The Special Measure Note of the Federal Court of Australia, which was last updated on March 31st 2020, sets out arrangements for the continued operation of the Federal Court during the COVID-19 outbreak in Australia. The special measures information note takes effect from the date it is issued and remains in effect until it is replaced or revoked. 

In order to minimize in person attendance on Court premises, the Federal Court is modifying its practices during the COVID-19 pandemic whenever considered appropriate and necessary. The Court´s priority is to keep the community safe and healthy, particularly parties, practitioners, judges and staff, as well as their families. The cooperation of all staff and court users is required in this delicate issue, in order to remain open and operational, whilst protecting health, safety and wellbeing. 

Changes have been made to the registry operations of the Court, with registry services provided remotely, by telephone and other online services. Face-to-face services may only be provided under urgent circumstances and after initial assessment via phone. The filing of documents must be happening online, using the Court´s electronic filing facility eLodgment. If a document is not able to be lodged through eLodgement, it may also be faxed or emailed to the relevant registry for filing. In regards to signatures on documents and affidavits, electronic filing of all documents is temporarily allowed by the Court if access to scanning technology is limited. Inspection of documents at all registries of the Court is to be by appointment only for the time being, with requests for appointments made by emailing the registry. 

For newly filed judge matters, a triage process has been introduced by the Court. Other than urgent duty matters and Full Court and appellate matters, newly filed judge matters will be considered for allocation and a first return date. For all court listings and events, including hearings and mediations, alternative arrangements were put in place to the extent possible for those listings and events that would ordinarily require in person attendance. Whenever possible, listings and events are conducted on the papers, by telephone or by other remote access technology. 

Communications with the Court and among parties is another relevant issue that is addressed in the special measures note of the Federal Court of Australia. As the Court is continuing to conduct its business on the docket system, communications with the specific docket judge remain important as always. Practitioners and parties should continue to maintain all usual communication practices with the Court.

Currently all hearings before the Court are proceeding making use of remote access technology, the app that the Court uses at the moment is Microsoft Teams. In order to hear matters, telephone conferences are conducted. 

For urgent matters, duty judge and registrar contacts are provided on the Court´s website and are updated on a daily basis.