Jury-free criminal trials have been proposed by the Attorney-General as a way to help clear pandemic-related court backlogs.
Introducing the Justice Legislation Amendment (Trial by Judge Alone and Other Matters) Bill Attorney-General, Jaclyn Symes said the proposed amendments would temporarily reintroduce the option for judge-only trials in criminal matters and special hearings.
“These reforms will be in effect for a year and jury trials will continue to operate in a COVID-Safe way alongside judge-alone trials,” Ms Symes said.
“Delays in criminal proceedings can adversely impact victims and complainants, due to uncertainty about when matters will be heard, and lack of closure,” she said.
“Delays can also significantly impact accused persons, particularly those being held on remand while awaiting trial.”
Ms Symes said the Bill would also extend audio visual link (AVL) reforms to allow more people to appear in court remotely from adult prisons, thereby cutting back the number of transfers of accused people from custody to court and removing the need for them to complete a period of quarantine on their return to prison.
She said provisions would be extended for young people on community orders, to allow them to attend a Youth Justice unit, or for reporting to occur by AVL or audio link.
Ms Symes said both adult and youth AVL measures would be in place for 12 months.
“In addition, the legislation will temporarily extend existing COVID-19-related provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act) by six months to October 2022,” she said.
“This will allow WorkSafe inspectors to continue to take decisive enforcement action and ensure that employers and other duty holders under the OHS Act are providing a safe place of work by continuing to mitigate COVID-19 exposure risks.”
She said the Bill would also delay the commencement of de novo appeal reforms, which would have seen the County Court decide conviction appeals on the transcript of evidence from the original hearing, instead of essentially re-hearing the case.
“This will allow time for the justice system to prepare for these important procedural changes, which are designed to modernise appeals and reduce the burden on victims and witnesses,” Ms Symes said.
