The Bail Division is a statewide virtual part of the NSW Local Court. It decides bail for adults who have been refused bail by police, with the Local Court Judge, lawyers, police prosecutor and your family member all appearing by video link. It only decides bail. The charge itself continues at the local court.
What is the Bail Division?
The Bail Division is part of the NSW Local Court, set up in July 2025 to hear bail for adults in custody from one central, virtual court. It runs across 10 virtual courtrooms, each covering a region, and every appearance is by video link (Webex).
It is a real court. A Local Court Judge makes the decision, a police prosecutor puts the case against bail, and your family member’s lawyer argues for release. The only difference is that nobody is in the same room: your family member appears from the police cells or a correctional centre, and everyone else joins by video.
Which matters does it hear?
Only fresh custody matters for adults:
- Police bail refusals: someone charged and refused bail by police
- Executed arrest warrants: someone arrested on a warrant, for example for missing court
- Detention applications: where police ask the court to keep someone in custody
It does not hear bail for anyone under 18. Young people go to the Children’s Court.
Why is my family member’s matter there?
Because they were refused bail by police, or arrested on a warrant, in an area or on a day the Bail Division covers. It doesn’t mean the case is more serious. It is simply where first bail decisions are now made for most of NSW.
Where and when does it sit?
On weekends and public holidays, the Bail Division covers all of NSW. On weekdays, it covers regional NSW, the Central Coast, Newtown, Waverley and the Downing Centre. Weekday matters from the rest of Sydney are still heard at the local court while the rollout continues.
As at November 2026:
| Courtroom | Area | Weekdays | Weekends and public holidays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers, e.g. Port Macquarie, Lismore | Bail Division | Bail Division |
| 2 | Newcastle and Greater Hunter, e.g. Newcastle, Maitland | Bail Division | Bail Division |
| 3 | Southern Highlands and South Coast, e.g. Wollongong, Nowra | Bail Division | Bail Division |
| 4 | Western NSW, e.g. Dubbo, Orange | Bail Division | Bail Division |
| 5 | Riverina and New England | Bail Division | Bail Division |
| 6 | Central Coast and inner Sydney: Gosford, Wyong, Newtown, Waverley | Bail Division | Bail Division |
| 7 | Sydney CBD: Downing Centre | Bail Division | Bail Division |
| 8 | Outer western Sydney: Blacktown, Mount Druitt, Penrith, Windsor | Local court | Bail Division |
| 9 | South-western Sydney: Campbelltown, Fairfield, Liverpool, Parramatta | Local court | Bail Division |
| 10 | Southern Sydney and St George: Bankstown, Burwood, Hornsby, Sutherland | Local court | Bail Division |
So if your family member is arrested near Bankstown, Burwood, Parramatta or Liverpool on a weekday, their bail application is heard in person in the custody list at that local court. If it’s a weekend or public holiday, it goes to the Bail Division by video. The weekday rollout across Sydney is continuing, so this will change.
How does a Bail Division hearing work?
If your family member is processed and refused bail before 12 noon, they can usually be heard that day. Otherwise, generally the next day. The court sits from 9:30am and takes matters in order of readiness, not at a set time, so a hearing can happen at any point in the day.
Police refuse bail
They prepare the facts sheet (their version of the allegation) and your family member's criminal history for the court.
The noon cut-off
If your family member is processed and refused bail before 12 noon, they are eligible for a hearing the same day. After 12 noon, they are generally listed the next day.
Waiting to be called
The Bail Division sits from 9:30am. Matters are heard in order of readiness, and a Local Court Judge can move a matter to another virtual courtroom on the day, so there is no fixed time slot.
The hearing
Everyone joins by Webex: the Local Court Judge, the police prosecutor, your family member's lawyer, and your family member from the police cells or a correctional centre. The prosecutor says why bail should be refused, and the lawyer answers with evidence and proposed conditions.
The decision
The Local Court Judge grants bail, with or without conditions, or refuses it. The test is the same as in any other court under the Bail Act 2013 (NSW).
Because matters are taken as they are ready, getting the evidence to the lawyer early, such as a confirmed address, letters and the details of anyone offering security, helps the application be ready to run when it is called.
Can family watch, and how can they help?
Bail Division hearings are open to the public, but only by video. You can’t attend in person. To watch, ask the Bail Division registry for the link. The most useful thing family can do is get the evidence for the bail application to the lawyer before the hearing is called.
Watching the hearing
Get the link
Email the Bail Division registry at [email protected] for the courtroom link or listing time. Your family member’s lawyer can usually tell you which courtroom too.
Join on your own device
Webex runs in a web browser, or through the app on a phone or computer. Find somewhere quiet and private.
No device?
On weekdays, you can ask your local court whether a remote room is available.
Don't record it
Recording or photographing a hearing is an offence.
Be patient
Because matters run in order of readiness, you may wait most of the day.
Helping the application
Anyone offering security, or the person your family member will live with, should be ready to be contacted during the hearing to confirm details, so keep your phone nearby.
What happens after the hearing?
If bail is granted, your family member is released on conditions, and the charge continues at the local court on the next court date. If bail is refused, they stay in custody, a second application to the same court is only allowed in limited circumstances, and the next step is usually the Supreme Court.
If bail is granted
Release
They are released from the police cells or correctional centre once the conditions are processed, which can take some hours.
The charge continues
The Bail Division only decides bail. The charge itself stays listed at the local court, and your family member will need to attend their next court date there.
Conditions matter
Breaching a condition isn't an offence in itself, but police can arrest them and take them back to court, where bail can be revoked. Failing to appear at court is a separate criminal offence.
If bail is refused
They stay in custody
Usually in a correctional centre.
One application counts
A further application to the same court is only allowed if they weren't represented the first time, there is fresh information, their circumstances have changed, or they are a child whose first application was at their first appearance (s 74).
The Supreme Court
If the application is lodged by 5pm on a Tuesday, it is first listed at 9am that Friday to get a hearing date. The hearing is usually six to ten weeks after that. The court's end-of-year recess runs from mid-December into January, so to be heard before Christmas you will often need to file by mid-October.
What does a bail application cost?
From $2,000 + GST for a simpler, non-urgent application, from $3,000 + GST for an urgent or weekend application, and from $5,000 + GST plus barrister’s fees in the Supreme Court. Legal Aid may be available. See our overview of bail applications in NSW for the full process, or the fixed fees page for every fee we quote upfront.
Bail
| Matter | Fee |
|---|---|
| Bail application, Local or District Court | From $2,000 + GST |
| Urgent or weekend bail application | From $3,000 + GST |
| Bail application, Supreme Court | From $5,000 + GSTExcluding barrister’s fees |
William is a member of Legal Aid NSW’s summary, indictable and children’s criminal law panels. He can tell you on the first call whether Legal Aid might cover your family member’s matter.
Case study: weekend bail in the Bail Division for a domestic violence charge
Identifying details have been changed.
David, 24, had an argument with his partner at their home in Burwood at 2am on a Saturday night. Neighbours called the police, and his partner gave a video statement. David was arrested and charged with common assault and stalking or intimidation, both domestic violence offences, and police made a provisional apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO). He had no criminal history.
David’s mother called us. We advised David not to take part in a police interview, and he didn’t. Police refused bail. Because it was the weekend, his matter went to the Bail Division rather than Burwood Local Court.
We worked with David’s family to organise:
- somewhere else for him to live, away from his partner
- evidence that he was seeking treatment for depression
Before the hearing, we obtained the police documents and filed David’s supporting material with the court. At the Bail Division hearing by video link at 12pm, we proposed conditions to answer the risks:
- living at the new address
- a curfew
- attending mental health treatment
- reporting to police once a week
The Local Court Judge granted bail on those conditions, and David entered a plea of not guilty.
After a period with no further offending, and with David engaged in mental health treatment, we were able to have the no-contact condition removed from the ADVO.
Every case depends on its own facts.
Sources
- Bail Act 2013 (NSW): ss 17, 18, 46, 74, at legislation.nsw.gov.au
- Local Court of NSW, Practice Note – Bail Division Proceedings (commenced 7 July 2025)
- Local Court of NSW, Bail Division Information Guide
For the fuller picture of what happens from arrest through to a bail decision, see My family member has been arrested in NSW. How can I help them get bail?
