Posted on December 17, 2021 by

UPDATE: COVID-19 Pandemic Arrangements Policy – Land and Environment Court

The Land and Environment Court of NSW (‘Court’) has updated its COVID-19 Pandemic Arrangements Policy (‘Policy’). The Policy commenced Wednesday, 1 December 2021 and replaces the previous policy made on 6 April 2021.

A summary of the key changes are provided below:

Fully vaccinated status

Only individuals who are fully vaccinated or have a medical exemption will be permitted to enter the Court’s premises or attend a hearing, conciliation, mediation, site inspection or other attendance conducted by the Court at the Court’s premises or elsewhere.

This seemingly includes all individuals who are participating in the above Court events including resident objectors, expert witnesses and legal professionals.

Accordingly, Councils and legal professionals should communicate these requirements with all participants to ensure they are fully informed of the requirements and ensure their continued involvement in Court proceedings.

The presiding judge or commissioner may also direct any person to leave the Court’s premises if the person does not show proof of their vaccination status or medical exemption.

Use of Face Masks

Irrespective of the NSW Government’s current mandates, masks will be mandatory and must be worn over the nose and mouth whilst inside the Court’s premises.

Masks may be removed when addressing a judge, commissioner or registrar in Court.

The Court encourages all participants to wear a face mark at site inspections (even if outside).

QR Code Check-In

All attendees to the Court must check-in using the Court’s QR Code check-in system or register their names and details on the register provided.

Delivery of Judgments

The Court will continue to deliver judgments by AVL, MS Teams or telephone and reference should continue to be made to the Court’s online daily list.

Capacity of Court rooms

The Policy includes a functional capacity for each court room and the responsibility falls on the presiding judge or commissioner to monitor and ensure compliance with the capacity of attendees within court rooms.

A copy of the Policy can be found here.

We have previously blogged on the Court’s Covid-19 Policy here.

If you have any questions about this post, please contact us on (02) 8235 9700 or leave a comment below.

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