viable, effective and necessary part of the Australian judicial system. The increasing demands on the High Court led to the number of justices being increased to five in 1906, and then to seven in 1913. The primary registry of the High Court was initially located in Melbourne, and from 1973 in Sydney. When the High Court building was finished in 1980 the administration was transferred to Canberra.
Records held by the Archives about the High Court date from 1901, and include judges’ notebooks, correspondence between High Court members, reports on issues involving the High Court, records of Court judgements and a range of images of the High Court. A selection of records created by the High Court, and records created by other Commonwealth departments and agencies about the High Court, are listed below.
Use the Archives RecordSearch database, available in all reading rooms and on our website (www.naa.gov.au) to identify other records about the High Court.
Unlike most Commonwealth government records, the records of the High Court are only subject to the access provisions of the Archives Act under conditions agreed between the Court and the National Archives. Arrangements agreed in 1996 permit access to most records of the Court transferred to National Archives custody, including those listed below. Inquiries relating to records still in the custody of the Court should be directed to the Registry Manager of the High Court (PO Box E435, Kingston ACT 2602).
 | Full court case records | 1903–ongoing | A10074 | ||
| Court case records | 1907–73 | A10117 | ||
| Judges’ notebooks – Justice Sir Edmund Barton | 1904–19 | A10612 | ||
| Chambers notebooks – Justice Sir Isaac Isaacs | 1906–30 | A10597 | ||
| General notebook – Justice Sir Isaac Isaacs | 1906–30 | A10600 | ||
| Chambers and original jurisdiction notebooks – Chief Justice Sir Owen Dixon | 1929–41 | A10669 | ||
 | Appointment of Sir Samuel W Walker Griffith as Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia | 1903–19 | A432, 1950/481 | ||
| Judges of High Court – Mr Justice O’Connor | 1903–13 | A432, 1950/483 | ||
| Judges of the High Court – appointment of Sir Edmund Barton (and arrangements for funeral) | 1903–20 | A432, 1950/484 | ||
| Appointment of Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs as (1) Justice of the High Court of Australia; (2) Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia | 1906–52 | A432, 1950/469 | ||
| Appointment and resignation of Dr HV Evatt to the High Court bench | 1930–40 | A432, 1950/476 | ||
