Advice from the Local Court of NSW - Protocol for Attendance at Court for Education or Development

17/09/2020

The Chief Magistrates Office has today advised that due to on-going health concerns the Local Court is continuing to restrict attendance in court buildings for people not directly involved in court proceedings. Recently some members of the legal profession have sought to bring staff to court for education and professional development. Allowing people to attend court purely for observation may mean that others are excluded, so it would helpful for practitioners to make sound assessments of the importance of such needs.

The Court does acknowledge that the health crisis may be with us for along time and that equally the development of the legal profession is important. So with this in mind the following protocol for any attendance should be observed:

1. Advance notice of the attendance of any person, participating in legal programmes or development, should be provided to the appropriate court; and

2. A letter from the Supervising or Governing body should be provided to the participant and made available to the NSW Sheriff's Officers at the time of entry to the court complex. Please note that if numbers in particular courtrooms or buildings become too great, persons observing for this purpose may be required to leave.