the Court of Appeal, so long as leave is granted. The County Court also hears appeals from the Criminal and Family Divisions of the Children’s Court. Commercial and Common Law Divisions The Court’s Commercial and Common Law Divisions (collectively known as the Court’s civil jurisdiction), have unlimited jurisdiction with no monetary cap on damages. Both divisions feature a number of ‘lists’ – specialist categories of cases that are administered by a judge. The Commercial Division deals with matters that include debt recovery, contract, trust and property. It has four lists: General List Expedited List Banking and Finance List Building Cases List The Common Law Division largely deals with damages and compensation cases. It consists of eight lists: Applications List Confiscation List Defamation List Family Property List General List Medical List Serious Injury Applications List WorkCover List All civil matters are heard by a single judge or, at a party’s request, by a judge and jury. Adoption and Substitute Parentage In Victoria, an adoption order legally transfers parental rights and responsibilities, guardianship and custody to the adoptive parents. The County Court hears approximately 50-80 adoption and parentage matters annually. Circuits In addition to proceedings in Melbourne, County Court judges hear criminal and civil cases at 12 locations throughout Victoria: Bairnsdale, Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Horsham, Mildura, Latrobe Valley (Morwell), Sale, Shepparton, Wangaratta, Warrnambool and Wodonga. Koori Court The County Koori Court was established under the County Court Amendment (Koori Court) Act 2008. The Act was assented to on 23 September 2008 and established the Koori Court as a Division of the County Court. The Latrobe Valley County Koori Court commenced on 19 November 2008, with the first sitting taking place on 2 February 2009. The objective of the County Koori Court is to ensure greater participation of the Aboriginal community in the sentencing process through the role played in that process by the Aboriginal Elders and Respected Persons and others such as the Koori Court Officer. It is only the judge who determines the sentence that is imposed. The County Koori Court follows the Koori Court model introduced at the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria and the Children’s Court of Victoria. The County Koori Court currently sits at Latrobe Valley (Morwell), Melbourne, Mildura and Shepparton. The County Koori Court can only be attended by Koori offenders who plead guilty to particular offences. Aboriginal Elders or Respected Persons advise the judge on cultural issues