The temporary COVID recovery arrangements previously in place under Practice Direction No. 3 of 2022 have been made permanent, with that practice direction revoked.
In general, remote appearances by clients and practitioners are available, encouraged, and in some cases required. However, physical appearances are also possible, mainly by request, and in some cases they are required.
All Magistrates’ Court appearances and counter services from 12 September 2022 will be subject to the arrangements set out in the new Magistrates’ Court Practice Direction No 6 of 2022.
The practice direction applies to both criminal and civil matters, including intervention orders and specialist courts and programs.
The new Magistrates’ Court practice direction sets out detailed arrangements for all types of Magistrates’ Court appearances, including:
Criminal matters
- accused on bail or summons;
- bail applications and other hearings with the accused in custody;
- criminal mentions and applications;
- specialist courts and programs;
Intervention Orders
- applications;
- hearings;
Civil matters
- applications, directions hearings, pre-hearing conferences, early neutral evaluations and judicial resolution conferences are all to be conducted online, unless otherwise directed by the Court;
- final hearings may be online or in person at the court’s direction.
For online appearances it is the practitioner’s responsibility to ensure that they and their client are able to join the online hearing with audio visual capability.
Collated by
Dinesh Weerakkody
Principal Lawyer