The NSW Government has announced a $9 million funding package to fast-track an upgrade of courts and corrections facility in regional communities. The package includes improvements to 63 regional courthouses, with upgrades to fire safety and security, as well as structural repairs and general maintenance. The funding forms part of more than $100 million for regional stimulus announced last month. Read more here.

The Federal Government will provide an additional $63.3 million boost for the legal sector to ensure support and advice can be accessed during COVID-19. The government has also committed to providing $2 billion over the next five years under the National Legal Assistance Partnership to help with legal issues. The Prime Minister has also detailed National Cabinet discussions to ease restrictions over the coming months, help prepare Australians to go back to work in a COVID-19 safe environment, and get the economy back to a more sustainable level. More information here.

On 21 April 2020, the President of the Children’s Court issued Public Notice no. 4 outlining a plan to de-centralise the listing arrangements for urgent applications. The new listing arrangements for urgent care applications and first appearance bail proceedings have been published on the Children’s Court website and commenced on 4 May 2020. The Court has also commenced conducting Readiness Hearings to assess whether cases can be heard safely during the COVID-19 pandemic having regard to the criteria set out in Public Notice no. 4.  To assist the Court to make the assessment, legal practitioners and prosecutors are expected to jointly prepare a Readiness Hearing checklist in preparation for the Readiness Hearing.  Copies of the checklist in for both the Crime jurisdiction and Care jurisdiction are now available on the Court’s website.

The Honourable James Allsop AO, Chief Justice, Federal Court of Australia, has issued an update for the profession on court operations during COVID-19. Read more here.

The Office of the Registrar General has published an Information Sheet about temporary lodgement processes during COVD-19, known as the “COVID-19 residual lodgement”, commencing from 11 May 2020. The process allows paper documents to be sent through to NSW Land Registry Services (NSW LRS) via the PEXA workspace as a document in PDF format. NSW LRS will then treat the PDF version of the document as if it were lodged in paper over the counter. More details about the NSW LRS lodgement process here as well as on the PEXA website.

The Workers Compensation Commission has outlined its updated protocols and checklists for conducting telephone conciliations, arbitrations and mediations during COVID-19 restrictions. Read more here.

From today, companies will be able to convene annual general meetings and other meetings prescribed under the Corporations Act entirely online rather than face-to-face. The changes to the Corporations Act 2001 will also allow companies to execute a document electronically. The changes will be in effect for six months. Read more here.