To assist the profession in relation to seeing their clients who are in custody prior to court, a centralised email address for escalating access issues has been established for the judiciary, legal practitioners and court staff to log access issues and make inquiries. It is a single point of contact for court services and legal practitioners to ensure an appropriate and timely response to inquiries and access issues. The email address is AVLclosed@justice.nsw.gov.au Legal practitioners who have an imminent matter and who cannot secure a vacant booking time in JUST Connect are advised to contact the following email addresses: for Local Court matters: DefendantHearingAVL@justice.nsw.gov.au, and for District and Supreme Court matters: SupremeDistrictAVL@justice.nsw.gov.au

The Local Court continues to be severely affected by COVID-19 cases. Accordingly, the Chief Magistrate, in consultation with stakeholders, has made the decision to vacate all defended hearings (including hearings where the defendant is in custody) state wide up until and including Friday 4 February 2022. The matters will remain listed for callover. ​​​​​Parties who are legally represented are excused from attendance and legal practitioners can appear via AVL or email to seek a further hearing date. Unrepresented parties are directed to make contact with the appropriate court registry, prior to the hearing date and advise of any unavailable dates so that the matter can be given a further hearing date. Until further notice, all other matters are to proceed in accordance with Memorandum 24.

The Courts’ Special Measures Information Notice – COVID-19 Hearing Protocol has been updated. This is to allow the Courts to continue operating safely and sensibly in light of the current COVID-19 climate. It now applies in all locations except Western Australia. With respect to proof of vaccination, Chambers staff will be seeking an assurance from the legal representative for each party that all participants proposed to attend an in-person hearing are at least double-vaccinated. Other measures and precautions will also remain in place, including social distancing, density limits, the wearing of face masks and the use of the QR check-in.

Small businesses eligible for rent relief under the COVID leasing regulations will be able to seek relief until 13 March 2022. The Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2021 rent relief provisions will continue for eligible businesses with a turnover of less than $5 million that would have met the eligibility criteria for JobSaver or the Micro-business Grant, which ended on 30 November. Read more here.

Millions more people in NSW are now eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccination after NSW Health brought forward the interval between doses by a month. From tomorrow [Friday, 21 January 2022], booster vaccinations can be given three or more months after your first two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. You are eligible for a booster vaccination if you are: fully vaccinated (have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine), aged 18 years and over, and received your second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at least three months ago. Booster doses are also recommended for pregnant women who have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as for severely immunocompromised people who have previously received three primary doses of a COVID-19 vaccine at least three months ago. More information here.

The ACCC has significant concerns about the retail price of rapid antigen tests, reportedly often costing between $20-30 per test and sometimes over $70 a test through smaller retail outlets, despite wholesale costs ranging between $3.95 and $11.45 a test. These concerning practices emerged from the ACCC’s initial analysis of information so far received from the public, suppliers and retailers about the cost and prices of rapid antigen tests across the country. Read their media release here.