ATTENDING COURT SUPPORTING MEMBERS & CLIENTS Courts and Tribunals have measures in place to conduct proceedings without the need for attending The Bar Association continues to actively monitor COVID-19 where possible, to respond to the developing COVID-19 pandemic. The Association is in constant contact developments and impacts on the Courts. Protecting the with the Courts and Tribunals. Click on the links below to jump to the latest information received about: health, safety and interests of members, while continuing to promote the administration of justice and serve the public The Supreme Court of New South Wales good, is our priority at this difficult time. The Land and Environment Court of New South Wales The District Court of New South Wales We are consistently updating our website and this point-in- The Local Court of New South Wales time resource as information comes to hand. However, The Children’s Court of NSW please always double-check the latest Court resources NSW Coroners Court directly as developments are changing quickly at this time NCAT and do not make any assumptions regarding your case NSW Industrial Relations Commission without first doing so. Workers Compensation Commission High Court of Australia Federal Court of Australia Key contacts Family Court of Australia & Federal Circuit Court of Australia Administrative Appeals Tribunal For the latest health information, please visit: Fair Work Commission Copyright Tribunal of Australia Australian Government, Department of Health – Alternative Dispute Resolution COVID-19 Resources: COVID-19 legislation, orders, directions & regulations https://www.health.gov.au/resources/collections/n ovel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-resources In accordance with NSW Health advice, DO NOT ATTEND A COURT/TRIBUNAL unless you: are a party to a court or tribunal matter and no other arrangements are in place to conduct NSW Department of Health: proceedings remotely; https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx require face to face services of the registry and no other arrangements are in place to enable this remotely; or Wellbeing are a representative of a news-media organisation with a legitimate reason for attending. Be mindful of your resilience and wellbeing during this Despite the above, DO NOT ATTEND A COURT/TRIBUNAL if: challenging time. If you're concerned about yourself or a you have had close contact with someone diagnosed with or suspected or confirmed as having colleague, visit barcare.org coronavirus (COVID-19) in the last 14 days; you are feeling unwell and experiencing any of the following symptoms - fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath; or you have travelled and returned from overseas in the past 14 days. Registrars or Sheriff’s officers may deny entry or request any person to leave a building. COVID-19: Information for attending Court – last updated Tuesday 26 May 2020 PM 2 | 231 P a g e s SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES For further info & practitioners guidelines, visit http://www.supremecourt.justice.nsw.gov.au/Pages/coronavirus_covid19_announcement.aspx http://www.supremecourt.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/Home%20Page/Announcements/COVID- On19,%20Supreme%20Court%20procedures,%2023%20March%202020.pdf 22 May the Supreme Court published four Re-Issued CL Practice Notes 1, 3, 4 and 6, which are available here: http://www.practicenotes.justice.nsw.gov.au/practice_notes/nswsc_pc.nsf/Web%20Version%20Notes?OpenView&Start=1&Count=50&Expand=2.1#2.1 On 21 May the Supreme Court published a Protocol – Court Operations – COVID-19, which is available here: http://www.supremecourt.justice.nsw.gov.au/Documents/Home%20Page/Announcements/Protocol%20v4.0%2021%20May%202020.pdf On 20 May the Supreme Court published the following media release: NSW SUPREME COURT MOVES TOWARDS RESUMING FACE-TO-FACE HEARINGS http://www.supremecourt.justice.nsw.gov.au/Pages/coronavirus_covid19_announcement.aspx The NSW Supreme Court today announced its first steps towards reopening to parties and the public, as government restrictions ease around the COVID-19 pandemic. NSW Chief Justice Tom Bathurst said some face-to-face civil hearings would resume on 1 June 2020, followed by criminal jury trials from 29 June 2020. “For the first time in living memory, personal appearances were essentially banned in our courtrooms two months ago to help minimise the spread of the virus,” Chief Justice Bathurst said. “I am pleased to outline a return to in-court hearings, in a measured and staged approach that protects the health and wellbeing of all court users.” Some civil hearings with limited parties, witnesses and legal representatives will be able to return to the courtroom in a fortnight’s time. Those involving multiple parties and witnesses will follow in stage two, with directions hearings, judges’ and registrars’ lists and court- annexed mediations to return in the final stage. It is envisaged that because of the improved technology, some of the lists will continue to be dealt with online. COVID-19: Information for attending Court – last updated Tuesday 26 May 2020 PM 3 | 231 P a g e s Criminal jury trials will resume at the end of June but will require at least two courtrooms each to accommodate social distancing requirements. Chief Justice Bathurst thanked the legal profession and court staff for their extraordinary efforts in keeping the Court almost fully operational during recent months. “The move to virtual courtrooms, seemingly overnight, created unprecedented disruption to our usual processes,” he said. “The shift to a remote system of justice was not without its technical challenges, yet I am confident we are getting better each day, and I see an innovative and flexible future ahead.” “Remarkably, the Court has continued to operate essentially at its normal capacity, with Judges hearing close to 20 matters per day, including contested interlocutory applications. Judges and Registrars, dealing with case-management, are hearing over 500 matters per week.” “To have continued listing cases at such a high level is a credit to everyone involved.” The Chief Justice said of the civil hearings and special fixtures listed in the Common Law Division for 19 months between March 2020 and October 2021, only seven have been vacated due to COVID-19. During the shutdown, the Equity Judges have, on average, been hearing 12 contested interlocutory and final hearings per day and providing case-management to over 200 cases per week. Both the Court of Appeal and the Court of Criminal Appeal have heard all appeals that were scheduled for hearing in March, April and May, and no appeals have been vacated because of the shutdown. In that same period, the Court of Appeal has delivered 68 judgments and the Court of Criminal Appeal 70 judgments. Thirteen criminal trials were delayed due to the pandemic, and five accused (in a further four trials) have taken the option for trial by judge- alone. An average of 40 bail applications are being heard and determined by Judges per week. As the NSW Supreme Court slowly and safely reopens its courtrooms, all reasonable steps and precautions will be taken to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19 including: staggered courtroom start and finish times, commencing at 9am and sitting up to 5pm new jury selection procedures COVID-19: Information for attending Court – last updated Tuesday 26 May 2020 PM 4 | 231 P a g e s temperature checks for court users visual guidance in courtrooms to follow physical distancing requirements hand sanitiser stations increased cleaning and disinfecting, focusing on high traffic areas. On 1 May the Supreme Court published an Updated factsheet for the Virtual Courtroom, that updates an earlier version published in March. The updated fact sheet is extracted below and available here: FACT SHEET: THE VIRTUAL COURTROOM What is a Virtual Courtroom? A Virtual Courtroom brings the physical courtroom to a virtual space. It is a digital method for court cases to be progressed without the need for participants to attend in person. Parties to proceedings can access the Virtual Courtroom using video and telephone conferencing applications (see below). Virtual courtrooms are still formal courtrooms. All usual court etiquette, protocols, procedures and restrictions apply. How to connect to a Virtual Courtroom Parties can connect to a Virtual Courtroom in the following ways: 1. Video conference – via a dedicated Weblink or by using a dedicated video conferencing service or device. Weblinks can be used from any device (e.g. smartphone, tablet, laptop) with an unrestricted internet connection and a web browser with audio and video capability (a List of Compatible Browsers is provided below). 2. Telephone conference – dialling into via a dedicated Virtual Courtroom number. Contact details for the Virtual Courtroom will be provided by the Court prior to your appearance date. List of Compatible Browsers To connect using a Weblink, copy and paste the address provided into the following browsers (with minimum browser versions in brackets): COVID-19: Information for attending Court – last updated Tuesday 26 May 2020 PM 5 | 231 P a g e s • Firefox (Version 74) • Google Chrome (Version 80) • Chromium-based Microsoft Edge (Version 80) • Apple Safari for macOS (Version 12 and 13) • Apple Safari for iOS (Version 12.4 or 13.3) • Yandex for Windows (Version 20) Testing your connection Parties are advised to test the connectivity of their devices prior to appearing before a Virtual Courtroom using one of the following test links: 1. Weblink: https://avl.justice.nsw.gov.au/invited.sf?id=10091500&secret=Tla.N04VLX3odSANh wXrSA 2. SIP Address: [email protected] (for dedicated AVL suites) In addition, participants may be contacted in advance of an appearance and asked to complete a test link with all participants. Your connection instructions Video conferencing using a ‘Weblink’ 1. Ensure your device has a working camera. Video conferencing requires a camera to be enabled.