APPENDIX 5 – Workload statistics

The statistics in this appendix provide comparative historical information on the work of the Court, including in certain areas of the Court’s jurisdiction.

When considering the statistics it is important to note that matters vary according to the nature and complexity of the issues in dispute.

It should also be noted that, in this report, the figures reported may be marginally different from figures reported in previous years. The variations have occurred through refinements or enhancements to the Casetrack database which necessitated the checking or verification and possible variation of data previously entered.

Casetrack also records matters differently to the Court’s previous system, FEDCAMS, with the effect that the Court’s reports since 2004–05 have reported different figures for earlier years from those reported in those years. Casetrack records matters in the Court classified according to eleven main categories, described as ‘causes of action’ (COA).

It should also be noted that following publication of the 2005–06 Annual Report discrepancies were discovered in those charts in Appendix 5 relating to the age and number of current matters. While the total figures were correct, the figures for the individual years were incorrect. The error was caused because both financial and calendar year statistics were incorrectly used to generate this data.

Table 5.1 – Summary of workload statistics

Original and appellate jurisdiction

Filings of major COAs including appeals and related actions National totals by financial year
Year	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07
Cause of Action
Total COAs (inc. Appeals & Related Actions)
Filed	4846	6017	4494	6158	5063
Finalised	5255	6084	4496	6253	5338
Current	3651	3584	3582	3487	3212
Corporations (inc. Appeals & Related Actions)
Filed	468	645	1003	2912	1926
Finalised	439	558	792	2729	2083
Current	187	274	485	668	511
Bankruptcy (inc. Appeals & Related Actions)
Filed	540	495	417	392	281
Finalised	573	525	393	419	343
Current	223	193	217	190	128
Native Title (inc. Appeals & Related Actions)
Filed	71	78	61	68	66
Finalised	61	68	101	96	89
Current	675	685	645	617	596
Total COAs (inc. Appeals & Related Actions & excluding Corporations, Bankruptcy & Native Title)
Filed	3767	4799	3013	2786	2790
Finalised	4182	4933	3210	3009	2823
Current	2566	2432	2235	2012	1977

Table 5.2 – Summary of workload statistics

(excluding appeals and related actions)

Filings of major COAs (excluding appeals & related actions) National totals by financial year
Year	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07
Cause of Action
Total COAs (ex. Appeals & Related Actions)
Filed	4139	5114	3114	4827	3543
Finalised	4560	5248	3255	4887	3808
Current	3278	3144	3003	2943	2678
Corporations (ex. Appeals & Related Actions)
Filed	466	635	984	2898	1903
Finalised	435	549	779	2719	2058
Current	179	265	470	649	494
Bankruptcy (ex. Appeals & Related Actions)
Filed	485	448	348	332	223
Finalised	525	470	333	354	289
Current	180	158	173	151	85
Native Title (ex. Appeals & Related Actions)
Filed	68	54	51	60	50
Finalised	58	61	79	81	76
Current	662	655	627	606	580
Total COAs (ex. Appeals & Related Actions & excluding Corporations, Bankruptcy & Native Title)
Filed	3120	3977	1731	1537	1367
Finalised	3542	4168	2064	1733	1408
Current	2257	2066	1733	1537	1519

Table 5.3 – Summary of workload statistics

Appeals and related actions only

Filings of appeals and relation actions National totals by financial year
Year	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07
Cause of Action
Total Appeals & Related Actions
Filed	707	903	1380	1331	1520
Finalised	695	836	1241	1366	1530
Current	373	440	579	544	534
Corporations Appeals & Related Actions
Filed	2	10	19	14	37
Finalised	4	9	13	10	37
Current	6	7	13	17	17
Migration Appeals & Related Actions
Filed	201	375	971	1050	1092
Finalised	179	435	659	1051	1124
Current	112	52	364	363	331
Native Title Appeals & Related Actions
Filed	3	24	10	8	25
Finalised	3	7	22	15	20
Current	13	30	18	11	16
Total Appeals & Related Actions – excluding Corporations, Migration & Native Title Appeals & Related Actions
Filed	501	494	380	259	366
Finalised	509	385	547