Ordering Court Transcripts

Parties directly involved in Court or Tribunal proceedings are able to order an audio recording or typed transcript of proceedings heard in the ACT Courts and the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT).

Companies, organisations and members of the public not directly involved in a matter may also apply for a transcript, however they must be able to provide the Registrar of the Court with a satisfactory reason for the application.

Applications for a transcript from organisations, firms and members of the public who are not directly involved in a case must be submitted to the Registrar of the appropriate court along with the reason for their request. Transcript orders from parties involved in a matter must be emailed to the email address on the order form.

Transcripts and the ACT Courts and Tribunal  

Transcription services are not provided by ACT Courts and Tribunal. Court recording and transcription services are provided by Epiq and orders for transcripts must be sent directly to the email address at the top of the order form. Any questions about ordering transcripts must go to Epiq at that email address or by calling the phone number on the form.

Transcript Fees

Please contact Epiq directly if you have any questions about transcription services and fees.

Extra charges may apply for retrieving historical data prior to 2018; you will be told in advance if any extra charges will apply to your order.

Current Transcript Fee

If more than one party orders the same transcript with the same turnaround time (e.g. same day, next day etc.) and the orders are placed with EPIQ within 7 days of each other, EPIQ will share the transcript costs between those ordering. This includes orders placed by the court.

If parties agree to order the same transcript with the same turnaround time, and orders are placed with EPIQ within 7 days of each other, parties should alert EPIQ to the cost sharing request in their cover email to EPIQ.

If parties have not discussed or come to an agreement about ordering transcripts, they may choose to copy the other parties in their email request, to make them aware that they have a 7 day window in which to place an order and split costs.

Fee Waivers and Exemptions

If you believe that transcript order fees may cause you hardship, you may apply to have the fee waived. Under section 15 of the Court Procedures Act 2004 the Registrar may waive the fee in whole or in part if imposition of the fee would impose hardship on you.

Depending on where the matter has been heard, send your completed waiver application to either the Registrar of the Supreme Court, the Registrar of the Magistrates Court or ACAT. Fee waiver applications must be witnessed by a Justice of the Peace (JP), a solicitor or a notary public.

If you receive Centrelink payments or another Commonwealth government benefit you may be eligible for exemption from transcript fees. If you wish to claim a fee exemption, please copy your transcript order with your completed exemption application and a certified copy of your Centrelink or benefit card to the Courts Transcript office.