Information released by Justice Minister Andrew Little shows increases in disposal times for cases in the District Court from 2017 to 2019.
Mr Little provided the information in response to a series of written parliamentary questions from National MP Chris Penk.
Mr Penk asked about average disposal times and average age of cases disposed of for the month ending 31 January 2019 compared to the same time in 2017.
District Court case disposals, 12 months ending 31 January - Days
| Category | Measure | 2019 | 2017 |
| Civil | Average 12-monthly disposal | 232 | 218 |
| Family Court applications | Average 12-monthly disposal | 148 | 142 |
| Category 3 Criminal | Average age | 191 | 164 |
| Category 2 Criminal | Average age | 77 | 67 |
| Category 1 Criminal | Average age | 73 | 72 |
| Judge-alone Criminal | Average age | 107 | 91 |
| All Criminal | Average age | 117 | 100 |
The disposal time is calculated from the first substantive application filing date to the date of disposal. The information shows the average 12-monthly disposal time. The disposal time excludes any time that a case is "on hold" due to a warrant to arrest the defendant having been issued.
Mr Penk also requested information on the number of District Court cases on hand at 31 January 2019 compared to the same time in 2017.
Active District Court cases on hand at 31 January
| Category | 2019 | 2017 |
| Civil | 9,496 | 8,604 |
| Family Court applications | 24,675 | 23,974 |
| Category 3 Criminal | 21,060 | 18,133 |
| Category 2 Criminal | 13,129 | 13,972 |
| Category 1 Criminal | 2,076 | 2,650 |
| Judge-alone Criminal | 32,057 | 31,140 |
| All Criminal | 36,268 | 34,756 |
Disposal time in days is calculated from the first substantive application filing date to the date of the case disposal.