VPRS 11595 Court of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Court Commonwealth Register

Section 77(iii) of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 vested the new Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia with the power to invest state courts with the jurisdiction to determine matters brought to court under Commonwealth legislation. Courts of Petty Sessions, known since 1971 as Magistrates' Courts, have included a Commonwealth jurisdiction since Federation. Cases have been brought to these courts under Commonwealth Acts dealing with various matters including taxation, electoral matters, wireless and television licensing and conciliation and arbitration.Successive Justices' Acts and, more recently, Magistrates' Court Acts have required the clerk or registrar of each court to make and keep a register of convictions, orders and other proceedings of the court. This register is the authoritative record of the court. In 1915 all Clerks of Court were instructed to keep a separate register for matters heard under Commonwealth legislation and for cases where the defendant resided in another state. Cases falling into either of these categories were recorded in Commonwealth Registers.Commonwealth Registers are very similar to other Court Registers. Commonwealth Registers are generally in a common format, giving details of the case number, the name of the prosecutor or informant, the name of the accused or defendant, how the case came to court (arrest, warrant, summons etc), the fees or court costs accrued, a description of the charge, cause or proceeding (usually indicating the Act under which the charges have been laid), the decision or order and any remarks. The column for remarks was often used to record the payment of fines and fees. In order to authenticate entries made in the register the presiding officer(s) of the court signed it at the end of each day.

《1900年澳大利亚联邦宪法法案》（Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900）第77条第(iii)项赋予澳大利亚联邦新一届议会权力，使其可授权州法院审理依据联邦立法提起的诉讼事项。即决裁判法院（Courts of Petty Sessions）自1971年起改称治安法院（Magistrates' Courts），自澳大利亚联邦成立起便拥有联邦司法管辖权。依据联邦法案提起的案件曾被提交至这类法院，涉及税务、选举事务、无线电与电视牌照发放，以及调解与仲裁等诸多领域。
历部《治安法官法案》以及近年出台的《治安法院法案》要求各法院的书记员或登记官制作并留存法院的定罪记录、裁定文书及其他诉讼程序档案，该登记册为法院的权威档案。1915年，所有法院书记员均获指示，需为两类事项单独设立登记册：一是依据联邦立法审理的案件，二是被告居住于其他州的案件。符合上述任一类别案件均需录入联邦登记册（Commonwealth Registers）。
联邦登记册与普通法院登记册结构高度相似，通常采用统一格式，涵盖以下细节：案件编号、公诉人或告发人姓名、被告人姓名、案件启动方式（逮捕、搜查令、传票等）、产生的费用或诉讼成本、指控/案由或诉讼事项的说明（通常标注指控所依据的法案）、裁判结果或裁定，以及备注信息。备注栏常被用于记录罚金与费用的缴纳情况。为验证登记条目真实性，法院主审法官需于每日结束时在登记册上签字。