Juries Act 2003

Definitions and random selection: Section 3 contains the Act’s operative definitions. Key conceptual anchors include the demarcation between civil trial and criminal trial, the notion that selection for any purpose under the Act is to be at random (s 4), and that “court” means the Supreme Court (s 3). The State roll supplied under the Electoral Act 2004 is the starting population for jury rolls (s 3; s 19(1)-(2)). The Act therefore links civic electoral enrolment to jury liability.

Eligibility and exclusion: Section 6 makes enrolled electors qualified and liable for jury service, while Schedules 1 and 2 list disqualifying and ineligible persons respectively. Schedule 1 disqualifies persons serving or recently having served prison terms, persons under community service/probation orders, remanded persons and those undergoing imprisonment (Schedule 1). Schedule 2 lists ineligible categories including the Governor, recent judicial officers and magistrates, Australian legal practitioners (as amended; Schedule 2(3)), persons connected with investigation or administration of justice, police officers and recent former police, members of Parliament, certain secretaries of Departments and persons with disabilities or inadequate English (Schedule 2).

Lists, rolls and randomness: The Electoral Commissioner, at the Sheriff’s request, provides a jury roll for each jury district (s 19). From the roll, the Sheriff prepares an annual jury list of persons liable for service (s 20). Selection of persons for purposes under the Act is to be at random (s 4), subject to the Sheriff excluding known disqualified or recently served jurors (s 20(2)). The Sheriff may require documentary evidence of qualification (s 20(4A)) and failing to comply without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence with a specified penalty (s 20(4B)).

Summonses, panels and empanelment: The Sheriff issues summonses to persons selected from a jury list (s 27). Persons attending constitute a panel (s 28(4)). The court authorises selection and an authorised person calls names to empanel jurors (s 29). The court and parties have procedures for challenges for cause (unlimited in number in both civil and criminal trials, ss 30 and 33) and limited peremptory challenges (civil 3 per party, s 31; criminal 6 per person arraigned, s 35). Reserve and supplementary jurors are provided for: the court may empanel up to two reserve jurors (s 26) and may direct the Sheriff to supplement a panel if necessary (s 37).

Jury conduct and verdicts: The Act prescribes oath or affirmation requirements (s 38), information to be given to juries (s 39), rules about discharge, continuation with a reduced jury and majority verdicts (ss 40-44). Civil juries ordinarily comprise seven (s 25(1)) and criminal juries twelve (s 25(2)), with capacity to increase to 9 and 14 respectively if the court orders under s 26. Majority verdicts are permitted for criminal trials not involving murder or treason after minimum deliberation periods (s 43), and civil majority verdicts are possible where five jurors agree after specified deliberation times (s 44).

Confidentiality and publicity constraints: Two linked concepts are central. First, the Act prohibits publication of information or images identifying persons attending for jury service (s 57), with narrow exceptions (s 57(3)). Second, the Act makes it an offence to publish or solicit any “prohibited matter” from jury deliberations, to obtain disclosure from jurors or former jurors, and to prohibit jurors or former jurors from disclosing prohibited matter to the public (s 58). Those constraints attach criminal penalties and require DPP consent before prosecution in the case of s 58 offences (s 58(8)).

Enforcement architecture: The Act mixes administrative decision-making by the Sheriff, judicial oversight by the court, investigatory roles for police and the DPP (ss 23-24, 59), and statutory offences that carry fines and custodial penalties (Part 6). The DPP is gatekeeper for prosecutions under s 58(8). The judges of the Supreme Court may make Rules of Court (s 67) and the Governor may make regulations (s 68) to operationalise detailed matters such as fees and panels.

These are the core concepts that structure participation, exclusions, procedural safeguards and criminal prohibitions in the Act. The following sections explain who is affected, the precise duties and rights created, enforcement consequences, interactions with other statutes, the act’s explicit amendment history as recorded in the text, litigation points identified by the Act, practical compliance issues and operational steps to comply.

Primary categories of persons affected by the Act are jurors and prospective jurors, the Sheriff and deputy sheriffs, the judges of the Supreme Court, the Electoral Commissioner, police, the Director of Public Prosecutions, employers and a range of public office-holders and professionals whose status either removes them from service or imposes duties.

• Prospective jurors: Any person enrolled on the State roll is qualified and liable for jury service (s 6(1); s 19(2)). That means essentially all enrolled electors are in the statutory universe of potential jurors until excluded by Schedule 1 disqualification or Schedule 2 ineligibility. The jury list is prepared annually by the Sheriff from the jury roll (s 20(1)).

• Disqualified and ineligible persons: Schedule 1 disqualifies persons subject to sentences of imprisonment or community orders (Schedule 1). Schedule 2 lists ineligible persons including the Governor, judges and magistrates within the last 10 years, Australian legal practitioners (Schedule 2(3)), police officers and former police within 10 years, members of Parliament and certain departmental secretaries (Schedule 2). Also, persons with disabilities or inadequate English are ineligible (Schedule 2(9)-(10)). These exclusions directly affect who is summoned and who must be removed from lists if identified (s 23(3)).

• The Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff: The Sheriff prepares jury lists, issues summonses, receives deferral and excusal applications, may grant deferrals, excusals and exemptions and is responsible for notifying applicants of decisions (ss 8-10; s 14; ss 19-20; s 27(1)-(3)). The Sheriff may require documentary proof to verify qualification (s 20(4A)) and issues certificates to prove service or posting of summonses (s 66).

• The Electoral Commissioner: At the Sheriff’s request the Electoral Commissioner provides jury rolls for each jury district (s 19(1)). The roll contains names, addresses and dates of birth for electors in the relevant district (s 19(2)).

• Police and DPP: The Commissioner of Police receives each jury list and the list of persons to be summoned (s 23(1)) and must cause enquiries about whether persons are disqualified or alleged to have committed offences, reporting results to the Sheriff (s 23(2)). The Commissioner of Police is also to make enquiries, at the DPP’s request, about non-disqualifying offences for persons on the list provided under s 27(6) (s 24). The DPP can request police to investigate complaints about jury deliberations or disclosure by jurors or former jurors (s 59) and controls consent to prosecutions under s 58(8).

• Employers and employees: Employees who are absent from work on jury service are protected from termination or prejudice for that reason; breaching employers face criminal fines and possible imprisonment (s 56(1)). If employers are convicted, courts may order reimbursement, reinstatement or compensation (s 56(2)-(4)).

• Media, broadcasters and licensees: Section 57 prohibits publication of material identifying persons attending for jury service. Subsection (2) treats Commonwealth broadcasting licence-holders as having caused publication where they publish such identifying material. Therefore media entities, broadcasters and licensees are directly affected and exposed to substantial penalties (s 57).

• Medical practitioners, psychologists and legal practitioners: The Act permits former jurors to disclose prohibited matters to a medical practitioner or psychologist in the course of treatment, and to an Australian legal practitioner for professional legal advice (s 58(4)). Medical practitioners and psychologists who receive such disclosures must not disclose them further (s 58(5)) and are subject to penalties for unauthorised disclosure.

• Officers of the court and police who guard juries: The Act requires officers guarding juries to take oaths or affirmations (s 47(5) and Schedules 4, 6) and they are constrained in communications with jurors to performance of their duties (s 47(3)-(5)).

• Parties and counsel in trials: Parties and counsel exercise challenge rights in empanelling juries (ss 29, 30-36). In criminal trials the Crown may require unlimited jurors to stand aside (s 34(1)) and each person arraigned has a statutory allocation of peremptory challenges (s 35).

Who pays: The Act contemplates prescribed allowances and remuneration for persons attending for jury service (s 53). The Governor may make regulations about fees and remuneration (s 68(2)(a)). Employers may bear indirect costs, and courts may order employers to pay compensation if they illegally terminate employment because of jury service (s 56(2)-(4)). Penalties for contraventions are borne by natural persons and bodies corporate as specified in each offence provision.

Who decides: The Sheriff decides on deferral, excusal and administrative matters (ss 8-11, 14); the court decides on empanelment, challenges, discharge and jury direction issues (ss 29, 39-41, 46-49); the Commissioner of Police conducts enquiries (s 23); and the DPP exercises prosecutorial discretion, including consent for s 58 prosecutions (s 58(8)).

This distribution of duties concentrates administrative discretion with the Sheriff and judicial discretion with the court while placing investigatory responsibilities on police and prosecutorial control with the DPP.

This section isolates the primary statutory duties imposed on actors and the rights the Act creates or preserves. All references are to the sections of the Act.

Duties of prospective jurors:

• Attend when summoned: A person summoned must attend as required until discharged (s 27(2)(c)); failing without reasonable excuse attracts a penalty (s 27(4)). It is a reasonable excuse if an application for deferral or excusal was made and a refusal was not notified before the attendance date (s 27(5)).
• Answer lawful questions: A person to whom a question is lawfully put by the court or Sheriff must not fail to answer or give false or misleading answers (s 54). Penalty applies.
• Inform the Sheriff of disqualification or ineligibility: A summoned person who knows they are disqualified or ineligible must inform the Sheriff as soon as practicable and give reason (s 55).
• Take oath or affirmation if empanelled: A juror must take the appropriate oath or affirmation in open court when empanelled in civil or criminal trials (s 38). Failure without reasonable excuse is an offence (s 38(5)).

Rights and administrative reliefs for jurors:

• Apply for deferral: A person may apply to the Sheriff to defer their jury service to another service period within the next 12 months, provided application is made before selection (s 8(1)-(2)). The Sheriff may grant or refuse (s 8(3)).
• Apply to be excused temporarily or permanently: A person may apply to the Sheriff to be excused for whole or part of a jury service period (s 9(1)-(3)), or apply at any time to be excused permanently (s 10). Good reason is defined and includes illness, incapacity, travel inconvenience, substantial hardship, religious incompatibility and other urgency (s 9(3); s 10(3)). The court can also excuse a person on referral from the Sheriff or on its own motion (s 12).
• Age-based excusal: Persons aged at least 70 may apply and the Sheriff must grant excusal for whole/part of period or permanently (s 11).
• Waive a previous excusal or exemption: Persons excused by Sheriff or exempted by court may waive that status by written notice to the Sheriff (s 16).
• Allowances and remuneration: Persons who attend in response to a summons or as supplementary jurors are entitled to prescribed allowances and remuneration whether or not they actually served, except where a person attends and is excused but was aware of an excuseable circumstance and did not apply at the first reasonable opportunity, in which case they are not entitled (s 53(1)-(2)). The Governor can make regulations about fees and remuneration (s 68(2)(a)).

Duties of the Sheriff and court:

• Sheriff’s administrative duties: Prepare jury lists annually from jury rolls, issue summonses with minimum 14 days’ notice, require documentary proof of qualification (s 20(1)-(4A); s 27(2)(d)), provide lists to DPP, Commissioner of Police and parties (s 27(6)), and notify applicants of decisions on deferral/excusal (ss 8-10, 15).
• Court’s judicial duties: Authorise selection and empanelment (s 29(1)), determine challenges and cause juror excusal or discharge for cause (ss 36, 39-41), decide whether a trial should continue with reduced numbers (s 42), and inform jurors of trial particulars (s 39).

Duties of police and DPP:

• Police must check lists for disqualifications and report results to the Sheriff (s 23(1)-(3)). At the request of the DPP, police must enquire into non-disqualifying offences of people on the list provided under s 27(6) (s 24).
• The DPP may request police to investigate complaints about deliberations or disclosures (s 59) and must give written consent before prosecutions for offences under s 58 proceed (s 58(8)).

Confidentiality and publication constraints:

• No publication that identifies persons attending for jury service is permitted (s 57(1)) subject to enumerated exceptions in s 57(3). License-holders under Commonwealth broadcasting legislation are treated as having caused a publication if they publish identifying material (s 57(2)).
• Prohibited matters (statements, opinions, arguments, votes) made in jury deliberations must not be published, solicited from jurors or disclosed by jurors or former jurors to the public (s 58(1)-(3)). A juror or former juror may disclose prohibited matters to limited official recipients for investigatory or legal purposes (s 58(6)) and may disclose to medical practitioners or psychologists for treatment and to legal practitioners for advice (s 58(4)). Medical practitioners and psychologists must not disclose that information further (s 58(5)).

Employer obligations and employee protections:

• Employers must not terminate or threaten to terminate, or otherwise prejudice, an employee because of attendance on jury service (s 56(1)). Employers who breach face fines (corporate and natural person) and potentially imprisonment for individuals (s 56(1) penalties). Courts may order reimbursement, reinstatement or compensation (s 56(2)-(4)).

Challenge and peremptory rights:

• In civil trials, challenges for cause are unlimited and peremptory challenges are limited to three per party unless parties share counsel where they are taken as one party (ss 30-31). In criminal trials challenges for cause are unlimited and peremptory challenges are allocated to persons arraigned (six per person) with rules for reserve jurors (ss 33-35).

These duties and rights structure participation and define the administrative and judicial decision points that determine who serves, when they can be excused, and what information about juries may be made public.

The Act sets out a mixture of summary and indictable offences with specific maximum penalties, and assigns enforcement roles to the court, police and Director of Public Prosecutions. The text specifies fines in penalty units and custodial maxima for many offences. Below are the principal enforcement provisions as written.

Attendance and compliance offences:

• Failure to comply with a summons without reasonable excuse: penalty of a fine not exceeding 30 penalty units or imprisonment for up to 3 months (s 27(4)). Reasonable excuse includes pending applications for deferral or excusal not yet refused (s 27(5)).
• Failure to comply with a court or Sheriff question: failing to answer or giving false or misleading answers is an offence, penalty fine not exceeding 30 penalty units or imprisonment up to 3 months (s 54).
• Failure to comply with a Sheriff’s documentary requirement under s 20(4A) is an offence with a penalty of up to 30 penalty units or imprisonment for up to 3 months (s 20(4B)).
• Failure to take the appropriate oath or affirmation when required is an offence punishable by fine not exceeding 30 penalty units or imprisonment for up to 3 months (s 38(5)).
• A person failing to comply with an instruction to attend as a supplementary juror under s 37(1)(b) faces a penalty of a fine not exceeding 30 penalty units or imprisonment for up to 3 months (s 37(4)).

Empanelment and impersonation offences:

• A person empanelled who without reasonable excuse fails to attend as a juror until discharged is liable to a fine not exceeding 60 penalty units or imprisonment up to 6 months (s 29(12)).
• Impersonating or attempting to impersonate another person for the purpose of performing jury service carries a penalty of up to 120 penalty units or imprisonment up to 12 months (s 62).

Employer-related penalties and civil remedies:

• Employers who terminate or otherwise prejudice employees due to jury service face criminal penalties: for bodies corporate a fine not exceeding 600 penalty units; for natural persons a fine not exceeding 120 penalty units or imprisonment for up to 12 months (s 56(1)). Courts may order reimbursement, reinstatement or compensation (s 56(2)-(4)); enforcement of orders is by judgment debt (s 56(4)).

Publication, disclosure, influencing and related offences:

• Publishing information or an image that identifies or can identify a person attending for jury service is an offence. Penalties are substantial: corporate offenders up to 3 000 penalty units; natural persons up to 600 penalty units or imprisonment up to 2 years (s 57(1)). Section 57(2) specifically treats Commonwealth broadcasting licence-holders as causing the publication for liability purposes.
• Offences concerning disclosure of prohibited matter from jury deliberations are severe. Publishing, soliciting or obtaining prohibited matter or soliciting jurors to disclose is an offence with the same differentiated penalties: corporations up to 3 000 penalty units; natural persons up to 600 penalty units or imprisonment for up to 2 years (s 58(1)). A juror or former juror disclosing prohibited matter in breach faces a penalty of 600 penalty units or imprisonment up to 2 years (ss 58(2)-(3)).
• Medical practitioners and psychologists who disclose information received from former jurors under s 58(4) face penalty of up to 600 penalty units or imprisonment up to 2 years (s 58(5)).
• Offences such as influencing, injuring, threatening or accepting benefits on account of jury service, or preventing another from attending, carry penalties of up to 500 penalty units or imprisonment up to 5 years, or both (s 63).
• Receiving payment for jury attendance from anyone other than under the Act is prohibited and carries up to 120 penalty units or imprisonment up to 12 months (s 64).

Procedural controls on prosecutions:

• Certain offences are indictable and require prosecutorial control. For example, an offence under s 58 is an indictable offence and a prosecution may only be brought with the consent in writing of the DPP or an authorised person (s 58(8)). The Act expressly gives the DPP the ability to request police to investigate complaints about jury deliberations or disclosure (s 59), establishing a gatekeeping role for the DPP in these sensitive prosecutions.

Enforcement mechanisms and evidentiary provisions:

• The Act authorises courts to treat a certificate by the Sheriff that a summons was posted as proof, absent contrary evidence, that it was served at the address named (s 66(1)). If served by post the certificate must identify the summons and state the date and place of posting (s 66(2)).
• Contempt and invalidation: Contravention of jury separation directions or related conditions is contempt of court and may be punished accordingly, and may invalidate proceedings unless the court decides otherwise (s 51(1)). Decisions under s 51(1)(b) are appealable (s 51(3)).
• Corporate liability: Where intent or knowledge of a corporate body is in question, it is sufficient to show that an officer, employee or agent of the body had that intention or knowledge (s 60).

Summary versus indictable offences and enforcement routes:

• The Act allows summary disposition for summary offences (s 65(1)) and specifies that fines imposed by the court are enforceable under the Sentencing Act 1997 (s 65(2)). Indictable offences, exemplified by s 58, will be subject to the usual committal and trial processes and require DPP consent.

Practical enforcement distribution:

• Police act on enquiries ordered by or requested by the DPP and report to the Sheriff (ss 23-24, 59).
• The court has powers to discharge jurors, empanel reserves, order trials to continue or be retried upon discovering misconduct (ss 40-41, 26, 51(2)). The Act concentrates investigative and prosecutorial discretion with the DPP in cases touching on juror deliberations, while operational and administrative compliance lies with the Sheriff and the court.

These statutory arrangements create a layered enforcement regime combining administrative oversight, court contempt powers, criminal sanctions, and prosecutorial gatekeeping for the most sensitive offences.

The Act is expressly cross-referential to a number of other statutory instruments. Those cross-references define how the Act integrates with existing legal infrastructure.

Electoral Act 2004 and the State roll:

• The Act utilises the State roll defined in the Electoral Act 2004. Section 3 defines “State roll” by reference to the Electoral Act 2004, and s 19(1) requires the Electoral Commissioner, at the Sheriff’s request, to provide a roll for each jury district. The roll must contain the name, address and date of birth for each person enrolled on the State roll for an address within the district (s 19(2)). The Act therefore depends operationally on the accuracy and currency of electoral enrolment maintained under the Electoral Act.

Criminal Justice (Mental Impairment) Act 1999:

• The definition of “criminal trial” in s 3 includes an investigation or special hearing under the Criminal Justice (Mental Impairment) Act 1999. Sections 34 and 35 expressly exclude investigations under that Act from some provisions (s 34(5); s 35(4)). That carves out certain procedural rules where the special hearing process applies, indicating that the mental-impairment process is handled differently with respect to standing aside and peremptory challenges.

Evidence Act 2001:

• Section 52(1) ties the Act to section 53 of the Evidence Act 2001, allowing a judge who makes an order under s 53(1) of the Evidence Act to direct that the jury view demonstrations, experiments or inspections, and to take jurors under charge for those purposes (s 52(1)). The Act also refers to the Evidence Act’s subsection 53(4) limitations. This cross-reference coordinates jury “view” procedures with the general Evidence Act regime.

Sentencing Act 1997:

• Schedule 1 and other disqualification provisions reference sentences under the Sentencing Act 1997. Schedule 1 refers to “a restriction order made under section 75” of the Sentencing Act 1997 and treats parole as equivalent to serving a term of imprisonment (Schedule 1(1) and (4)). Additionally, s 65(2) provides that fines imposed under the Act are enforceable under Part 6 of the Sentencing Act 1997. These links mean sentencing definitions and enforcement mechanisms in the Sentencing Act directly affect disqualification and penalty enforcement.

Broadcasting Services Act 1992:

• Section 57(2) treats holders of licences under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 or corresponding transitional Commonwealth legislation as having caused publications identifying jurors, making Commonwealth broadcasting licences relevant to liability for publication offences. That interaction places some broadcast media obligations under both Commonwealth and State law, with the State Act importing Commonwealth licence status for liability purposes.

Acts Interpretation Act 1931:

• Section 70(2) brings specified provisions of the Acts Interpretation Act 1931 to bear on Governor orders that amend Schedules, treating such orders as though they were regulations. This embeds typical rules of interpretation and effect into statutory Schedule amendments.

Administrative Arrangements Act 1990:

• Section 71 assigns administration of the Act to the Minister for Justice and Industrial Relations and the relevant department until an order is made under s 4 of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1990. That situates administrative responsibility within the executive framework provided by that Act.

Criminal Code Act 1924 and other consequential amending instruments:

• Schedule 9 lists consequential amendments and related Acts such as the Criminal Code Act 1924, Criminal Justice (Mental Impairment) Act 1999, Jury Act 1899 (repealed), and Supreme Court Civil Procedure Act 1932. These references indicate the legislative housekeeping required on commencement and the Acts with which this Act required alignment.

Interactions producing operational consequences:

• The Sheriff’s reliance on the Electoral Commissioner for rolls (s 19) links jury administration costs and accuracy to electoral administration.
• Police enquiries under s 23 rely on police records, investigative capacities and information-sharing frameworks; the ultimate decision to prosecute certain disclosure offences rests with the DPP’s consent (s 58(8)), introducing prosecutorial discretion as a gatekeeper for offences involving jury deliberations.
• Broadcasting licence status under Commonwealth law affects liability for publication offences under s 57(2), which could require media entities to harmonise compliance across federal licensing and state offence regimes.

These connections mean that major operational aspects of jury administration and enforcement are interdependent with electoral registration, sentencing definitions, evidence procedure, media licensing, administrative arrangements, and prosecutorial policy under the DPP.

The Act text contains a number of recorded amendments and insertions, with the instrument showing how it evolved. The key amendments expressly recorded in the text are listed here with the section references and the applied dates quoted in the statute.

• Section 3 (Interpretation): Amended by No. 53 of 2004, Schedule 1, applied 01 Jan 2006; amended by No. 20 of 2007, s 4, applied 01 Aug 2007; amended by No. 3 of 2010, Schedule 1, applied 01 Jul 2010. These amendments affected definitions including Electoral Commissioner, psychologist and State roll references (s 3 annotations).

• Section 8 (Deferral): Subsection (2) substituted by No. 20 of 2007, s 5, applied 01 Aug 2007. That change clarified the timing of applications for deferral.

• Section 19(1) (Jury roll): Subsection (1) amended by No. 53 of 2004, Schedule 1, applied 01 Jan 2006 to specify the Electoral Commissioner’s role at the Sheriff’s request.

• Section 20 (Jury list): Subsection (4A) and (4B) inserted by No. 20 of 2007, s 6, applied 01 Aug 2007, giving the Sheriff power to require documents to establish qualification and establishing penalties for non-compliance.

• Sections 21 and 22: Both repealed by No. 20 of 2007, s 7, applied 01 Aug 2007.

• Section 29 (Empanelment): Substituted by No. 7 of 2005, s 4, applied 01 Jan 2006, modifying the selection and information processes in empanelment.

• Sections 31, 34 and 35: Various subsections omitted by No. 7 of 2005 (s 5, s 6, s 7 respectively) applied 01 Jan 2006, altering peremptory and standing aside rules and related procedural details.

• Section 31(3) and (4): Amended by No. 66 of 2007, Schedule 1, applied 31 Dec 2008. The amendments explain the effect of shared representation in civil trials on peremptory challenge entitlements.

• Section 38(4A): Inserted by No. 7 of 2005, s 8, applied 01 Jan 2006, allowing all jurors taking an oath to do so at the same time.

• Sections 39(3), 40 and 41(1): Amended by No. 13 of 2012 (ss 35-37), applied 30 May 2012, affecting judicial powers to excuse jurors and discharge juries in the interests of justice.

• Section 53(2): Substituted by No. 20 of 2007, s 8, applied 01 Aug 2007, clarifying when persons who attend but are excused are not entitled to allowances.

• Section 66(1)-(2): Subsection (1) and (2) amended by No. 20 of 2007, s 9, applied 01 Aug 2007, refining proof of service provisions for summonses.

• Section 67: Amended by No. 18 of 2008, s 32, applied 26 Jun 2008, regarding Rules of Court.

• Schedule 2: Amended by No. 66 of 2007, Schedule 1, applied 31 Dec 2008 to include Australian legal practitioners as ineligible (Schedule 2(3)).

• Section 74: Miscellaneous amendments rescinded subordinate instruments: Jury (Exemption) Regulations 2002 and Jury Regulations 1998 are rescinded (s 74(1)-(2)).

• Schedule 8: The Act contains savings and transitional provisions that preserve the operation of the repealed Jury Act 1899 for trials already empanelled at commencement and carry over existing jury lists and summonses (Schedule 8(2)-(4)).

• Schedule 9: Lists consequential amendments and connected Acts (including the Criminal Code Act 1924, Criminal Justice (Mental Impairment) Act 1999, Jury Act 1899 (repealed), Supreme Court Civil Procedure Act 1932) pursuant to s 72.

The Act’s amendment history recorded within the text shows iterative changes aimed at administrative clarity (e.g. Sheriff powers and proof of service), procedural modernisation (empanelment and oaths), and eligibility adjustments (Schedule 2 insertion of legal practitioners). All applied dates are those given in the Act annotations.

The statute itself does not record cases or judicial decisions. The Act does, however, create statutory decision points and appealable orders that will generate litigation, and it identifies specific procedural avenues relevant to legal challenge.

Appeal and review opportunities embedded in the Act:

• Decisions by the court under s 51(1)(b) as to whether a contravention invalidates proceedings are subject to appeal (s 51(3)). The text therefore contemplates appellate review of judicial rulings about jury misconduct consequences.
• The court may make orders excusing a person from jury service and these decisions will be subject to judicial review processes consistent with ordinary court practice (ss 12-13). The Sheriff’s administrative decisions to grant or refuse deferral or excusal under ss 8-10 are subject to referral to the court (s 12(2)).

Prosecutorial gatekeeping:

• Prosecutions for offences under s 58 require the written consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions (s 58(8)). That statutory prerequisite shapes litigation by concentrating prosecutorial discretion and potentially influencing which matters progress to formal proceedings.

Investigation and evidence flow:

• The Act mandates that the Commissioner of Police report enquiries about disqualification to the Sheriff (s 23(2)). The evidentiary certificate mechanism in s 66 (certificate by the Sheriff that a summons was posted is proof in absence of contrary evidence) creates a statutory evidentiary presumption; litigants seeking to contest service will need to adduce contrary evidence.

Criminal and civil enforcement:

• The Act lists both summary and indictable offences and specifies enforcement via courts and sentencing mechanisms (s 65). The availability of both fines and imprisonment, and the differentiated penalties for natural persons and bodies corporate, means litigation will arise in prosecutorial prosecutions and in civil enforcement contexts (for example, orders against employers under s 56).

No cases are named in the Act text and there is no statutory schedule of judicial interpretations. The Act creates a framework that will produce litigation in several predictable contexts: challenges to excusal/deferral and to the Sheriff’s list-making; appeals against court decisions to discharge or validate a jury where misconduct or separation has occurred; prosecutorial decisions to bring indictable offences under s 58; and enforcement actions against employers. The Act’s requirement that some prosecutions proceed only with DPP consent adds a procedural step that may shape the litigation landscape by filtering cases before they reach court.

Because the statute itself contains no judicial history, assessments of litigation trends, precedent, or how courts have interpreted ambiguous provisions cannot be made from the text alone.

This section flags provisions that create particular compliance traps, administrative surprises or sharp trade-offs for practitioners and organisations, grounded in the statutory text.

1. Disqualification does not automatically invalidate a verdict unless proved before delivery (s 7(1)). The fact that a juror is disqualified or ineligible is not a ground for impeaching a verdict unless that fact is established to the satisfaction of the court before the verdict is delivered. Practitioners should note the timing risk: post-verdict discovery of a juror’s disqualification does not automatically set aside a verdict under the Act.

2. Irregularities in list preparation, summons issuing or panel constitution are not grounds for impeaching a verdict (s 7(2)). Administrative defects in how jurors were selected or summoned are insulated from automatic challenge. This compresses litigation risk into the pre-verdict window and assigns weight to earlier procedural objections.

3. Sheriff’s documentary requests carry criminal exposure (s 20(4A)-(4B)). The Sheriff may require a person on a jury list to produce documents to determine qualification; failure to comply without reasonable excuse is punishable by up to 30 penalty units or 3 months’ imprisonment. Prospective jurors must take such requests seriously and respond promptly.

4. The allowance entitlement trap (s 53(2)). A person who attends but is excused from jury service is not entitled to allowances or remuneration if the person was aware of a circumstance that could justify excusal and did not apply at the first reasonable opportunity. That combines subjective knowledge with timeliness to deny remuneration and may create disputes over when a juror “became aware” and what is a “first reasonable opportunity”.

5. Broad publication and identification prohibitions (s 57) with severe penalties. Publication of material that identifies persons attending for jury service attracts large fines (up to 3 000 penalty units for bodies corporate) and imprisonment risk for individuals. Commonwealth broadcasting licensees are expressly captured as causing publication (s 57(2)). Media organisations must carefully apply the statutory exceptions in s 57(3).

6. Prosecutions under s 58 require DPP consent (s 58(8)). That procedural gatekeeper means that even high-profile or public complaints about disclosure of deliberations cannot proceed without written consent, which centralises prosecutorial discretion and may delay or forestall enforcement action pending DPP decisions.

7. Exceptions to confidentiality are specific and narrow (s 58(4)-(6)). Former jurors may disclose prohibited matter to medical practitioners, psychologists and Australian legal practitioners for narrowly defined purposes. Medical practitioners and psychologists are then statutorily bound to non-disclosure (s 58(5)). This schema creates a confidentiality exception but also imposes duties on professionals receiving the information.

8. Jury sizes, reserve jurors and majority verdict rules may produce unexpected case outcomes. Civil juries normally comprise seven but may be expanded to nine (s 25(1)); criminal juries twelve, expandable to fourteen (s 25(2)). Majority verdicts are permissible after minimum deliberation periods (s 43 for criminal, s 44 for civil), but verdicts of guilty of treason or murder must be unanimous (s 43(3)). Counsels must plan peremptory challenge strategy around those numeric rules.

9. Employers’ obligations are criminalised with significant remedies for employees (s 56). Employers who terminate or prejudice employees because of jury service face substantial penalties and courts can order reimbursement, reinstatement or compensation. Employers must adopt compliant HR practices and employees should document demands and communications.

10. Proof of service presumption in favour of the Sheriff (s 66). A Sheriff’s certificate that a summons was posted is proof absent contrary evidence that it was served at the address. Persons contesting service must produce counter-evidence to overcome that statutory presumption.

11. Schedule 2 surprising exclusions: Australian legal practitioners are ineligible (Schedule 2(3) as amended). Many lawyers may assume they can serve, but the Act expressly lists Australian legal practitioners as ineligible. That may surprise litigants and practitioners and should be checked against the precise wording and amendments.

12. Contempt and invalidation discretion (s 51). Contraventions of jury separation rules render the contravening person guilty of contempt and may invalidate proceedings unless the court is satisfied the contravention is trivial and unlikely to prejudice the trial. The court retains discretion to discharge the jury and order another, which may introduce disruption costs and retrial exposure.

These are statutory “gotchas” created by timing rules, documentary obligations, prosecutorial consent requirements and strict confidentiality and publication constraints. Advising clients requires attention to pre-verdict challenge windows, documentary production to the Sheriff, and conservative media practice concerning identification of jurors.

This section translates the Act’s requirements into concrete compliance steps grounded in the statutory text, targeted at jurors, employers, sheriffs, media organisations and professionals who will be affected.

For prospective jurors and those summoned:

• Read the summons carefully and note the date, time and place. Summonses must be served at least 14 days before attendance (s 27(2)(d)); if you have applied for deferral or excusal and have not yet been refused, that is a reasonable excuse for non-attendance (s 27(5)).
• If you are disqualified or ineligible, inform the Sheriff as soon as practicable and provide reasons (s 55). This is a statutory duty with a penalty if breached (s 55).
• If you wish to defer, apply to the Sheriff before selection under s 29 (s 8(1)-(2)). If you seek excusal temporarily or permanently, apply to the Sheriff and provide evidence as required (s 9-10); the Sheriff may require evidence on oath, statutory declaration or any other means the Sheriff considers appropriate (ss 9(4), 10(4)).
• If the Sheriff requests documentary evidence under s 20(4A), comply promptly or provide a reasonable excuse. Failure to comply is a criminal offence (s 20(4B)).

For jurors who serve:

• Attend as required until discharged by the court (s 27(2)(c); s 29(12)). If empanelled, take the prescribed oath or affirmation in open court (s 38).
• Do not publish or cause to be published any information identifying persons attending for jury service (s 57). Be cautious about social media activity during service.
• Do not disclose prohibited matters of deliberations to the public. Disclosures to permitted recipients are tightly drawn (medical practitioner, psychologist in course of treatment, legal practitioner for advice) and medical/psychologist recipients are barred from onward disclosure (s 58(4)-(5)).
• If required to remain under charge during adjournments or viewing directions, follow court and officer instructions and take the prescribed oath or affirmation if the court so directs (ss 46-47, Schedules 4-7).

For employers:

• Do not terminate, threaten termination or otherwise prejudice employees on account of jury service. This is prohibited and carries penalties (s 56(1)). If faced with such action, employees may seek court orders for reimbursement, reinstatement or compensation (s 56(2)-(4)).
• Establish internal policies to protect employees’ rights to jury service, keep records of jury summonses and any communications, and seek legal advice promptly if any dispute arises.

For the Sheriff and court administrators:

• Request jury rolls from the Electoral Commissioner as required and prepare annual jury lists (ss 19-20). Exclude known disqualified or ineligible persons as mandated (s 20(2)).
• Make timely enquiries with police about disqualifications and provide lists of persons to be summoned to the Commissioner of Police (s 23(1)-(2)). Provide the list of persons summoned to the DPP, Commissioner of Police, parties and the person arraigned or their representative (s 27(6)).
• Issue summonses with at least 14 days’ notice and keep proof of posting; the Sheriff’s certificate is prima facie proof of service absent contrary evidence (s 27(2)(d); s 66).
• When granting or refusing deferral/excusal, record reasons and provide written notice to applicants (ss 8(3)-(4), 9(5), 10(5), 15).

For media organisations and broadcasters:

• Avoid publishing information or images that identify persons attending for jury service (s 57(1)). Recognise that broadcasting licence-holders are treated as having caused publication under s 57(2).
• Familiarise editorial teams with statutory exceptions in s 57(3) and with the limits on reporting on proceedings under s 58 and s 51. Err on the side of non-identification until clear exceptions are established.

For medical practitioners, psychologists and legal practitioners:

• Be prepared to receive disclosures from former jurors under s 58(4) for treatment or for legal advice, but understand that medical practitioners and psychologists must not disclose that information to others (s 58(5)). Maintain records and confidentiality policies to ensure compliance with statutory non-disclosure obligations.

For prosecutors and police:

• Recognise that prosecutions for prohibited disclosure offences under s 58 require written consent of the DPP (s 58(8)). Coordinate early with the DPP on whether an investigation should be undertaken (s 59).
• Police enquiries into lists and non-disqualifying offences are performed at the DPP’s request in some cases (s 24), so adopt clear information-sharing practices with the Sheriff and DPP.

Administrative housekeeping and risk management:

• Maintain accurate records of summonses issued, evidence produced to satisfy Sheriff enquiries, decisions on deferrals/excusal, and allowances paid (s 53). Keep registers and retention policies to support proof of service certificates (s 66).
• Train staff who handle jury administration on the statutory timelines for applications and the format of permissible evidence (oath, statutory declaration or other means the Sheriff considers appropriate) (ss 9(4), 10(4)).
• If involved in the empanelling process, observe challenge procedures and