Bench books and publications news

Criminal Trial Courts Bench Book September 2026 update
News
18 Sep 2026

Criminal Trial Courts Bench Book September 2026 update

Update 86 — Includes updates to “Closed court, suppression and non-publication orders”, “Consciousness of guilt, lies and flight”, “The jury” and “Conspiracy” chapters.
Civil Trials Bench Book September 2026 update
News
11 Sep 2026

Civil Trials Bench Book September 2026 update

Update 65 — significant changes to "Disqualification for bias" and to multiple Evidence chapters: "Opinion"; "Evidence of judgments and convictions"; "Tendency and coincidence"; "Privilege" and "Inferences".
Local Court Bench Book September 2026 update
News
3 Sep 2026

Local Court Bench Book September 2026 update

Update 163 — “General orders”, “Commonwealth offences” and “Children’s Court — criminal jurisdiction” chapters updated.
Sexual Assault Trials Handbook August 2026 update
News
25 Aug 2026

Sexual Assault Trials Handbook August 2026 update

Update 49 — recent cases have been included at “Recent sexual assault law” — update to General directions — new article on Prosecutorial discretion in cases of persistent child sexual abuse added.
Sentencing Bench Book August 2026 update
News
21 Aug 2026

Sentencing Bench Book August 2026 update

Update 68 — “Subjective matters”, “Counting pre-sentence custody” and “Concurrent and consecutive sentences, and totality” chapters have been revised and updated.
Criminal Trial Courts Bench Book July 2026 update
News
10 Jul 2026

Criminal Trial Courts Bench Book July 2026 update

Update 85 — new chapter “Commonwealth offences”; significant revisions to “Witness reasonably supposed to have been criminally concerned in the events” and sexual offences chapters.
Civil Trials Bench Book June 2026 update
News
17 Jun 2026

Civil Trials Bench Book June 2026 update

Update 64 — updates to “Self-represented litigants and lay advisers”, “Admissions” and “Amendment” chapters. Compensation amounts for personal injury in NSW updated.
Handbook for Judicial Officers June 2026 update
News
10 Jun 2026

Handbook for Judicial Officers June 2026 update

Update 4 — new articles added on topics including impartiality and fairness, delivery of judgments, social media, and therapeutic jurisprudence and the trauma-informed court.
Local Court Bench Book June 2026 update
News
3 Jun 2026

Local Court Bench Book June 2026 update

Update 162 — “Bail” and “Costs in criminal proceedings” chapters updated — “Apprehended violence orders” chapter updated to include reference to Local Court Practice Note — Domestic and Personal Violence Proceedings.
Equality before the Law Bench Book May 2026 update
News
27 May 2026

Equality before the Law Bench Book May 2026 update

Update 27 — includes revisions to Sections 4 (People with a particular religious affiliation) and 9 (Gender diverse people and people born with diverse sex characteristics), and includes a new Section 13 (Modern slavery).
Sexual Assault Trials Handbook May 2026 update
News
21 May 2026

Sexual Assault Trials Handbook May 2026 update

Update 48 — recent cases have been included at “Recent sexual assault law” — update to General directions — new article on child sexual abuse added.
Children's Court of NSW Resource Handbook May 2026 update
News
21 May 2026

Children's Court of NSW Resource Handbook May 2026 update

Update 24 — important cases have been updated to include new cases regarding “Care and protection matters” and “Criminal matters” — 2022 Young People in Custody Health Survey Report included — Guide to criminal jurisdiction revised and updated re doli incapax — “Review of the operation of doli incapax in NSW for children under 14” included.
Local Court Bench Book April 2026 update
News
23 Apr 2026

Local Court Bench Book April 2026 update

Update 161 — Bail and Committal proceedings chapters updated — Extradition chapter substantially revised and updated.
Criminal Trial Courts Bench Book April 2026 update
News
21 Apr 2026

Criminal Trial Courts Bench Book April 2026 update

Update 84 — significant revisions to “Expert evidence”, “Robbery”, “Complicity” and “Supply prohibited drug” chapters.
Sentencing Bench Book March 2026 update
News
24 Mar 2026

Sentencing Bench Book March 2026 update

Update 66 — “Guilty pleas, disclosure and assistance” and “Commonwealth child sex offences” chapters have been revised and updated.