Booking Update

Bookings for 2024 are fully booked out. 

We are still unable to open the system for Court Visits (visits to the Court that are not facilitated by the Rule of Law Education Centre) as yet as we are still in negotiations with the Sheriff as to how this will operate in Covid safe way going forward but are moving toward a resolution soon.

The Sheriffs have requested that schools outside the Sydney Metropolian area wishing to book a court experience should contact their Local Regional Courts such as Campbelltown, Penrith, Wollongong or Newcastle.  Please note Parramatta Courts are currently unavailable for school excursions.

Important Information to Read before Booking a Law Day Out in 2024

Law Day Outs in 2024 will continue to look a little different to prior years and may change in accordance with directions from the Courts and Sheriffs.

BEFORE BOOKING, please be reminded of the following details:

  • There is a Fee for an LDO to partly cover the cost of our Facilitators.  The fees (inclusive of GST) are as follows:
      • Small Groups (for 1 – 15 students) $165
      • Medium Groups (16 – 30 students) $275
      • Large Groups (31 – 45 students) $462
    • Groups have a Office of Sherriff-imposed limit of 45 students per experience. Larger groups who wish to attend will need to make a few bookings to get all students through as we cannot facilitate a group larger than 45 on any day.
    • Court experiences are only available to year 11 and 12 Legal Studies Students. Commerce groups are not able to attend courts across NSW.
    • We strongly recommend that students have studied the Crime unit prior to attending so that they have context for the matters that they observe.
    • Groups have a Office of Sherriff-imposed supervision requirement of 1:20 teacher:student. You must always maintain this ratio in the complex.
    • Groups need to arrive at the Downing Centre at 8.20am as our judicial officers will need to speak with groups prior to the sitting day starting. The Law Day Out experience concludes at 11.30am.
    • Groups are currently limited to observations in the Local Courts at the Downing Centre due to the remaining jury bubble in the District Court and court-imposed limits on what matters students can attend. Local Courts are busy and cover a wide range of matters that address the great majority of the syllabus points in the Crime unit. Students are not to attend any matters involving children or that are of a sexual nature.
    • You may see some civil matters in amongst criminal matters. Even though not in the HSC syllabus, this is still a valuable learning experience for your students as citizens, and more specifically for those who will go on to have a career anywhere in the justice system. The aim of this experience is to create knowledge of and respect for the legal system in operation and to see the rule of law in action.
    • You can find teacher and student information booklets, a sample timeline of the experience, student workbooks, risk management documents and our terms and conditions here: https://www.ruleoflaw.org.au/court-education/court-excursion-documents/ Please prepare your students to have questions for the judicial speaker

     

    Due to various Covid-19 limitations that some courts are still working under and the need to ensure justice continues, the Law Day Out excursions may change in accordance with directions from the Sheriffs and the Courts.  We will have alternative activities and may have alternative speakers for you on the day other than was planned, so will need patience and understanding if plans alter on the day of your experience.

    As per the Flowchart, payment is required 45 days before the LDO.  For low SES schools or those with smaller groups, the fees may be reduced by approval of the Education Manager.

    The supervision ratio for this experience has been set to a student:teacher ratio of 20:1, we strongly encourage schools to consider bringing additional staff members to enable maximum supervision of students at all times while in courts and in the court complex. There are offenders present throughout the complex, including offenders on drug and child related offences, who are sitting in public galleries in courts with students, attending bathrooms and awaiting proceedings in public seating areas. Schools should attempt to increase supervision such that a teacher can be sitting in court with students in groups of approximately 4-5 students where possible to ensure minimal interaction with offenders. The ratio for both Law Days Out and Court Visits is currently under review for compliance with child safety needs.

    Please email courtvisit@ruleoflaw.org.au for further information.

     

    Bookings

    To make a booking go the the Calendar on the bottom of this page and click on a booking slot that is marked “AVAILABLE” and works with your school calendar. If you make a mistake or try and book on day that has been already booked (but we have not yet marked as FULL) it is better if you refresh the page and start again to make a new booking for another date.

    PLEASE NOTE: If you wish to be invoiced and pay for the LDO at a later date, please ensure you select the ‘invoice me’ box as seen in the diagram below.  

     If you do not receive a confirmation email within 10 minutes, your booking has not been processed.

    Contact us by email at courtvisit@ruleoflaw.org.au if you have any issues.

    To access the Booking Calendar On a Mobile Phone, click here