In February 2016, the $90m Newcastle Law Courts were officially opened by NSW Attorney General Gabrielle Upton. The state-of-the-art facility, which took three years to complete and employed more than 1,500 people during its construction, features 10 modern courtrooms, two tribunal rooms that cater for Local, District and Supreme Court hearings and a courtroom big enough to host trials with eight defendants.
According to Ms Upton the new building is a flagship regional project that sets a new benchmark for court services and takes justice to another level.
The building, sitting at the heart of the civic precinct of Newcastle, features modern energy saving architecture including large windows and 190 solar panels aimed at making the most of natural light and reducing the building’s carbon footprint.
The complex is the largest and most technologically-advanced facility outside Sydney, containing cutting edge technology that makes justice and the court system more efficient.
Internet enabled services in NSW Law Courts include:
Videoconferencing facilities link into a network that operates across justice agencies in New South Wales. The videoconferencing network is primarily used for bail hearings and interviews between legal practitioners and their clients, while they are in custody.
The network consists of around 250 videoconferencing sites in courtrooms, correctional centres, juvenile justice detention centres, legal aid offices, police stations, public defenders offices and offices of the Director of Public Prosecutions and Community Relations Commission.
External videoconferencing can be arranged to connect to the court’s video link system to facilitate interstate or overseas witnesses to give evidence remotely.
Remote witness facilities allow witnesses to provide evidence to the court via video links from a safe, secure location, which is separate from the courtroom.
Virtual crime scenes are created and viewed to help during court proceedings
Other online services include portals for case files and public access to document and hearing listings.