His Honour Judge Graeme Henson AM, Chief Magistrate of the Local Court of NSW, has issued Memorandum No. 11 COVID-19 Arrangements – Listing of Defended Hearings with persons in custody where the hearing has been previously abandoned and changes to arrangements set out in previous memoranda. Read here.

With the District Court to lift the temporary suspension of jury trials in some, but not all, District Court venues on and from 15 June 2020, the court has issued a General Protocol outlining the procedures in place which aim to protect court participants involved in jury trials during the COVID-19 pandemic. More here. 

The Honourable James Allsop AO, Chief Justice, Federal Court of Australia, has issued an update on COVID-19 arrangements (update 23), which details the cautious and measured arrangements being put in place for the next phase of Court operations. More here.

The Honourable Peter McClellan AM QC, former Judge of Appeal and Chief Commissioner of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, has been appointed as the new Chairperson of the Sentencing Council. See details here.

NSW public sector pay rises will be frozen for 12 months, as the state deals with the economic effects of COVID-19. The policy change will see current pay levels retained, with an unprecedented guarantee of no forced redundancies for all workers who are not senior executives across the NSW public sector for a year. More here.

NSW Health has confirmed that the two eastern suburbs school students who were diagnosed with COVID-19 on Tuesday were aged 10 and 12 and travelled to school by car. View the latest COVID-19 statistics here.

NSW LRS has published a COVID-19 Key Links summary page of recent communications published by the Office of the Registrar General (ORG) and NSW LRS. See also the ORG Coronavirus update page and NSW LRS Assisting customers during COVID-19 novel coronavirus disruptions page.

Domestic violence victim-survivors will have more vital help available during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the NSW and Federal Governments to invest more than $21 million to boost frontline services and other supports. More here.

The NSW Government has launched a multimedia campaign to combat hate and xenophobia including online and in-community abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. More here.

SIRA has launched its new digital disputes portal for motor accidents disputes. The enhanced dispute resolution experience will give all parties to a dispute access to real-time status updates, in-system communication, and more efficient dispute resolution. More here.

In his address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison outlined the Government's JobMaker plan, warning the economic recovery from COVID-19 could take years. National Cabinet meets again on Friday. Read the address here.

The Australian Government is providing more than $20 million additional funding for research to improve mental health care and reduce suicide rates in Australia. This includes $3 million in new grants funding for rapid research to improve the national mental health system response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. More here.