English: Maitland Courthouse has been associated with the provision of law and justice in the Hunter area since 1897. The extant building is the second courthouse built in the town, which has been an important centre for administration and justice in the Hunter area since the first half of the nineteenth century.

The scale and grandeur of Maitland Courthouse is symbolic of the growing confidence in regional centres during the nineteenth century due to expansions in mining and agriculture. While the town was overtaken by Newcastle in terms of physical size and population by the twentieth century, Maitland has remained an important regional town.

Maitland Courthouse demonstrates the shift from Victorian Classical to Federation architectural styles in public buildings in NSW. The combination of classical features, such as the central clock tower and sandstone entrance, and Federation features, such as the use of face brick and sandstone, demonstrates the transition of public building design by the Government Architect's Branch from the grand, classical-influenced works under James Barnet to a less monumental style under Walter Liberty Vernon with a clarity rare among courthouses in NSW.

Maitland Courthouse is of State significance.