NSW recorded 262 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. Sadly three people have died and our thoughts are with their loved ones. In the same reporting period, 94.3 per cent of people aged 16 and over have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 91.4 per cent of people aged 16 and over have had two doses. Today’s statistics available here.

The Supreme Court has published its latest guidance on jury trial protocol. The health and wellbeing of all court users remain the paramount consideration. The court will continue to follow and observe government health advice and take all reasonable steps and precautions to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19; court procedures may vary at short notice in response to changing conditions. This applies to the courtroom and jury deliberation rooms. If a court participant feels unwell, they should immediately notify a court officer, obtain a COVID-19 test and isolate until they receive a result. A “bubble” will also be established for each jury trial. Read the full update here.

NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman has announced remote witnessing of important legal documents such as wills, statutory declarations and affidavits over video will become a permanent feature of the NSW legal landscape. Legislation to cement temporary measures into law has passed both Houses of NSW Parliament. The Electronic Transactions Amendment (Remote Witnessing) Bill 2021 will permanently allow documents to be witnessed in real time over an audio-visual link once the legislation receives assent. For an additional 12 months, the list of people who can witness NSW statutory declarations will also be extended to the expanded list of witnesses permitted to do so by the relevant Commonwealth legislation. Read the announcement here.

The seasonally adjusted Wage Price Index (WPI) rose 0.6 per cent in September quarter 2021, with an annual growth rate of 2.2 per cent, according to figures released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Pockets of wage pressure continued to build for skilled construction-related, technical and business services roles, leading to larger ad hoc rises as businesses looked to retain experienced staff and attract new staff. Read the ABS’s release here.