Access for people with a disability

Our aim

The Supreme Court aims to ensure that all members of the community have equal access to our services and programs.

If you need to discuss your issues with us in advance of attending any of the facilities, please contact the Court on 1300 679 272 or by email to SC.Enquiries@justice.nsw.gov.au

However, Supreme Court hearings are conducted in a number of different buildings, both contemporary and heritage, whose designs and facilities differ markedly; the Darlinghurst Court Complex for example (built in the 1840s), has no special access available for the general public, practitioners or jurors with impaired mobility. A similar situation exists for the St James Road courtroom (built 1890s) at the King Street Court Complex.

For this reason, there are some variations in the accessibility arrangements in each sitting location and the Court needs to consider each request individually to provide the most appropriate advice and make the most suitable arrangements.

Please note that persons requiring assistance for hearing impairment difficulties, hearing assistance equipment is available in ALL NSW courtrooms (for details on the typical hearing assistance equipment available please see here (PDF, 663.1 KB)). There is no requirement for persons requiring assistance with this equipment to contact the court in advance, but please raise any issues or questions via the contact information above.

In general, examples of reasonable adjustments we can make include:

enlarging a document for a person with a vision impairment;
providing documents in alternative formats for people who are blind;
transferring court proceedings to an accessible court room for a person with a mobility impairment;
making additional equipment available in all courtrooms to assist clients with a hearing impairment;
serving a client with a hearing impairment in a quiet public location; and
explaining information in plain English and asking for feedback from a client with an intellectual disability to ensure their understanding.

We will endeavour to tailor the adjustments to suit the individual as we appreciate that each person will require different assistance. Not every request for an adjustment from a client with a disability will be reasonable. However, we will consider all adjustments requested and consult with a manager before declining any request.

To ascertain if an adjustment is reasonable:

We WILL:

consider if the adjustment is achievable;
consider Work Health and Safety requirements;
not make promises we are not sure we can meet;
not breach rules or regulations to make an adjustment; and
let you know if we have to check with the manager if we are not sure an adjustment is achievable.

We WILL NOT:

physically lift a client up or down stairs as this may result in risk to us or you; and
make any requested adjustment that would put our safety or others' safety at risk.

Please complete and submit this application form if you would like to request for any adjustments to participate in, or attend, a court hearing.

Last updated:

14 Sep 2023