Every criminal offence begins in the Local Court of NSW and then progresses to to finality either in the Local Court, District Court or Supreme Court. The more serious criminal cases are prosecuted in the District or Supreme Court, but 90% of crimes are finalised in the Local Court.
The Local Court jurisdiction cannot deal with Strictly Indictable criminal charges to finality but everything else can be. The Local Court in Sydney, Parramatta, Bankstown, Burwood or other suburbs deal mainly with domestic violence cases including common assault, breach of AVO, damage to property, intimidation, theft and traffic infringements, drivers licence appeals, and other minor traffic law-related charges. The Local Court is usually a lot faster than higher courts and has limits on the penalties a person can receive, such as a maximum sentence of 2 years imprisonment for a single offence.