Top 7 Criminal Lawyers in Cairns

Where Cairns criminal charges are heard

Almost every criminal case starts in the Magistrates Court. In Cairns that's the courthouse at 5D Sheridan Street, phone (07) 4280 6000, with the Magistrates Court on the ground floor and the District and Supreme Courts on Level 3. Cairns is one of the four main Supreme Court registries in Queensland, with Brisbane, Townsville and Rockhampton, and it has its own District Court registry. The Level 3 registry counter is generally open 8:30am to 4:30pm on weekdays, but it can close at 4pm on some Tuesdays, so ring ahead if you're going late in the day.

At a committal, the magistrate decides whether there's enough evidence for the case to go to trial.

Young people: the Childrens Court and adult penalties

In Cairns, first appearances in the Childrens Court are on Wednesdays, and later sittings on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are listed by the Childrens Court magistrate. Legal Aid Queensland lists the Cairns Magistrates and Childrens Court among its criminal duty lawyer courts. The Youth Murri Court, where Elders or Respected Persons take part, sits at 9am on alternate Fridays.

The state's youth crime laws apply in Cairns as they do everywhere else in Queensland:

• Adult Crime, Adult Time: since 13 December 2024, children sentenced for listed serious offences face the same penalties as adults, up to the adult maximum, and mandatory adult penalties apply too. For murder that means mandatory life detention, with at least 20 years before parole
• A longer list: it started with 13 offences, including murder, grievous bodily harm, robbery, burglary and unlawful use of a motor vehicle. It has been extended three times, in May 2025, March 2026 and April 2026, and now covers more than 40 offences, including drug trafficking, rape, arson and strangulation in a domestic setting
• Sentencing: courts sentencing any child must give primary regard to the impact on the victim, and no longer treat detention as a last resort
• Electronic monitoring: since 30 April 2026, a court anywhere in Queensland can make electronic monitoring a bail condition for a child if it decides it's appropriate after a suitability assessment, and the services needed to support it are available where the child lives

Bail for children is dealt with under the Youth Justice Act. The Breach Bail, Go to Jail bill, which had not passed when we checked on 24 October 2026, would cover children as well as adults: for a child, committing an Adult Crime, Adult Time offence while on bail would carry at least 12 months in youth detention, and police and courts would face a tougher bail test. The bail section below has the detail. The rules that apply depend on when the offence happened, so if your child has been charged, get advice early.

Arrest, police questioning and bail

You have the right to stay silent. You only have to give your name and address when police are entitled to ask, for example if they suspect you of an offence. Police must caution you before questioning. Before they question you about an indictable offence, they must tell you that you can contact a lawyer and a friend or relative, and give you a reasonable time to do it. Your lawyer can be present during the interview. Police can generally hold you for up to 8 hours to question you about an indictable offence, with no more than 4 hours of actual questioning, unless police get a magistrate to extend it. Extra protections apply to children and to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The bail rules below are the adult rules in the Bail Act. A court must grant bail unless there's an unacceptable risk you would fail to appear, commit another offence, endanger someone's safety or interfere with witnesses. It looks at the seriousness of the charge, your background, your bail history and how strong the evidence is. For some charges you must show cause why you shouldn't be held, including:

• an indictable offence allegedly committed while you were already on bail or awaiting trial for another indictable offence
• an indictable offence involving a firearm, offensive weapon or explosive
• an offence against the Bail Act, such as failing to appear in court
• serious domestic violence offences, such as strangulation or a violent breach of a protection order

Where a conviction would mean mandatory life imprisonment, only the Supreme Court can grant bail. If you're refused bail, you can apply again if your circumstances change, or apply to a higher court.

Cairns is one of the courts that runs Court Link, a bail based program that connects people with support for housing, substance use, mental health, physical health and jobs, to deal with what's behind the offending. It's for people on bail, or eligible to apply for bail, for a Magistrates Court charge, and you don't have to plead guilty. Case management runs for about 12 weeks and becomes a condition of your bail. You can refer yourself, or be referred by a lawyer, a family member, a magistrate, police or watch house staff. In Cairns, Court Link matters are mentioned at 9am on set Thursdays, twice a month.

The Breach Bail, Go to Jail bill. This is a government bill, not yet law. It was introduced on 27 August 2026 and was still before Parliament when we checked on 24 October 2026. It would apply to adults and children. It would create a new offence of committing a listed serious offence while on bail, with a mandatory minimum of 12 months, served wholly in custody, and a maximum of 3 years. For children, the listed offences are the Adult Crime, Adult Time offences, and the 12 month minimum would be served in a youth detention centre. It would also make bail harder to get for anyone charged with one of those offences while on bail: police and courts would have to refuse bail unless satisfied to a high degree of confidence that the person won't commit another listed offence on bail. As introduced, it would start on 30 November 2026. The new offence would apply only where bail is granted on or after that date. The tougher bail test would apply to listed offences committed after that date, whenever the first bail was granted.

Domestic violence charges and the Cairns court

Cairns is one of Queensland's specialist domestic and family violence courts. These courts have dedicated magistrates and police prosecutors, a court coordinator, a specialist registry, specialist duty lawyers, and on site triage and security. In Cairns, protection order applications are listed at 9am on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with first mentions on Tuesdays and Fridays, and hearings are on Thursdays as listed by the magistrate.

A free domestic violence duty lawyer is at the Cairns Magistrates Court on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, for people applying for or responding to a protection order. North Queensland Women's Legal Service helps women, and Legal Aid Queensland and Cairns Community Legal Centre help men. The duty lawyer can only help on the day your matter is in court, and the service is set up for protection order matters, so if you're also facing a criminal charge, get criminal advice early as well.

• Coercive control: a criminal offence in Queensland from 26 May 2025, with a maximum of 14 years in prison. It covers an adult who uses domestic violence on more than one occasion against someone they're in a domestic relationship with, including a former partner, intending to coerce or control them, where that conduct is reasonably likely to cause them harm
• Bail: serious domestic violence offences, such as strangulation or a violent breach of a protection order, are show cause offences
• Young people: choking, suffocation or strangulation in a domestic setting is on the Adult Crime, Adult Time list

If you're in danger, call 000. DVConnect Womensline is on 1800 811 811 and 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, both 24 hours. DVConnect Mensline is 1800 600 636, 9am to midnight.

Drug charges and avoiding a conviction

If police find a small amount of drugs they believe is for your own use, police must offer an eligible person a drug diversion instead of a charge. Under 18s have the same eligibility, though police can use a caution or another youth justice option instead. You get up to three chances in your lifetime: a warning, then an assessment program, then a final assessment program. Each one is used up once it's offered, even if you say no. You're not eligible if there's a related indictable charge, or if you've ever been jailed for supplying, trafficking or producing drugs. Parliament has passed laws replacing this scheme with a single diversion chance, plus on-the-spot fines for minor drug offences other than cannabis. When we checked on 24 October 2026 those changes had not started, so check with a lawyer or the Legal Aid drug diversion line.

If you've been charged and plead guilty to a minor drug offence in court, the Illicit Drugs Court Diversion Program may still let you avoid a conviction. The Queensland Drug and Alcohol Court sits only in Brisbane, and you have to live, or intend to live, in the Brisbane Magistrates Court district to take part. In Cairns, Court Link is the local option for people on bail who need drug and alcohol support.

For many first offences, the big question is whether a conviction will be recorded. The court can decide not to record one, looking at the nature of the offence, your character and age, and the effect a conviction would have on your job prospects and wellbeing. An unrecorded conviction isn't treated as a conviction for most purposes. A recorded conviction can stop showing on most checks after a rehabilitation period, as long as you weren't sentenced to more than 30 months' imprisonment, even if the sentence was suspended. The period runs from the date the conviction is recorded, or until any court order is satisfied if that's later. A new conviction during the period can restart the clock.

Some jobs, such as working with children or in the law, still require you to disclose older convictions.

Free and low cost criminal law help in Cairns

• Legal Aid Queensland: 1300 65 11 88, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm. Its Cairns office is on Level 7, Citi Central Building, 46 to 48 Sheridan Street, (07) 4252 6800, open the same hours. The youth legal advice hotline, for under 18s or anyone with a Childrens Court matter, is 1800 527 527
• Duty lawyers: Legal Aid Queensland lists the Cairns, Atherton, Cooktown, Innisfail, Mareeba and Mossman Magistrates and Childrens Courts, and the Wujal Wujal and Yarrabah Magistrates Courts, among its criminal duty lawyer courts. On your court day they help with bail, adjournments and less complex guilty pleas, but not trials, committals, complex sentence hearings, domestic violence matters or traffic offences such as speeding, and not a first or second drink or drug driving charge unless jail is likely. Arrive early and ask court staff
• Drug diversion advice line: Legal Aid Queensland, 1300 004 924 (over 18s, Monday to Thursday, 8am to 5pm)
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service: 59 McLeod Street, Cairns, (07) 4046 6400, for criminal, family and civil law, at that address since 5 January 2026. Its free line 1800 012 255 takes general enquiries during business hours, and after hours is a custody notification service for new arrests only
• Cairns Community Legal Centre: 2nd Floor, Main Street Arcade, 82 Grafton Street, (07) 4031 7688 or 1800 062 608. Its general legal service covers criminal law and traffic matters, for people experiencing disadvantage who live in its area, with outreach to Innisfail, Atherton and Mareeba

To check a lawyer is practising, or to find an accredited criminal law specialist, search the Queensland Law Society register of solicitors.