Court users are advised that access to the Supreme Court within the Law Courts Building is currently impacted due to essential and unavoidable lift remediation and upgrade works.

At present, only three out of six lifts are operational and able to provide access to courtrooms. Regrettably but unavoidably, the remaining three lifts will continue to be out of operation until the end of the year as part of a necessary upgrade to improve long-term accessibility and safety.

The Court acknowledges the inconvenience this has caused and appreciates the patience of all court users during this period.  The Court also notes that the access issue has been compounded in recent weeks by a number of high profile matters in both the Supreme and Federal Courts which have attracted large numbers of members of the public also using the lifts.

The situation is particularly acute on Friday mornings, when multiple court lists are scheduled concurrently.  In addition, admission ceremonies (4-5 per day) are held once a month, with the next set of ceremonies to take place this coming Friday.

To help alleviate congestion on Fridays:

• The Registrar’s Bail Call Over List will be relocated to the Hospital Road Court Complex;
• The Applications List will be relocated to the Hospital Road Court Complex for at least this Friday;
• “Not before” markings in the Commercial and Real Property Lists will endeavour to increase staggering of times to alleviate pressure on the lifts;
• The Real Property List will, from Friday 22 August and unless otherwise notified, be conducted in the Banco Court on Level 13, noting that:
• The Banco Court can be accessed via the high-rise lifts to Level 14 i.e. the lifts used for the Federal Court, and then entering through the rear doors of the Banco Court on Level 14; and
• Trolley users should continue to access the Banco Court via Level 13.

While these arrangements are designed to ease pressure on the lift system and facilitate access to the Joint Law Courts Building and judges are aware of the pressure on the lifts, practitioners and parties are strongly encouraged and advised to arrive at Court earlier than usual to allow sufficient time for building access.  This should also be passed on to clients and witnesses.

The Court thanks all users for their understanding and cooperation.