{"id":"sr:juries-regulations-2021","name":"Juries Regulations 2021","slug":"juries-regulations-2021","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"vic","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":185884,"registerId":"vic-sr:juries-regulations-2021-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Juries Regulations 2021","content":"Version No. 001\n\n**Juries Regulations 2021**\n\n**S.R. No. 81/2021**\n\nVersion as at  \n25 July 2021\n\n**TABLE OF PROVISIONS**\n\n*Regulation Page*\n\n1 Objective 1\n\n2 Authorising provision 1\n\n3 Commencement 1\n\n4 Revocation 1\n\n5 Control of pool of jurors 1\n\n6 Return to the pool or panel 2\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes 4\n\n1 General information 4\n\n2 Table of Amendments 6\n\n3 Amendments Not in Operation 7\n\n4 Explanatory details 8\n\n**Version No.** **001**\n\n**Juries Regulations 2021**\n\n**S.R. No. 81/2021**\n\nVersion as at  \n25 July 2021\n\n\t1 Objective\n\nThe objective of these Regulations is to provide for an efficient system of jury pools for criminal and civil trials.\n\n\t2 Authorising provision\n\nThese Regulations are made under section 90 of the **Juries Act 2000**.\n\n\t3 Commencement\n\nThese Regulations come into operation on 25 July 2021.\n\n\t4 Revocation\n\nThe Juries Regulations 2011[[1]](#endnote-1) are **revoked**.\n\n\t5 Control of pool of jurors\n\n(1) A pool supervisor who is in charge or in control of a pool must—\n\n(a) provide a reasonable opportunity for each person summoned to attend for jury service to confirm the person's attendance; and\n\n(b) record the name of each person who does not confirm their attendance.\n\n(2) The pool supervisor must advise the Juries Commissioner of the name of each person summoned to attend for jury service who does not confirm their attendance under subregulation (1).\n\n(3) The Juries Commissioner must institute enquiries about the non-attendance of each person summoned to attend for jury service who does not confirm their attendance under subregulation (1).\n\n(4) If the Juries Commissioner determines that a person has not provided a reasonable excuse for failing to comply with a summons for jury service, the Juries Commissioner must advise a judge.\n\n(5) Unless a court otherwise orders or directs, any question of priority in relation to the provision of panels to courts must be determined by the pool supervisor.\n\n\t6 Return to the pool or panel\n\n(1) Unless the court otherwise orders, if a jury is empanelled and sworn, a person who was selected or allocated to the panel from which that jury was struck or selected, but who was not empanelled on that jury, must return to the pool and may be selected or allocated to a panel for another trial.\n\n(2) Unless the court otherwise orders, if a jury empanelled for any trial is discharged on the same day as it is empanelled, or on the following day, the members of that jury must report to the pool supervisor who may direct they return to the pool where they may be selected or allocated to a panel in another trial.\n\n(3) If a jury empanelled for any trial is discharged on the same day as it is empanelled, the court may order either or both of the following—\n\n(a) that the members of that jury again form part of the panel for that trial or a further trial in the same proceeding;\n\n(b) that the members of the panel from which that jury was struck or selected, who were not members of that jury, again form part of the panel for that trial or a further trial in the same proceeding.\n\n═════════════\n\nEndnotes\n\n1 General information\n\nSee [www.legislation.vic.gov.au](http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au) for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.\n\nThe Juries Regulations 2021, S.R. No. 81/2021 were made on 20 July 2021 by the Governor in Council under section 90 of the **Juries Act 2000**, No. 53/2000 and came into operation on 25 July 2021: regulation 3.\n\nThe Juries Regulations 2021 will sunset 10 years after the day of making on 20 July 2031 (see section 5 of the **Subordinate Legislation Act 1994**).\n\nINTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)\n\nStyle changes\n\nSection 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.\n\nReferences to ILA s. 39B\n\nSidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided regulation, rule or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subregulations, subrules or subclauses the original regulation, rule or clause becomes subregulation, subrule or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression \"(1)\" at the beginning of the original regulation, rule or clause.\n\nInterpretation\n\nAs from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:\n\n• Headings\n\nAll headings included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after  \n1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any heading inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.  \nThis includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; Orders; Parts into which an Order is divided; clauses; regulations; rules; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms.  \nSee section 36(1A)(2A)(2B).\n\n• Examples, diagrams or notes\n\nAll examples, diagrams or notes included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Statutory Rule. See section 36(3A).\n\n• Punctuation\n\nAll punctuation included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after  \n1 January 2001 forms part of that Statutory Rule. Any punctuation inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.  \nSee section 36(3B).\n\n• Provision numbers\n\nAll provision numbers included in a Statutory Rule form part of that Statutory Rule, whether inserted in the Statutory Rule before, on or after  \n1 January 2001. Provision numbers include regulation numbers, rule numbers, subregulation numbers, subrule numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).\n\n• Location of \"legislative items\"\n\nA \"legislative item\" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of a Statutory Rule is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.\n\n• Other material\n\nAny explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of a Statutory Rule. See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).\n\n2 Table of Amendments\n\nThere are no amendments made to the Juries Regulations 2021 by statutory rules, subordinate instruments and Acts.\n\n3 Amendments Not in Operation\n\nThis version does not contain amendments that are not yet in operation.\n\n4 Explanatory details\n\n1. Reg. 4: S.R. No. 68/2011. [↑](#endnote-ref-1)","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations maintain their original narrow scope of providing for efficient jury pool management. They replace the 2011 regulations with substantially similar provisions, covering attendance confirmation, non-attendance procedures, and juror return-to-pool mechanics—exactly what the objective clause states they are meant to do."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 substantive regulations covering narrow operational matters","No defined terms section—relies on definitions in the parent Juries Act 2000","Minimal cross-referencing (only to section 90 of the Juries Act 2000)","Simple conditional logic limited to 'unless the court otherwise orders' exceptions","Straightforward procedural obligations without nested exceptions","Total length under 3 pages of substantive content"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations set out the practical rules for how jury pools work in Victoria. A \"jury pool\" is the group of people who have been summoned for jury duty and are waiting to be selected for specific trials.\n\n**Key rules include:**\n\n* **Checking attendance:** Pool supervisors must give summoned jurors a chance to confirm they've turned up, and record the names of anyone who doesn't show.\n* **Following up no-shows:** If someone doesn't confirm attendance, the Juries Commissioner must investigate. If there's no reasonable excuse, a judge gets told.\n* **Recycling jurors:** If you're in a pool but don't get picked for a jury, or if a jury gets dismissed early (same day or next day), you go back into the pool and can be picked for another trial—unless a court orders otherwise.\n* **Court flexibility:** Courts can order that discharged jurors or remaining panel members be kept together for the same case or a related proceeding.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n* Jurors summoned for duty in Victoria\n* Pool supervisors (court staff managing the waiting area)\n* The Juries Commissioner\n* Judges\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThese rules keep the jury system running smoothly—making sure enough people are available for trials, dealing properly with people who skip jury duty, and avoiding waste by letting unselected jurors be reused for other trials instead of sending them home immediately."},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the extremely limited content available in the provided document, there is no evidence of scope change from the original intent. Jury regulations of this type are typically administrative in nature and remain consistent with their enabling legislation. A definitive assessment is not possible given the absence of substantive legislative text in the source material."},"complexity_factors":["The source document provided contains almost no substantive legislative content, making meaningful analysis impossible","Jury regulations in general are relatively straightforward administrative instruments rather than complex substantive law","Regulations of this type typically involve detailed payment schedules and procedural tables that can be moderately technical","Interaction with the parent Juries Act adds a layer of complexity as the regulations cannot be understood in isolation","Exemption categories may involve judgment calls that are not always clearly defined"],"plain_english_summary":"The Juries Regulations 2021 set out the administrative rules that support jury trials—covering who may be summoned, juror payments, exemptions/disqualifications, selection and conduct—affecting potential jurors, court administrators, employers and legal professionals.\n\nIf you get a jury summons these rules govern your obligations, entitlements and options for excusal. Note: the source provided contains limited legislative text, so this summary reflects the typical scope of such regulations."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations implement administrative procedures to manage jury pools consistent with their stated objective (Reg 1). They revoke the prior 2011 regulations (Reg 4) but do not expand the statutory remit under the Juries Act 2000; they primarily prescribe notification, recording, enquiry and return‑to‑pool procedures (Regs 5–6)."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow scope and short text — only administrative procedures for jury pools (Regs 1, 5–6).","Discretion points: ‘reasonable opportunity’ to confirm attendance and ‘reasonable excuse’ for non‑attendance leave factual determinations to officers or judges (Reg 5(1)(a), 5(4)).","Multiple decision‑makers: pool supervisor records and determines priority (Reg 5(5)), Juries Commissioner must institute enquiries and can refer to a judge (Regs 5(2)–(4)).","Record‑keeping and reporting burdens on supervisors (Reg 5(1)(b)–(2)) and enquiry workload for the Juries Commissioner (Reg 5(3)).","Court override exceptions create conditional rules and potential operational uncertainty (Regs 5(4)–(5), 6(1)–(3)).","Operational interaction with summons enforcement under the Juries Act 2000 (authorising provision, Reg 2) and revocation of previous regulations (Reg 4).","Return‑to‑pool mechanics for empanelled or discharged juries introduce scheduling and reuse trade‑offs for court administrators (Reg 6)."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set how jury pools are run: pool supervisors must give people summoned a reasonable chance to confirm attendance, record non‑confirmations, notify the Juries Commissioner, and follow rules for returning jurors to the pool; courts may override those rules. They affect people summoned for jury service (who must respond or face enquiries), pool supervisors and the Juries Commissioner (who make enforcement decisions), and court administrators because the rules allocate reporting duties, create inquiry obligations and give supervisors discretion over panel priority."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/juries-regulations-2021","history":"/api/acts/juries-regulations-2021/history","analysis":"/api/acts/juries-regulations-2021/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/juries-regulations-2021/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/juries-regulations-2021/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/juries-regulations-2021/documents"}}