Homeless clients will sometimes receive a more favourable outcome in court than under the infringements system. This is because the Magistrates’ Court is often better equipped to consider and respond to the individual circumstances of a person than the ‘automated’ infringements system with its fixed penalties. This is particularly so if the client appears before a Magistrate or judicial registrar in the Special Circumstances List because those decision makers have specialist experience dealing with homeless people and an understanding of the range of issues that people experiencing homelessness might be faced with.
This section sets out details about the different types of open court hearings and tips for appearing in the Magistrates’ Court.