Court Security Regulation 2021

The Regulation operates through a handful of recurring regulatory concepts that are specified to give effect to provisions of the Act. Those concepts appear as formal prescriptions in the Regulation and are tied to the Act by explicit cross-reference.

Prescribed items and containers

• The Regulation prescribes when a bag or container is a “prescribed” restricted item for the purposes of s 8(2)(a)(ii) of the Act: the bag or container must have the Sheriff’s insignia printed in a conspicuous position and must be issued by a security officer (s 4). The prescription thus links a visual mark (insignia) with issuance by a specified class of person (security officer).

Permitted recording and body-worn devices

• The Regulation delineates when recording devices may be used in courts for the purposes of s 9(2)(e) of the Act. It prescribes three categories: approved use in Civil and Administrative Tribunal premises (with principal registrar approval), approved use in Local Court premises (with registrar approval), and use of body‑worn video by police in accordance with the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 s 50A and an inter-agency written agreement (s 5).
• Separately, it prescribes the use of body-worn recording devices by sheriff’s officers subject to multiple conditions: a written agreement between the Sheriff and the court head, the device being used while acting in execution of duties, prominence of attachment to uniform, and one of three notification/harm/inadvertence conditions (s 5A). That prescription is temporary and will be repealed at the end of 30 November 2026 (s 5A(2)).

Transmission and distribution of recordings

• The Regulation prescribes who may transmit sounds, images or information from court proceedings (s 6): journalists for media reports, lawyers, persons authorised under a practice note or policy direction by the court’s senior judicial officer, and court officers or staff acting in the usual course of their duties.
• It also prescribes exemptions from restrictions on transmission or distribution when recordings were obtained by police body-worn video in accordance with s 5(c) and when transmission is in connection with the exercise of a law enforcement function (s 6A(1)). Subsection (2) extends that prescription to sheriff’s officer recordings obtained under s 5A; both subsection (2) and subsection (3) are subject to repeal on 30 November 2026 (s 6A(3)).

Surrenderable items and categories

• Section 7 prescribes classes of items that must be surrendered for safekeeping under s 11(1)(d) of the Act: flammable liquids; glass containers; sporting equipment that may be used as a weapon (including bats); tools that may be used as weapons (including hammers and screwdrivers); personal transport items (scooters and skateboards); spray cans; marker pens; and remotely piloted aircraft as defined in the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999, Part 13A (s 7).

Prescribed courts and identity forms

• Section 7A prescribes the Mental Health Review Tribunal and the Personal Injury Commission as “courts” for the Act’s definition (s 7A).
• Section 8 prescribes the form of identity certificates for security officers that the Sheriff must provide under s 21(3) of the Act; the text supplies the template and notes on omission of name/authority number.

Penalty notice offences

• Schedule 1, and its Application provision, designate particular offences created by specified provisions of the Act (s 7A(2), s 10(4), s 11(3), s 15(2)) as offences for which a penalty notice may be issued and sets the penalty amount at $110 (Schedule 1; Application, para (1)). The Application restricts penalty notices to only those limited kinds of offences or circumstances where the relevant provision is itself limited (Application para (2)). The Application expressly does this for the purposes of the Act, section 29 (Application para (1)).

Temporary and saved provisions

• The Regulation contains explicit sunset clauses for s 5A and parts of s 6A (both expiring 30 November 2026), and a repeal and savings clause preserving existing acts, matters or things effected under the 2016 Regulation (s 9(1)-(2)). The commencement clause references repeal and replacement of the 2016 Regulation which would otherwise have been repealed under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989, s 10(2) (s 2, note).

These concepts are operational: they do not state policy objectives in the text supplied, but they prescribe authorisations, obligations and process triggers that alter how recording, transmission, property custody, identity and penalty handling are to work in court premises. The Regulation therefore functions as a set of detailed operational rules and templates that fill the Act’s delegation points.

The Regulation defines who may act in particular ways and who bears particular obligations at court premises. The regulated parties, decision-makers and indirectly affected classes can be drawn directly from the text:

Primary affected actors

• Security officers and the Sheriff: the Regulation prescribes the physical form of identity certificates that the Sheriff issues to security officers (s 8). It also requires that a bag or container be “issued by a security officer” for it to be a prescribed restricted item (s 4), which gives security officers a role in the designation and distribution of exhibit bags. The Sheriff is a named actor in the certificate template and must enter written agreements with heads of courts to permit sheriff’s officer body‑worn recording devices (s 5A(1)(a), s 8).
• Sheriff’s officers: the Regulation creates a permissive regime for sheriff’s officer use of body-worn recording devices, but only subject to specific conditions , being on duty, having the device prominently attached, and meeting notification/safety/inadvertence conditions (s 5A(1)(b)-(d)). Subsection (2) imposes a sunset date on this permission (expiry 30 November 2026).
• Police officers: police use of body-worn video in court premises is permitted if used in accordance with Surveillance Devices Act 2007 s 50A and a written agreement between the Commissioner of Police and the Sheriff, and after consultation with the court head (s 5(c)). Section 6A(1) allows transmission of recordings obtained by police in that manner when connected to law enforcement functions.
• Court staff and judicial officers: section 6(d) expressly permits transmission by court officers or staff acting in the usual course of their duties. Section 6(c) permits transmission by those authorised under practice notes or policy directions issued by the court’s senior judicial officer; this gives senior judicial officers an authorising role.
• Registrars and principal registrars: the Regulation requires approval by the principal registrar of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal and by the relevant registrar of the Local Court for the use of recording devices in those premises (s 5(a)-(b)). Registrars therefore decide whether particular recording uses are permitted in their courts.
• Journalists and lawyers: section 6 permits transmission of court sounds, images or information by journalists for a media report and by lawyers. The text does not define “journalist” within the Regulation itself.
• Persons entering court premises: members of the public or litigants who bring items to court are affected by the surrender rules in s 7 and by restrictions and permissions in ss 4-6. Those who bring bags or containers that purport to be “Sheriff’s” bags are affected because the Regulation prescribes when bags are treated as restricted items (s 4).
• Persons involved in exhibits management: the Regulation’s prescription for bags/containers for exhibits affects evidence handling protocols because it specifies how exhibit containers become prescribed restricted items (s 4).

Enforcement/administration actors

• The Sheriff’s office and security officers are empowered to issue prescribed bags (s 4) and are central to operation of s 5A and s 8. While the Regulation does not itself specify enforcement bodies in detail, it designates certain Act offences as penalty notice offences, implying that persons empowered under the Act (and the Act’s s 29 processes) will be involved in issuing or processing penalty notices (Schedule 1; Application para (1) referencing the Act, s 29).

Indirectly affected parties

• Media organisations, legal practices and advocacy groups will adjust practices for reporting and transmission of recordings because section 6 authorises particular classes to transmit, while sections 6A and 5 limit certain transmissions and allow exemptions for law enforcement- or sheriff‑obtained material.
• Manufacturers or suppliers of bags/containers or of body-worn recording devices may face specification and procurement choices because of the Regulation’s requirements that insignia be printed conspicuously and devices be capable of being attached prominently (s 4, s 5A(1)(c)).

Several provisions are temporary (s 5A(2), s 6A(3)), so affected parties must track the expiry of those permissions. The Regulation does not itself set out penalties for broad non-compliance other than by designating certain Act offences as penalty notice offences with specified amounts (Schedule 1 and Application), and does not define all critical terms such as “journalist” in the text provided.

This Regulation translates delegated powers in the Act into concrete duties for some persons and rights or exemptions for others. The principal duties and rights are set out in the relevant sections and in Schedule 1.

Duties (what particular actors must do)

• Security officers must issue bags and containers for exhibits if those items are to be the prescribed restricted items; the item must be issued by a security officer and bear the Sheriff’s insignia in a conspicuous position to be prescribed (s 4). The duty is operational: issuance is a gatekeeping act that creates a “prescribed” object.
• Persons in court premises are required to surrender certain classes of things for safekeeping if they are in possession of them (s 7), because those classes are prescribed for the Act’s s 11(1)(d) surrender power. The list includes flammable liquids, glass containers, sporting equipment, tools, personal transport items, spray cans, marker pens, and remotely piloted aircraft (s 7).
• Sheriff’s officers who use body‑worn recording devices must comply with the conditions in s 5A(1): use under a written agreement between Sheriff and head of court, using the device only while acting in the execution of duties, ensuring the device is prominently attached to uniform, and meeting one of the three notification/harm/inadvertence conditions (s 5A(1)(a)-(d)). The duty to comply is explicit; failure to meet those substantive conditions means the Regulation does not prescribe the use for the purposes of the Act.
• Registrars and principal registrars have a duty to exercise the approval functions provided: they must consider and approve (or not) requests to use recording devices in the Local Court and Civil and Administrative Tribunal premises (s 5(a)-(b)). The Regulation gives those officials a decision-making role.
• Court staff and members of judicial staff acting in the course of duties may be obliged to follow transmission protocols authorised by senior judicial officers or court policy directions (s 6(c)-(d)).

Rights and authorised acts (what particular actors are permitted to do)

• Journalists and lawyers are expressly authorised to transmit sounds, images or information from court proceedings in the ways the Regulation prescribes: journalists for media reports, lawyers in the course of practice (s 6(a)-(b)). That is a carve-out from general restrictions that may exist under the Act.
• Police officers are authorised to use body-worn video in court premises if such use complies with the Surveillance Devices Act 2007, s 50A, and is subject to a written agreement between the Commissioner of Police and the Sheriff, and after consultation with the head of the court (s 5(c)). That confers a limited right to record, but tied to other statutory and inter-agency controls.
• Court officers and judicial staff have the right to transmit recordings where doing so is in the usual course of their duties (s 6(d)).
• Sheriff’s officers authorised under s 5A have a time-limited right to use body-worn recording devices subject to the four enumerated conditions, until the provision is repealed on 30 November 2026 (s 5A(2)).

Procedural/administrative rights and constraints

• The Regulation prescribes an identity certificate format for security officers (s 8). The prescribed template defines the information to be displayed and therefore constrains the Sheriff’s issuance process; it also provides the bearer with the explicit right to exercise security officer powers in court premises under the Act (s 8 form).
• The Schedule and its Application grant a procedural right under the Act to issue penalty notices for specified offences and set the monetary amount attached to those notices ($110). The Application clarifies a limitation: penalty notices can be issued only for the limited kinds of offences or limited circumstances specified in a provision if that provision itself contains such qualifications (Application para (2)).

Discretion and conditionality

• Several authorisations in the Regulation are conditional on other actors’ decisions. For police and sheriff body-worn use, written agreements and head-of-court consultation are required (s 5(c), s 5A(1)(a)). For recording in Tribunal and Local Court premises, specific registrar approvals are required (s 5(a)-(b)). For transmission, authorisation can be provided via practice notes or policy directions issued by the senior judicial officer of a court (s 6(c)). These conditions allocate discretionary roles to particular officials.

Temporal limits and savings

• Rights under s 5A and parts of s 6A are temporary: s 5A is repealed at the end of 30 November 2026 and s 6A(2) and the subsection’s saving effect are repealed on that date (s 5A(2), s 6A(3)). The regulation also contains a savings clause that preserves prior acts under the 2016 Regulation (s 9(2)). Practitioners should note that certain rights and duties exist only until the specified repeal dates.

Overall, duties are concentrated on security officers, registrars, sheriff’s officers and persons attending court premises with potentially surrenderable items. Rights are expressed as narrow authorisations for specific actors or under particular written agreements or approvals; many rights are contingent on other statutory regimes or inter-agency agreements.

The Regulation establishes a limited and specified penalty regime by designating certain offences under the Act as penalty notice offences and setting a fixed monetary amount for those notices. Enforcement mechanisms beyond the Schedule are not detailed in the Regulation text provided, but the Schedule and Application create clear legal consequences for specific contraventions.

Penalty notice offences and amounts

• Schedule 1 lists penalty notice offences by reference to provisions of the Act and sets the penalty at $110 for each listed offence. The listed Act provisions are: s 7A(2), s 10(4), s 11(3), and s 15(2) (Schedule 1 table).
• The Application provision clarifies that, for the purposes of the Act s 29, each offence created by a provision specified in Schedule 1 is an offence for which a penalty notice may be issued and that the amount payable is the amount specified opposite the provision (Application para (1)). The Application therefore makes the connection between the Regulation’s table and the Act’s penalty notice processes explicit.

Scope and limits on issuing penalty notices

• The Application contains an important limitation directed at the types of offences for which a penalty notice can be issued: where a provision is qualified by words restricting its operation to limited kinds of offences or limited circumstances, the penalty notice may be issued only for that limited kind or for an offence committed in those limited circumstances (Application para (2)). This directs that the delegation of penalty notices cannot be used to broaden liability beyond the narrow scope of the underlying Act provision.

Enforcement actors and processes

• The Regulation itself does not specify which official(s) may issue a penalty notice or the administrative process for doing so; that function is referenced to the Act, s 29, by the Application (Application para (1)). Practitioners must therefore consult the Act (which is cross‑referenced throughout the Regulation) to identify who is authorised to issue penalty notices and what administrative steps and review rights are available under the Act.

Interplay with other restrictions and permissions

• The Regulation prescribes circumstances in which recording or transmission is authorised (ss 5-6) and circumstances in which recordings obtained by police or sheriff’s officers may be transmitted (s 6A). Where a person transmits or records outside those authorised circumstances they may be exposed not only to the Act’s substantive offences but, where applicable, to the penalty notice regime created by the Application and Schedule. The text implies a narrower enforcement pathway for certain contraventions, via penalty notice instead of prosecution, but the Regulation does not itself describe processes such as service, payment, review or prosecution if unpaid , these are matters for the Act.

Temporal effects on enforcement

• Sections 5A and parts of 6A are temporary and will be repealed at the end of 30 November 2026 (s 5A(2); s 6A(3)). Enforcement regimes that rely on those permissions or exemptions must account for their expiry. For example, a transmission exemption under s 6A(2) for recordings obtained by a sheriff’s officer using a body‑worn device will cease to exist once that subsection is repealed; any enforcement or investigatory activity contingent on that exemption would need to consider the repeal date.

Savings and transition

• The Regulation expressly repeals the 2016 Regulation and provides that anything that had effect under the 2016 Regulation immediately before repeal continues to have effect under the new Regulation (s 9(1)-(2)). The savings clause reduces transitional enforcement disruption by preserving existing acts, matters or things until changes under the new Regulation are implemented administratively.

Practical enforcement implications from the text

• The Regulation’s approach is to convert some operational contraventions into penalty notice offences with a modest set monetary amount ($110). This suggests an administrative, low-value enforcement pathway for particular contraventions of the Act as specified. The Regulation leaves substantive enforcement mechanisms like who issues notices, timeframes, and review mechanisms to the Act, since the Application is expressly made for the purposes of the Act s 29.

In sum, enforcement as established by the Regulation is narrow in scope, focused on a defined set of Act provisions, expressed in monetary penalty terms, and procedurally tied back to the Act’s s 29 framework. The Regulation itself does not supplant or detail the broader prosecutorial or review mechanisms that operate under the Act.

The Regulation is explicitly integrative: it operates by prescribing particulars “for the purposes of” specified provisions in the Court Security Act 2005 and by referencing other statutes. The supplied text identifies several cross‑statutory interactions that practitioners must track.

Interaction with the Court Security Act 2005

• Nearly every operative prescription is made explicitly for the purposes of specified sections of the Act. Examples include:
  • Bags/containers as prescribed items under Act s 8(2)(a)(ii) (s 4).
  • Permissible uses of recording devices under Act s 9(2)(e) (s 5).
  • Temporary use of sheriff’s officer body‑worn devices under Act s 9(2)(e) (s 5A).
  • Permissible transmission of proceedings under Act s 9A(2)(f) (s 6).
  • Exemptions from restrictions on transmission/distribution of court recordings under Act s 9B(2)(c) (s 6A).
  • Things required to be surrendered for safekeeping under Act s 11(1)(d) (s 7).
  • Prescribing courts for the definition in Act s 4(1) (s 7A).
  • Prescribing the form of identity certificates under Act s 21(3) (s 8).
  • Schedule 1’s operation is tied to Act s 29 (Application para (1)).
• The Regulation does not itself recapitulate the Act’s substantive prohibitions, powers and enforcement mechanisms; instead it fills in delegated detail that the Act expressly left to subordinate legislation. Users thus need to read both instruments in tandem.

Interaction with the Surveillance Devices Act 2007

• Section 5(c) permits police use of body‑worn video in court premises only if it complies with Surveillance Devices Act 2007, s 50A, and if there is a written agreement between the Commissioner of Police and the Sheriff and consultation with the head of the court. This makes the Regulation’s permit contingent on compliance with an external statutory regime and on inter-agency agreement.

Interaction with the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999

• Section 7(h) prescribes “remotely piloted aircraft” for surrender by reference to the meaning given in the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999, Part 13A. The Regulation therefore delegates the definitional work to another statute for that specific class of item.

Interaction with Subordinate Legislation and Interpretation Acts

• The commencement note (s 2) refers to the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 s 10(2) as the statutory mechanism by which the earlier Regulation would have been repealed. The Regulation also refers readers to the Interpretation Act 1987 for definitions and interpretive aids (s 3, note). These references indicate that the Regulation is not interpretively self-contained but functions within the broader subordinate legislation and statutory interpretation frameworks.

Interplay with judicial and court governance instruments

• Section 6(c) allows transmission by persons authorised by or under a practice note or policy direction issued by the senior judicial officer of the court concerned. That creates an interaction between subordinate legislation and court governance instruments: practice notes and policy directions will be effective authorisation mechanisms for transmission, subject to the Regulation’s scope.

Interplay between administrative agreements and statutory permissions

• Sections 5(c) and 5A(1)(a) require written agreements between agencies or between the Sheriff and the head of the court to enable certain recording activities. These provisions make regulatory permissions conditional on inter-agency and internal court administrative arrangements. Where the external statute (Surveillance Devices Act) or the written agreement imposes stricter rules, those will prevail for the permitted activity.

Consequences for compliance and legal certainty

• Because the Regulation delegates definitional and authorisation tasks to other statutes, practice notes, written agreements and the Sheriff’s office, the full legal effect of an authorised activity in a particular court setting will depend on reading the Regulation together with:
  • The applicable provisions of the Court Security Act 2005 referenced in each prescription.
  • Any written agreement required by the Regulation (for police or sheriff body‑worn devices).
  • The Surveillance Devices Act 2007 where police recording is involved.
  • Practice notes or policy directions issued by senior judicial officers.
  • The Interpretation Act 1987 for interpretive questions.
• The Regulation therefore acts as a node tying several legal sources together rather than as a standalone code. Practitioners must map the Regulation’s prescriptions to the other instruments it references to determine precise obligations and permissions.

The text supplies embedded amendment notes and insertion/repeal history for particular sections. The following summarises the amendment record as it appears in the supplied regulation text.

Initial repeal and replacement

• The Regulation itself commenced on publication and explicitly repealed and replaced the Court Security Regulation 2016 (s 2, note; s 9(1)). The commencement note states the Regulation repeals and replaces the 2016 Regulation which would otherwise have been repealed on 1 September 2021 by the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 s 10(2) (s 2, note).

Section-by-section recorded amendments and insertions

• Section 5 (Permissible uses of recording devices) carries an amendment note: “s 5: Am 2023 (511), Sch 1[1].” This indicates an amendment in 2023; the text does not show the previous wording but records the change.
• Section 5A (Use of body-worn recording device by sheriff’s officer) is indicated as inserted in 2023: “s 5A: Ins 2023 (511), Sch 1[2].” It also records subsequent amendments: “Am 2024 (575), Sch 1[1]; 2025 (632), Sch 1[1].” The section contains a sunset clause repealing the section at the end of 30 November 2026 (s 5A(2)).
• Section 6A (Exemption from restriction on transmission or distribution of court recording) is indicated as inserted in 2023 and amended thereafter: “s 6A: Ins 2023 (511), Sch 1[3]. Am 2024 (575), Sch 1[2]; 2025 (632), Sch 1[2].” Subsections (2) and the saving are repealed on 30 November 2026 (s 6A(3)).
• Section 7 (Things required to be surrendered for safekeeping) bears an amendment note: “s 7: Am 2023 (511), Sch 1[4].” The current text therefore reflects amendments made in 2023 to the list of surrenderable items.
• Section 7A (Prescribed courts) has a more complex insertion and repeal history as provided: “s 7A: Ins 2021 (551), sec 3. Rep 2023 No 7, Sch 2.13. Ins 2025 (602), Sch 1. Subst 2026 (111), Sch 1.” This indicates an insertion in 2021, repeal in 2023, another insertion in 2025, and a substitution in 2026. The current text shows s 7A as prescribing the Mental Health Review Tribunal and the Personal Injury Commission.
• Section 8 (Form of certificates of identification for security officers) contains the prescribed form and no amendment note in the supplied text beyond the link to the Act’s s 21(3).
• Section 9 (Repeal and savings) effects the repeal of the 2016 Regulation and contains the savings clause (s 9(1)-(2)).

Schedule amendments

• The Schedule is headed “Schedule 1 Penalty notice offences” and the embedded Application contains its own operative instructions. The Schedule table lists particular Act sections and the penalty of $110. The text does not show earlier versions of the Schedule but its presence is recorded.

Temporal amendments and sunset provisions

• The Regulation contains transient provisions with explicit repeal dates: s 5A is repealed at the end of 30 November 2026 (s 5A(2)), and s 6A(2) and related subsections are repealed on 30 November 2026 (s 6A(3)). These dates are embedded in the Regulation and constitute part of its amendment and lifecycle control.

Notes on amendment record in the text

• Each amendment note references a year and numbered instrument (for example “2023 (511), Sch 1[1]”). The Regulation’s recorded amendments show iterative changes to the recording/transmission rules, the surrenderable items list, and the prescription of courts over the period 2021-2026. The text supplied does not reproduce precursor versions or expose the precise content of prior iterations beyond the current wording and the inserted or amended status notes.

Practitioner implication

• The embedded amendment notes and explicit sunset clauses in the Regulation indicate that some authorisations are temporary and that the list of prescribed courts and surrenderable items has been adjusted over time. Users must check the operative text and the amendment history when advising, because some provisions are explicitly time-limited and others have been subject to repeal and re-insertion in recent years.

The Regulation text supplied contains no references to judicial decisions, court rulings, or litigation that interpret or apply its provisions. It does not cite any cases and there is no litigation history recorded in the instrument itself.

Potential focal points for litigation (as indicated by the text)

• Ambiguities and discretionary standards in the Regulation create natural issues that may be litigated in practice. The Regulation leaves interpretive questions open to operational discretion and contingent standards, which are potential subjects for judicial review or statutory interpretation disputes. The text suggests several specific loci where disagreements might arise and therefore where litigation could be possible:
  • “Reasonable attempt” to ensure awareness before recording (s 5A(1)(d)(i)). The Regulation uses the phrase “made a reasonable attempt,” which is a context-sensitive standard that courts commonly construe. Disputes could arise over what constitutes a reasonable attempt in different court settings.
  • The officer’s “opinion” that there is “a significant risk of harm” (s 5A(1)(d)(ii)) permits subjectivity. Challenges could address whether an officer’s stated belief was reasonable, proportionate and made in good faith, and whether any recording complied with the other listed conditions.
  • The scope of “inadvertent or unexpected” recording (s 5A(1)(d)(iii)) may be contested: whether an incident qualifies and whether it was truly inadvertent or whether prior notifications/controls made a recording foreseeable.
  • The precise point at which a bag or container is a prescribed restricted item (s 4) may raise factual disputes: whether an insignia is “conspicuous” or whether the bag was in fact “issued by a security officer.” These are factual matters but may give rise to challenges about evidence admissibility or chain of custody for exhibits.
  • The limits on penalty notice issuance where a provision is qualified (Schedule 1 Application para (2)) may be a source of dispute if enforcement agencies issue penalty notices in circumstances that the underlying Act provision would not cover.
  • The interaction between this Regulation and the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (s 5(c)) may give rise to cross‑statute interpretation issues, particularly where police body-worn recordings are used in court settings and transmission or distribution is later contested.

Absence of stated litigation examples

• Because the Regulation text itself contains no litigation history, any actual cases that engage these issues are not cited here. The areas identified above are derived from the Regulation’s language and the kinds of discretionary or fact-dependent standards that routinely attract legal dispute.

Practical note for litigators and in-house advisors

• Where disputes transpire over the Regulation’s terms, the court will likely examine the Act provisions that the Regulation serves, the written agreements or practice notes referenced, and the facts of officers’ conduct (for example, the nature of notice given or the circumstances of a recording). Advice should therefore draw together the Regulation, the relevant Act sections, any written agreements and court practice notes or policy directions referenced in s 5, s 5A and s 6 to build a comprehensive factual and legal statement.

The text contains numerous operational details that can produce unexpected compliance issues. The following are concrete “gotchas” for practitioners to watch, each grounded in the Regulation’s wording.

Temporal and transitional risks

• Sunset dates: s 5A(2) repeals s 5A at the end of 30 November 2026, and s 6A(3) repeals parts of s 6A on that same date. Organisations adopting practices that rely on s 5A or s 6A must change them before the repeal date or risk continued reliance on non-existent permissions.
• Repeal and savings: s 9(1) repeals the 2016 Regulation, but s 9(2) saves acts done under it. Administrative teams must ensure that procedures updated under the 2016 Regulation were properly migrated to the 2021 Regulation to avoid gaps.

Conditional authorisations contingent on external agreements

• Police body-worn video: s 5(c) permits police use in court premises only in accordance with Surveillance Devices Act 2007 s 50A and a written agreement between the Commissioner and the Sheriff and after consultation with the head of the court. If the written agreement is absent or does not cover a particular court, the permission does not apply.
• Sheriff’s officer body-worn devices: s 5A(1)(a) requires a written agreement between the Sheriff and the head of the court. Without such an agreement, the permission is not prescribed. This transfers the practical activation of the permission to an administrative negotiation , courts that assume the permission exists without an agreement may be wrong.

Vague standards creating operational uncertainty

• “Reasonable attempt” (s 5A(1)(d)(i)) and “significant risk of harm” (s 5A(1)(d)(ii)) are standards that invite subjective assessments and potential dispute. Staff training and clear internal guidance are necessary to create consistent practice and to document decisions.
• “Prominently attached” to uniform (s 5A(1)(c)) is non‑quantitative; courts could dispute whether a device was sufficiently prominent if that fact becomes material.

Narrow authorisations and undefined terms

• The Regulation permits transmission by “journalist” for media reports (s 6(a)) but does not define “journalist.” Media outlets must check broader legal definitions or court practice notes that may define the role for authorisation purposes.
• The Regulation allows authorisation via “practice note or policy direction” by a senior judicial officer (s 6(c)). This decentralises authorisation and may produce inconsistent rules across courts; practitioners should check local practice notes rather than rely on a uniform regime.

Bag/container prescription mechanics

• A container is prescribed only if the Sheriff’s insignia is printed conspicuously and the container is issued by a security officer (s 4). Vendors or contractors cannot unilaterally label bags; security officers must issue them. Exhibit handling protocols must ensure this chain is preserved to maintain the container’s prescribed status.

Broad surrenderable categories that capture small items

• Section 7 includes marker pens and spray cans on the surrender list. These are commonplace items that litigants or visitors may not expect to have to surrender. Court administrators should ensure clear signage and storage procedures to avoid disputes at entry.

Penalty notice scope and limits

• Schedule 1 makes certain Act offences penalty notice offences ($110) but Application para (2) restricts penalty notices to the limited kinds of offences or circumstances in the underpinning Act provision. Enforcement officers must ensure the factual constellation fits the exact Act provision before issuing a penalty notice; otherwise the notice may be invalid.

Certificate form requirements

• Section 8 prescribes the identity certificate form for security officers and explicitly allows omission of either the name or an authority number as required. The Sheriff must ensure certificates conform exactly to the prescribed form to avoid challenges to an officer’s authority in court premises.

Dependencies on external statutory definitions

• For remotely piloted aircraft, s 7 refers to the meaning given in the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999, Part 13A. Misunderstanding the external definition could cause over- or under-enforcement at court security checkpoints.

Administrative burden and local variation

• The Regulation delegates several key decisions to registrars, principal registrars, senior judicial officers and heads of courts (ss 5(a)-(b), 5A(1)(a), 6(c)). That creates a potential patchwork of local practice and requires court administrators to create consistent internal policies or risk unequal application across jurisdictions.

Record-keeping and evidentiary risk

• Requirements like the officer having made a reasonable attempt to notify (s 5A(1)(d)(i)) or acting in the “execution of the officer’s duties” (s 5A(1)(b)) will require contemporaneous record-keeping to justify later use of recordings or transmissions. Lack of contemporaneous documentation may undermine lawful reliance on the Regulation’s permissions.

In short, the Regulation’s operational detail delegates many outcome-determining choices to written agreements, practice notes, and local officials, while containing non‑quantitative standards and sunset provisions. Practitioners should plan for administrative processes to capture written authorisations, consistent training on subjective standards, clear signage and handling procedures for surrenderable items, and regular review before sunset dates.

The Regulation prescribes specific administrative actions and conditional permissions. Practical compliance requires a combination of policy drafting, delegated decision‑making, training, documentation and periodic review. The following steps map directly to the Regulation’s operative provisions.

1. Review and update written agreements and practice notes

• For police body-worn video: ensure a written agreement between the Commissioner of Police and the Sheriff is in place, consistent with Surveillance Devices Act 2007 s 50A and incorporating any consultation outcomes with the head of the court concerned (s 5(c)). Document the agreement and make it available to court security and registry staff.
• For sheriff’s officers: negotiate and finalise a written agreement between the Sheriff and the head of each relevant court that sets out when and how sheriff’s officers may use body‑worn recording devices (s 5A(1)(a)). That agreement should define what constitutes a “reasonable attempt” to notify and how “significant risk of harm” will be assessed and recorded.

2. Implement registrar approval processes for courtroom recording requests

• Create formal application and approval processes for the Civil and Administrative Tribunal and Local Court so that requests to use recording devices are handled consistently by the principal registrar and relevant registrar respectively (s 5(a)-(b)). Preserve records of approvals and reasons.

3. Define and publish court-specific authorisation instruments

• Senior judicial officers should issue practice notes or policy directions under which authorised persons may transmit sounds, images or information (s 6(c)). Publish these practice notes on court websites and ensure registries and court security staff understand the scope of authorised transmissions.

4. Operationalise body‑worn device rules for sheriff and police officers

• Procure or configure devices so they can be “prominently attached” to uniforms, and define in the written agreements the technical and placement requirements that meet the Regulation’s “prominently attached” standard (s 5A(1)(c)).
• Create checklists for officers to document either: the reasonable attempt at notification made prior to recording, the observed significant risk of harm justifying recording, or the factual circumstances showing the recording was inadvertent or unexpected (s 5A(1)(d)). Require contemporaneous entries into an incident log.

5. Redesign exhibit bag issuance and custody procedures

• Ensure exhibit bags and containers that are to be treated as prescribed restricted items have the Sheriff’s insignia printed conspicuously and are issued by a security officer (s 4). Maintain chain-of-custody logs showing issuing security officer, recipient, and time of issue to preserve evidentiary integrity.

6. Implement clear entry and surrender procedures

• Update security screening signage, scripts and property collection forms to reflect the surrender list in s 7: flammable liquids, glass containers, sporting equipment, tools, personal transport items (scooters, skateboards), spray cans, marker pens, and remotely piloted aircraft (as per Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999, Part 13A). Train intake staff to offer safekeeping and record surrendered items.

7. Standardise identity certificates

• Ensure the Sheriff’s office issues security officer identity certificates using the prescribed form in s 8, including photograph, name/authority number (omit one if required per the note), signature of the officer and signature of the Sheriff. Retain copies in personnel files and display processes for verification at court entry points.

8. Prepare for penalty notice processes

• Incorporate Schedule 1 penalty notice offences into court security compliance guidance. For offences listed at Act s 7A(2), s 10(4), s 11(3) and s 15(2), ensure that staff understand a $110 penalty notice may be issued (Schedule 1) and that issuance must comply with the limitation in the Application para (2) , penalty notices may only be issued where the underlying Act provision permits the limited kind or circumstance of offence. Coordinate with the Act’s s 29 procedures to confirm who is empowered to issue notices and what payment/review procedures apply.

9. Document and publish local policies

• Because several authorisations are conditional on practice notes, written agreements and registrar approvals, publish local policies, forms and agreements so journalists, legal practitioners, court staff, registry personnel and security officers can rely on them. This reduces disputes over whether a recording or transmission was authorised.

10. Monitor expiry dates and amendment history

• Track the sunset of s 5A and parts of s 6A on 30 November 2026 (s 5A(2), s 6A(3)). Put the sunset dates into compliance calendars and plan policy reviews in advance. Also monitor the modifiable elements such as prescribed courts (s 7A) where the text records prior insertions/repeals.

11. Train staff and maintain contemporaneous records

• Train security officers, registrars, sheriff’s officers and other court staff on the meaning of subjective standards found in the Regulation (for example “reasonable attempt”, “significant risk of harm”, “prominently attached”) and require contemporaneous documentation of decisions to record or authorise transmission. Keep incident logs, written agreements and registrar approvals on file.

12. Liaise with police and other agencies

• Ensure coordination with police on written agreements and on handling of recordings obtained by police body-worn video. Clarify when such recordings may be transmitted for law enforcement functions under s 6A(1).

13. Check external definitions

• For items such as remotely piloted aircraft, consult the cross‑referenced Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999, Part 13A for the precise definition used in s 7(h