NSW Sheriff’s Office industrial action has meant just 60 matters listed for mention, sentence and hearing have been dealt with at the Cowra Local Court during the past two months.
The Local Court sits for five days on the fourth week of each month in Cowra.
During August and September the doors to the main court building were closed after NSW Sheriffs walked off the job.
A spokesperson for the Department of Communities and Justice told the Cowra Guardian “matters at Cowra Local Court are proceeding where possible”.
“More than 60 matters were finalised at Cowra Local Court in August and September 2024,” the department spokesperson said.
Closing of the doors came after hundreds of sheriffs walked off the job across NSW in August over a staffing crisis and poor pay, crippling the ability of courts to function.
The industrial action crippled dozens of courts in regional NSW and saw the Cowra Local Court remain closed to the public in September.
It is uncertain if the court will be open to the public this month.
“Due to the NSW Sheriffs’ industrial action, where an insufficient number of Sheriffs have been available at a court location to provide court security, those locations have not been able to be opened to the public,” the department said.
“Where possible, matters at those locations have proceeded with court participants appearing remotely.”
NSW Sheriffs enforce writs, serve warrants and are vital to maintaining the security of the court and judicial officers.
Despite doing more than ever, their pay has stagnated and the Office of the Sheriff is struggling to recruit and maintain workers.
There are more than 300 sheriffs attached to over 170 courthouses in NSW.
The department spokesperson said the number of matters finalised at Cowra Local Court during August and September does not include all those matters that were dealt with but not finalised during this time.
When asked if the industrial action had caused a backlog at the Cowra Local Court the department spokesperson said “Matters at Cowra Local Court are proceeding where possible”.
Court participants, the department said, have been appearing remotely where the court building needs to be closed due to insufficient numbers of Sheriffs being available to provide court security”.
The Local Court is due to sit in Cowra again from Monday, October 28 through to Friday, November 1 with 289 matters already listed for mention or hearing on the NSW Courts and Tribunals Online Registry website.
This figure includes, in some cases, multiple matters for individuals with the bulk of the matters listed for Tuesday, October 29 and Wednesday, October 30 when traffic and list day cases are dealt with - there are 117 matters listed for each of these days.
Twenty one matters are listed for Monday, October 28, one a Local Court sentence and one a pre-trial review. All other matters on this day are Children’s Court matters.
Six hearings are set down for Thursday, October 31 with a further seven scheduled for November 1.
Alongside these hearings the court is expected to mention four further matters on the Friday and three breaches of court orders on the Thursday as well as eight sentence matters and one Apprehended Violence Order.
In relation to the matters listed for determination in August and September and whether all were dealt with the department told the Cowra Guardian “It is not possible to identify whether matters have been unable to proceed as a direct result of the NSW Sheriffs’ industrial action, or for any other reason.”
Asked if the Sheriff Action had caused a backlog at the Cowra Court the department spokesperson also said “The Chief Magistrate of the Local Court is responsible for the sittings and listings of the Local Court”.
“There are no additional sittings planned for (Cowra)”.