MCV pending caseload as at the end of April 2022

The number of pending cases at the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria increased during 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A pending case is a matter that has been listed but is yet to be finalised.

Due to the nature of the court process, the Magistrates’ Court had an average of 70,000-80,000 matters pending prior to COVID-19.

As court operations were temporarily impacted early in the pandemic, the number of pending matters rose to a peak of 145,512 in December 2020.

Since then, the pending caseload has declined, with 111,740 matters pending at 31 April 2022.

This is a reduction in our pending caseload by approximately 4,500 since 31 March 2022.

The use of online hearings, modernised court practice and expanded powers for judicial registrars enabled the court to maintain access to justice and progress matters through the system in a timely manner.

The court finalised 322,495 matters between March 2020 to April 2022.