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Public Record Office Victoria holds thousands of record series which relate to cases heard in around 250 different court locations in Victoria. This page links to searches which cover large quantities of records, and also to other pages which will help you narrow your search by identifying the type of court case you’re looking for.

 

What do I need to know before I start?

Useful information to commence your search includes:

  • whether the case was criminal (a person is accused of a crime), civil (a dispute between two or more people) or some other kind of case (for example, applying to the court for insolvency)
  • the name of a party to a court case (in a criminal case, the accused or defendant; otherwise the plaintiff, the applicant or the respondent)
  • in some cases, the location of the court or an approximate year when the case was heard.

View online or at the Reading Room?

Look for the icons below to identify if records are viewable online (mouse over globe) or need to be ordered online and then viewed at our Reading Rooms (open book):

Look for these icons to:

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Material in the Public Record Office Victoria archival collection contains words and descriptions that reflect attitudes and government policies at different times which may be insensitive and upsetting

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be aware the collection and website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

PROV provides advice to researchers wishing to access, publish or re-use records about Aboriginal Peoples

Criminal cases involving children in Victoria, from 1907 onwards
Civil and other non-criminal court cases
Search across multiple court case records series
Criminal cases heard in Victorian courts
Records of coronial investigations
Legal documents, correspondence and other records produced by courts