The District Court has issued a memorandum on satisfactory arrangements for defendants to appear remotely in company of legal representation and self-represented defendants not in custody. Read here.

NSW has reported seven new cases of coronavirus overnight, with 7,200 tests being completed yesterday. The state's total number of confirmed cases is now 2,982. Premier Gladys Berejiklian said today that anyone who believed they may have symptoms of coronavirus can now come forward for testing. The Premier has said she would like to see testing rates exceed 8,000 a day. Read more here.

More than 180 mental health workers will be deployed across the state as part of a $73 million package to boost mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more here.

ANZ, NAB, Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank have agreed to bolster their efforts to prioritise any business needing funding to bridge the gap until the first JobKeeper payments are made in May. Special hotlines will be set up to help manage the applications from businesses. Banks would bring JobKeeper-related applications to the front of the queue and work with the ATO to accelerate the assessment process. The industry also has a range of other support measures available to small businesses affected by COVID19, including six months deferral on loans attached to the business, extending existing lines of credit and waiving fees and charges. Read more here.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has up to date information about ATO measures and tailored support on its website including COVID-19 FAQs, enrolment for JobKeeper and early release of superannuation.

This instrument applies to provide alternative bases for an entity in a class of entities to satisfy the decline in turnover test for the purposes of receiving JobKeeper payments, when the Commissioner is satisfied that there is not a relevant comparison period for the purposes of an entity in a class of entities satisfying the decline in turnover test under subsection 8(1) of the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Rules 2020. This instrument is intended to keep more Australian workers in jobs through the course of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease pandemic by creating alternative decline in turnover tests for classes of entities where the relevant comparison period is not appropriate.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s MoneySmart website has a dedicated portal detailing support and services to help people make financial decisions during COVID-19. Read more here.

From 20 April 2020, people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible to apply to access up to $10,000 of their super in 2019-20 and a further $10,000 in 2020-21. MoneySmart has a step by step guide, which includes a calculator to allow people to estimate the impact on their retirement savings. Access the guide here.

The Senate established the Select Committee on 8 April 2020 to inquire into the Australian Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee is to present its final report on or before 30 June 2022. The closing date for submissions is 28 May 2020. Upcoming public hearings will be held on 28 April and 30 April 2020. More information here.

Speaking after today’s national cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the contact tracing app is being finalised and will be released soon. He also foreshadowed the imminent release of National COVID-19 Safe Workplace Principles and National Principles for Sport & Recreation (covering elite/professional sport, competitive community sport and individual sporting activities) The Prime Minister again confirmed that both the four metre square rule and the 1.5 metre distancing rule does not apply in school classrooms. Testing criteria has been expanded in all jurisdictions.

With the Federal Government’s COVID-19 tracing app in development, the Law Council of Australia is calling for the adoption of core design principles to be included within the legislative framework, designed to govern the operation of the app. Read more here.

NSW residents will be able to commemorate Anzac Day from home tomorrow with a broadcast of special services to honour our veterans and serving Defence personnel. The day will begin with a 5:30am commemorative service broadcast from the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, followed by a NSW service at 10am. The NSW service will be broadcast live on ABC TV and streamed on the Anzac Memorial and RSL Facebook pages. More details here.