The Premier of New South Wales has announced that stay-at-home orders will come into effect in that State from 11:59pm tonight until at least 11:59pm on 2 July 2021 in response to the growing outbreak of COVID-19 across Sydney.
These restrictions mean that residents and people who work in the Council areas of Woollahra, Waverley, Randwick and City of Sydney will only be permitted to leave home for the following reasons:
- Shopping for food or other essential goods and services;
- Medical care or compassionate needs;
- Exercise in groups of 10 or fewer; and
- Essential work, or education, where these cannot be done from home.
In addition, residents across Greater Sydney are not permitted to travel outside of Metropolitan Sydney for non-essential reasons, and have been encouraged to limit unnecessary activity and avoid large gatherings.
These restrictions, as well as border restrictions, may have an impact on parenting orders and other arrangements. Families that may be having difficulties and cannot negotiate a resolution in regard to shared-care arrangements for their children, may be eligible for priority hearing through the Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court of Australia (the Court's) COVID-19 list. The National COVID-19 List is dedicated to dealing exclusively with priority family law disputes that have arisen as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For those who have pending cases or cases listed for hearing in the Sydney and Parramatta registries, the Courts will remain open to continue to provide access to justice in a timely and responsive way, however trials and other hearings listed for these registries will generally be conducted electronically via telephone or Microsoft Teams while the restrictions are in place.
