His Honour, Judge Graeme Henson AM, Chief Magistrate of the Local Court, has issued an update on the court’s operations. "Memorandum No 13 COVID-19 Arrangements" outlines the steps that will be taken towards normalisation of listing arrangements in the Local Court. Read here.

The NSW Land and Environment Court’s new COVID-19 Pandemic Arrangements Policy will take effect from 8 July 2020. This policy replaces the COVID-19 Pandemic Arrangements Policy made on 23 March 2020. View here.

Information on the measures in place at NSW courts and tribunals to reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19 is available here.

The Supreme and District Courts can now order up to three additional jurors in criminal trials, estimated to run four weeks or longer, under an amended regulation to the Jury Act 1977 to allow trials to continue if a juror falls ill. Attorney General Mark Speakman said the amendment to the Jury Regulation 2015 is necessary to address potential increases in juror absences during the COVID-19 pandemic. More here.

An amended notice has been published in the Government Notices Gazette on 29 June 2020 setting out the new fees payable from 1 July 2020. View here.

The NSW Government has put new COVID-19 rules in place to prevent Melbourne residents living in virus hotspots from travelling across the border. Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the NSW Government will impose strict penalties on Melbourne residents in outbreak areas who seek to enter NSW in defiance of NSW public health orders. These orders will incorporate the same restrictions as those in place in Victoria. Individuals who fail to comply with the new rules could face up to six months in prison or a fine of up to $11,000 or both.  More here.

Restrictions relating to entertainment venues, weddings, community sport and other gatherings have eased in NSW. Read the new rules here.

From Monday 6 July 2020, customers will receive a 50 per cent discount when travelling on public transport in Sydney during the off-peak. The temporary discount will apply to customers using bus, train, metro and light rail services. More here.

NSW businesses can check, test and promote their COVID Safe credentials with the NSW Government’s online COVID Safe Check. More about how to become a COVID Safe business here.

A draft report, released by the NSW Government’s Federal Financial Relations Review, sets out a roadmap to realign financial relations between the Commonwealth and the states to help the economy recover beyond COVID-19. More here.

From 1 July 2020, incorporated small and family businesses with a turnover of less than $50 million will see their company tax rate reduced from 27.5 per cent to 26 per cent. Unincorporated businesses will also benefit as the rate of the small business income tax offset increases from 8 per cent to 13 per cent. More here.

A National Skills Commission on the Australian labour market and COVID-19 has shown that Australia has experienced an unprecedented fall in employment, a dramatic drop in hours worked, a significant increase in underemployment, a record number of people leaving the labour force, and job vacancies have fallen to the lowest level in over a decade. More here.

Consumers can now choose to share their banking data to access more personalised financial products and services following the launch of the Consumer Data Right. More here.

The health response to COVID-19 has resulted in large increases in measured unemployment and underemployment as well as large falls in the total number of hours worked, according to a paper released by The Australia Institute. Read the report here.