Bail and arrest call-over

There will be a call-over of the Darwin Local Court Bail and Arrest list at 9:30am conducted by the A/Darwin Criminal Registrar David Kirby. This will commence as of 2.04.2020.

Free daily wellness sessions via zoom

Notice #4 to practitioners litigants and the visiting public

Front counter services

1. Following the developments in the COVID-19 situation, and the need to implement measures to ensure the safety of staff, practitioners, litigants and the visiting public, from Wednesday, 1 April 2020 the public facing counters in Supreme Court Civil Registry and Sheriff’s Office will be closed.

2. While the counters are closed, the registries will still be operating to provide services and support to practitioners, litigants and the wider community by telephone and email.

The Law Society NT continues to closely monitor the developing COVID-19 situation with a view to ensure it takes all action required to protect the health and wellbeing of the profession, Society staff and anyone entering its premises. Set out below are the arrangements to be put in place by the Society as from Monday 30 March 2020.

Law Society NT Office

Please note that whilst the Society remains operational, as from Monday 30 March 2020, many of its staff will be working from home.

As a result, from Monday 30 March 2020, the Society’s office will be closed to visitors until further notice.

Throughout this period, the Society can still be contacted by telephone and email and will continue to undertake and offer all its operational functions. The closure of this office will mean that there will be no face-to-face events, CPDs or visitor contact. Physical deliveries may be received by prior arrangement if necessary.

The Society acknowledges the impact that COVID-19 will have on law practices over the coming months. Many law practice offices may be closed as staff are encouraged to work from home in line with social-distancing requirements. It is understood that this is likely to present difficulties for practices in allowing their appointed external examiner the physical access required to highly confidential trust accounting records and related files often kept in law practice offices. These files often cannot be removed from offices and are necessary for external examiners to carry out the annual review required under the Legal Profession Act 2006.

New notice to practitioners and Practice Direction issued

The documents below outline practices to commence Monday 30 March 2020 and have been put together to assist practitioners and public appearing before the Local Court in Stage 2 of COVID 19 restrictions. They will be made available on the Local Court website also.

Parenting Orders and COVID-19

The Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia (the Courts) are acutely aware that the current pandemic is having an enormous impact on families and the Australian community.

Parents are naturally deeply concerned about the safety of their children and how the COVID-19 virus will affect their lives. Part of that concern in family law proceedings can extend to a parent’s or carer’s ability to comply with parenting orders and what should be properly expected of them by the Courts in these unprecedented times.

On 22 March 2020, the Federal Government announced it will temporarily allow eligible people to access up to $10,000 of their superannuation retirement savings in 2019-20 and a further $10,000 in 2020-21.

For eligible people suffering economic hardship, being able to access part of their super will help them provide for themselves and their families during these unprecedented times. At the same time, it is important to be aware of the longer-term financial implications of such a decision.

To view the entire updated response, please go to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory's website or click here.

A Bill for an Act to amend the Public and Environmental Health Act 2011 and the Information Act 2002 introduced into Parliament today and is expected to pass as a matter of emergency. Click here to view the Bill: https://legislation.nt.gov.au/en/LegislationPortal/Bills/~/link.aspx?_id=5D5B639D286B444CB55F0A948643D28C&_z=z

Time to think about contingency plans for your next AGM

23 March 2020

Companies planning their AGM or other General Meetings during the current pandemic, should be considering developing contingency plans, says the Law Council of Australia.

This follows the release of a guidance note, developed by the Law Council in partnership with the Governance Institute of Australia and the Australasian Investor Relations Association.

Emergency legislation to Protect Territorians

24 March 2020

Parliamentary Sittings resume in Darwin today with debate focusing on emergency legislation to deal with the Northern Territory’s response to COVID-19.

The two pieces of legislation will strengthen the Northern Territory’s pandemic response from a health and fiscal standpoint.

The Emergency Legislation Amendment Bill 2020 amends the Public and Environmental Health Act 2011 to allow declarations of a public health emergency for a period of up to 90 days instead of the current five-day limit. The current limit was designed to cater for emergencies such as cyclones and floods.

Please be advised that the Tony Fitzgerald Memorial Lecture that was due to occur on 1 April 2020 @ NT Library has been postponed until further notice due to Covid-19 restrictions. Contact the Criminal Lawyers Association of the NT if you require additional information https://clant.org.au/contact-us/

Matters heard by his Honour, Associate Justice Luppino

On behalf of his Honour, Associate Justice Luppino, please find following information regarding all hearings and mentions in the civil jurisdiction before the Associate Justice being conducted by telephone, until further notice.

This notice supplements the Notice to Practitioners Litigants and the Visiting Public – Covid - 19 published by the Court on 16 March 2020.

Paragraph 4 of the Notice provides that “Mentions and pre-trial hearings are to be conducted by way of audio link where possible”. This email provides supplementary information in respect of, and only applies to, mentions and hearings before the Associate Justice.

Until further notice, all hearings and mentions in the civil jurisdiction before the Associate Justice will be conducted by telephone or, in appropriate cases, by video link. That includes settlement conferences and matters which would normally be heard in Court, including the interlocutory list.

New measures to reduce impact of Covid-19 virus

A meeting of Judges, lawyers and others who regularly use the NT Local Court has determined to take measures to reduce the impact of the Covid-19 virus.

Dozens of stakeholders in Darwin, Katherine, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Nhulunbuy, this week held a virtual-meeting to discuss the Covid-19 virus and how it could impact on the courts.

All initiatives involved steps to reduce the movement of people around the NT who are involved with court matters.

The Law Society NT is closely monitoring the developing COVID-19 situation with a view to ensure it takes all action required to protect the health and wellbeing of the profession, Law Society staff and anyone entering its premises. Set out below are the current arrangements put in place by the Society.

Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT)

• All existing listings for hearings and compulsory conferences are being maintained; however, all parties are being contacted in advance and advised that the tribunal strongly encourages remote participation. The usual requirements for leave to attend by phone or video are suspended. In the event a party attends in person, we are presently confident that adequate physical separation can be maintained – including if need be, by the use of more than one hearing room.

16 March 2020

The Law Council of Australia is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Tidball as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Mr Tidball currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Law Society of NSW, a position he has held for nearly 14 years.

In announcing Mr Tidball’s appointment, Law Council of Australia President, Pauline Wright, said she is delighted to have secured a candidate of such high calibre to lead the Law Council into the next decade.

“Having undertaken an extensive global recruitment for a new CEO, I am thrilled that we have secured the most experienced, serving legal association chief executive in the Southern Hemisphere,” Ms Wright said.