Local Court registries

Each local court has an office that is called the court registry. Staff at local court registries can give you information about your court matter and court forms. Many local court registries are also district court registries.

Court registry staff can help you:

apply for a apprehended violence order
apply for urgent apprehended violence orders including when there has been an injury to the person and/or damage to their property
when local court proceedings have commenced (for example, civil claims)
when an agency such as, a community legal centre, has provided you with advice and referred you to the local court for information or help with forms
when telephone assistance may be difficult
witness court documents.

Read more general information about what court staff can and can't do.

Chamber service

Most full time local court registries have a registrar or deputy registrar who can provide information, assistance and guidance to members of the public on local court procedures and applications. This is called the chamber service. The chamber service does not provide legal advice and cannot represent people in court.

The chamber service may be available by appointment at your local court, depending on the nature of the inquiry and the availability of the senior registry officer.

Local court staff and the chamber service can help you prepare some court documents for matters to be heard by a local court including:

applications to commence proceedings (including statements of claim for civil proceedings where the cause of action is straightforward)
apprehended violence applications
defence, notices of motion to stay proceedings and set aside judgment in civil actions (but not advice on what to say in support of a defence or motion)
family law applications
family law recovery orders in limited circumstances, primarily in country locations where no other service is available.

Local court staff cannot help people seeking assistance or advice on:

drafting complex applications or documents
affidavits, deeds of settlement or their equivalent in any jurisdiction.

You may need to seek legal advice for forms to be lodged in the:

Justice of the Peace

The functions of a JP in NSW are primarily:

Administering oath declarations or affidavits, and taking statutory declarations and affirmations;
Witnessing signatures; and
Attesting and certifying documents.

Various organisations including some courts make JPs available at scheduled times and locations across NSW to assist with the above functions.

To locate a JP service visit the JP NSW website and search the online public register or view a list of scheduled JP services.

Court JP services and hours differ between locations, contact the relevant registry to find out more information.

Find a local court

Find a local court near you.