Revised court operating protocols published today

13/09/22

The courts have published new operating protocols on the Courts of NZ website, which are effective from 13 September 2022.

Mask wearing: mask wearing is no longer mandatory in court buildings. However, in some situations, including jury trials, court participants may be required to wear masks at the direction of a presiding judge or judicial officer.

COVID-19 testing requirements: any person with symptoms of COVID-19, however minor, must take a rapid antigen test before attending court. The protocols set out the circumstances in which a person with symptoms who tests negative may be able to attend court, and the safeguards that will apply in those circumstances.

Read the Chief Justice's Statement to the profession

View the revised protocols for the courts here

The Chief High Court and Chief District Court Judges have released updated guidelines for the conduct of jury trials in the High Court and District Court, with effect from Tuesday 13 September 2022.

For information on these guidelines, read the full statement.

Update on shared parenting

Updated information and guidance for parents and lawyers can be found on the Ministry of Justice website.

Employment Court - revised COVID-19 protocol

The Chief Judge of the Employment Court has issued a revised COVID-19 Protocol for Employment Court operations.

Read the revised protocol

Update from Employment Relations Authority

The Employment Relations Authority has issued an update which sets out arrangements the Authority has made to deal with applications and investigations as part of the Covid-19 response from 13 September 2022.

Read the Authority's update

The Legal Community Counselling Service provides the option for counselling via phone or videolink as well as face to face.

The Law Society’s Practising Well initiative provides access to other support and resources for lawyers.

Ministry of Health guidelines on managing your mental health are on the Ministry of Health website.

For support with grief, anxiety, distress or mental wellbeing, you can also call or text 1737 to talk with a trained counsellor for free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Now also might be the time to consider mentoring. Our Mentoring Programme uses an online platform called MentorLoop, which matches mentors and mentees based on their profiles.

The Programme is free to join, to get started:

1. email mentoring@lawsociety.org.nz for more information
2. you will be sent details of how to sign up to MentorLoop and will be asked to agree to the Terms and Conditions, and Code of Conduct
3. create your profile by answering a series of questions about yourself; every fortnight MentorLoop matches mentors with mentees, and you will be notified if you have been matched with someone.

For COVID-19 health advice and information, contact the Ministry of Health’s Healthline team (for free) on 0800 358 5453 or +64 9 358 5453 for international SIMS.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please email covid-19@lawsociety.org.nz

This page will be updated with any further advice for lawyers.