Summary
Aim
In 2022/23 the NSW Criminal Courts finalised 14% more appearances than in 2021/22 and 7% more than in the year prior to the pandemic (2018/19). Nearly all of the increase in finalisations over the most recent two years occurred in the Local Court (up 15%).
In 2022/23, the median time to finalise a defended hearing in the Local Court rose to 296 days from arrest to finalisation; this is a 98 day increase from pre-pandemic (198 days in 2018/2019).
Sentencing figures show a reduction in the proportion of proven defendants receiving a prison sentence in 2022/23.