New summary justice procedures start 21 September 2015
The Justice Legislation Amendment (Summary Procedure) Act 2015 is expected to commence on 21 Setpember 2015.
Key measures:
- new Preliminary Briefs of Evidence;
- a new Directions Hearing which will be overseen by a Magistrate. The purpose of the Directions Hearing is set out in new section 60AH and is ‘to identify the issues that are in dispute and the issues that are not in dispute … [and] the steps required to progress the matter’;
- new, limited defence disclosure requirements, requiring disclosure of alibi evidence, expert evidence, notification of objections to evidence, and identifying issues in dispute at the Directions Hearing;
- a new Sentence lndication Scheme; and
- amendments to the Sentencing Act to encourage early guilty pleas where appropriate and encourage compliance with the case management procedures.