To protect the people of NSW from the evolving COVID-19 outbreak, current restrictions will be extended to at least midnight on Friday 2 July.

In addition, following updated health advice from the Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant about the growing risk to the community, stay-at-home orders are being introduced for at least one week for those who live in, or whose usual place of work is in, Woollahra, Waverley, Randwick and City of Sydney Councils.
 
Due to the risk associated with an increasing number of exposure venues where transmission has occurred, from 11.59pm tonight until at least 11.59pm on Friday 2 July, residents of the four LGAs must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason.
The reasons you may leave your home include:

• Shopping for food or other essential goods and services;
• Medical care or compassionate needs;
• Exercise outdoors in groups of 10 or fewer;
• Essential work, or education, where you cannot work or study from home.

People should only enter the four LGAs for essential purposes.
 
If you live or work in the City of Sydney, Waverley, Randwick, Canada Bay, Inner West, Bayside, and Woollahra local government areas, you cannot travel outside metropolitan Sydney for non-essential reasons. Residents across Greater Sydney should also limit unnecessary activity, avoid large gatherings in coming days and comply with the current restrictions.

The object of this Order is to amend the Public Health (COVID-19 Greater Sydney) Order (No 2) 2021:

1. to require employers in Greater Sydney to allow their employees to work from their places of residence if it is reasonably practicable to do so, and;
2. to require a person who needs a reasonable excuse to travel outside of the Sydney Metropolitan area not to remain outside the area for longer than is necessary to complete or deal with the circumstance giving rise to the excuse or for an incidental purpose, and;
3. to make other amendments in the nature of law revision.

Read the order here.

The NSW District Court issued new rules on June 24 that apply to the following courts: Campbelltown, Downing Centre, Gosford, Katoomba, Parramatta, Penrith, Sydney, Wollongong. Masks will be compulsory throughout the court buildings in the District Court locations listed above. Masks should be worn in all areas. Everyone in a courtroom must wear a mask, unless:

1. The person concerned is an active participant in the proceedings namely the presiding judge, a practitioner who is responsible for presenting the case in court or a witness giving evidence;
2. One of the exemptions stated in the Public Health Order applies; or
3. At the discretion of the presiding judge.

Read the advice here.

The Chief Magistrate advises: the Local Court's AVL facilities are limited and additional demand that this places on the Courts mean that a general approval to appear via AVL is not possible. In normal circumstances the Local Court requires the appropriate applications, however given the short notice and short time of the next public health order, the court (particularly those within the 4 nominated LGAs) will consider requests for adjournment and AVL appearances via email. Parties are also reminded that they are able to complete written notices of pleading rather than attend court, in addition if the court appearance if likely to be for a further adjournment solicitors are encourage to make those appearances via email, rather than for AVL. It is unlikely the court will be in a position to accommodate practitioners and their clients appearing via AVL in defended hearings or sentence matters (where a Sentence Assessment Report) is required. Please note the current restrictions do not prevent attendances at court and does allow for people to fulfil their legal obligations. COVID Memos 17 and 18 apply.

The NSW LRS office is located in the City of Sydney LGA, and is subject to the NSW Government’s stay-at-home order. NSW LRS asks all customers to use online channels to make enquiries, submit and lodge documents. More information and links to online channels can be found here.

Due to the Sydney lockdown, there will be no face-to-face services from Monday 28 June 2021 until Monday 5 July 2021 inside Queens Square (Federal Court), Sydney Lionel Bowen (Family Court & Federal Circuit Court) and Sydney William Street (Federal Court). The court is still open to support litigants and the profession through a range of online and phone services. More information here. 

Further to those interstate closures already in place, as of 4pm today, the ACT is closing its border to Greater Sydney in light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Anyone entering the ACT - resident or not - who's been in Greater Metro Sydney will be subject to lockdown until 11.59pm Friday 2 July. This order excludes the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong/Shellharbour areas. Follow the latest here.