Proposed reforms could free up the equivalent of more than five full-time judges
The government has introduced two bills aimed at improving court efficiency by expanding the role of community magistrates and updating the legal framework for remote participation in court proceedings.
Courts and associate justice minister Nicole McKee said the reforms were intended to address delays in the justice system and improve access to timely justice for victims and court users.
The first measure, the Community Magistrates Legislation Amendment Bill, would broaden the jurisdiction of community magistrates and enable them to deal with more straightforward matters from beginning to end.
According to McKee, the changes are expected to free up the equivalent of more than five full-time judges by allowing district court judges to devote more time to serious and complex cases.
“Community magistrates already play an important role in the District Court. Expanding their jurisdiction will make better use of their skills, improve timeliness, and will mean District Court judges can spend more time on the serious and complex cases that need their attention,” McKee said in a statement.
Under the proposed legislation, community magistrates would be able to take guilty pleas in all cases except those tried in the high court, such as murder and manslaughter proceedings. They would also be permitted to preside over trials and determine guilt for offences carrying a maximum penalty of a fine, a community-based sentence or up to three months’ imprisonment.
The bill would also allow community magistrates to order pre-sentencing reports for matters referred to district court judges for sentencing, make a broader range of bail decisions where defendants have pleaded guilty before them, and exercise additional administrative powers. These powers would include transferring trials between district courts and hearing unopposed limited driver licence applications.
Budget 2025 allocated funding for three additional community magistrates and additional training to support the expanded role. The government also recently appointed Judge Moses as the first chief community magistrate, a position intended to provide judicial oversight and reflect the growing role of community magistrates within the courts system.
The government has also introduced the Courts Remote Participation Bill, which would replace the Courts (Remote Participation) Act 2010 with a new framework governing the use of remote technology in court proceedings.
The proposed legislation would allow new court rules to establish default positions or presumptions about which hearings should occur in person and which may be conducted remotely. Judges and registrars would retain discretion to depart from those defaults after considering statutory criteria.
McKee said the reforms form part of a broader programme to improve court performance. The government reported that the criminal backlog in the district court has fallen by 28% since February 2024, representing more than 1,500 fewer victims waiting for justice. During the same period, the proportion of cases resolved within timely justice thresholds increased from 81% to 85%, with more than 58,000 victims experiencing more timely access to justice.
