The Chief Magistrate in September 2021 announced that the new online hearing platform is here to stay even after Covid restrictions are lifted and life returns to Covid normal. Is this a good thing?

The answer is yes. For persons charged with criminal offences like traffic offences it means you will not have to attend court in person to have your case heard and finalised. The old system required you to attend court in person and wait at court all day to have you one hour case heard by the court. You would need to take a day off work and lose a day’s pay every time you went to court. Some cases require numerous days of hearings to complete them. This is quite a cost to you in lost income, time and effort.

The new online court hearing means you don’t have to take the day off and lose any income. You can simply attend your worksite or place of employment as normal and have your court hearing at a nominated time in your lunch room or office or any other quiet room. Your case can be heard online using your mobile phone, a laptop or desktop. Most hearings usually take no longer than one hour so you will be able to return to work without too much disruption to your day.

In my experience of using the online system since October 2020 my clients are very happy with the experience as it does take out the stress and embarrassment of being in open court in front of many people.

Please call me on 0412 407577 to arrange a conference via ZOOM, WEBEX , TEAMS or FACETIME.