VPRS 16695 Court of Petty Sessions/Magistrates Court Commonwealth Registers

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)款赋予澳大利亚联邦新议会权力，可授权州法院审理依据联邦立法提起的各类诉讼。
简易裁判法院（Courts of Petty Sessions）自1971年起更名为治安法院（Magistrates Courts），自澳大利亚联邦成立以来便享有联邦司法管辖权。此类法院曾受理依据联邦法案提起的多类案件，涵盖税务、选举事务、无线电与电视牌照许可，以及调解与仲裁等领域。
历任《法官法》（Justices' Acts）以及近期出台的《治安法院法》（Magistrates' Court Acts）均要求各法院的书记官或登记官制作并保管法院的定罪记录、裁判文书及其他诉讼程序登记册。该登记册为法院的权威档案。
1915年，所有法院书记官均获指示，需为依据联邦立法审理的案件以及被告居住于其他州的案件分别设立专属登记册。上述两类案件均记录于联邦登记册（Commonwealth Registers）中。
联邦登记册与其他法院登记册形制相近，通常采用统一格式，载明案件编号、检察官或告发人姓名、被告人姓名、案件进入法院的途径（逮捕、拘押令、传票等）、产生的诉讼费用、指控事由或诉讼事项（通常注明指控所依据的法案）、裁判结果或命令，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庭审结束后在登记册上签字。