Information obtained from a series of parliamentary questions for written answer by Courts Minister Andrew Little shows both positive and negative changes in court workloads between 2017 and 2018.
Mr Little provided information at 31 July and 31 August in 2017 and 2018 on the workloads. He said the statistics are based on the Ministry of Justice's Case Management System as at 3 October 2018.
Number of active cases at 31 August
| Measure | 31-Aug-18 | 31-Aug-17 | Change |
| District Court civil cases | 8,774 | 9,312 | -6% |
| Substantive Family Court applications | 25,152 | 24,206 | 4% |
| Criminal trial cases in High Court | 141 | 137 | 3% |
| District Court Category 3 criminal cases | 18,703 | 17,080 | 9% |
| District Court Category 2 criminal cases | 11,412 | 12,457 | -9% |
| District Court Category 1 criminal cases | 1,882 | 2,226 | -18% |
| Judge-alone cases in DC | 28,136 | 28,233 | 0% |
| Criminal cases in District Court | 32,000 | 31,766 | 1% |
Average 12-monthly disposal time in days
| Measure | 31-Aug-18 | 31-Aug-17 | Change |
| District Court civil cases | 233 | 215 | 8% |
| Substantive Family Court applications | 148 | 146 | 1% |
| Criminal trial cases disposed from HC | 491 | 552 | -12% |
| District Court Category 3 criminal cases | 187 | 175 | 6% |
| District Court Category 2 criminal cases | 75 | 72 | 4% |
| District Court Category 1 criminal cases | 74 | 73 | 1% |
| Coronial cases | 179 | 189 | -6% |