Accessibility Suggestions Inbox

24/04/2025

Have you ever been in the same court building or courtroom as a person with a disability? Did they struggle to hear, be heard, or otherwise engage in typical activities in court? Were they unable to use the lifts, the toilets or other areas in the building without assistance? If so, we want to hear from you.

The Accessibility Panel of the NSW Bar Association is introducing a new ‘Suggestions Inbox’ at accessibility@nswbar.asn.au. The panel would be gratefully assisted by information from members of the profession about accessibility in practise, including how accessibility is or is not working, and suggestions on how to improve it. For that reason, the panel has set up an inbox for people to report on and make suggestions about accessibility issues in courts and tribunals.

The Accessibility Panel is a committee of the NSW Bar Association whose role is to address access issues in the built environment encountered by barristers, judges, solicitors and their clients, litigants and staff working at such locations. Its role also includes, among other things, assisting Bar Council and its committees to consider, address and respond to matters involving disability, access and inclusion, including in relation to matters involving entry to the Bar and CPD seminars.

All personal information sent to the panel’s new Suggestions Inbox, including sender identity, will be kept strictly confidential. We are concerned to protect people’s privacy and we ask, as far as possible, for senders to please anonymise their emails so that the individuals involved in the events that you describe to us remain confidential.

Typical examples of issues that may be reported to the Suggestion Inbox include:

• a person with mobility impairments could not find accessible toilets in a court building, or there were none;
• a witness who has trouble hearing cannot hear questions during cross-examination; or
• a lawyer who is visually impaired is unable to see exhibits handed up to the Court.