The Chief Magistrate of New South Wales, his Honour Judge Michael Allan, has published a statement on 18 June 2025 regarding how listed cases in Downing Centre Local Court will be handled after a power outage caused by a burst water main.
The statement can be summarized as follows:
The Downing Centre Local Court has been forced to close temporarily following a burst water main on Castlereagh Street that caused the shutdown of both electricity and water to the building on Tuesday, 17 June 2025 including building located around the vicinity.
As of now, the court remains without power and essential utilities, and while restoration efforts are underway, no clear timeline has been provided for the resumption of regular sittings at the court complex.
Custody Matters Prioritised
The Chief Magistrate of the Local Court of New South Wales, Judge Michael Allen, has confirmed that custody matters will be prioritised during the temporary closure.
Interim arrangements have been made for Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 June 2025. During this period, a limited number of Downing Centre matters will be heard at two alternative venues: Central Local Court and John Maddison Tower (JMT).
Temporary Court Listings
The following arrangements apply for 19 and 20 June:
Central Local Court:
- Court 1: Fresh custody matters
- Court 2: Custody Bail and Custody Sentence List – (Court 4.2 equivalent) (NSW Police custody matters and NSW DPP custody matters listed for sentence) (Not including CDPP custodies, NSW Police hearing custodies and NSW DPP hearing custodies)
John Maddison Tower (JMT):
- Court 7A: Custody DPP list
- Court 7B: Non-custody DPP list
- Court 7D: Charge list (Court 4.5 equivalent)
- Court 12A: Registrar’s List and matters for transfer and finalisation by Magistrate in Court 7D (Court 4.4 equivalent)
Non-Custody Matters Vacated
All non-custody matters listed for 19 and 20 June will be vacated and adjourned. The registry has confirmed that no other non-custody list courts or hearing courts from the Downing Centre will operate on these dates.
Bail Variation Applications Delayed
Applications to vary bail will not be listed prior to 21 July 2025 unless deemed urgent. An application is considered urgent only where failure to vary bail before that date would result in an unavoidable and imminent breach, in circumstances beyond the defendant’s control.
Ongoing Disruption and Contingency Planning
Arrangements are currently being made to identify alternative courtrooms across the Sydney metropolitan area for the listing of custody hearings. Further updates will be provided as they become available.
Practitioners and prosecutors are advised to prepare clients and witnesses for the possibility that their matters may not proceed as scheduled. The Chief Magistrate has acknowledged the significant disruption to court operations and expressed commitment to resolving the issue as soon as possible.
Update by the Chief Judge of the District Court of NSW – 19 June 2025
On 19 June 2025, the Chief Judge of the New South Wales District Court, her Honour Justice Sarah Huggett, issued advice that:
“The Downing Centre in Sydney has no power or water and will likely remain closed for at least the next few weeks until utilities are repaired and restored.”
Update by NSW Government – 23 June 2025
On 23 June 2025, the NSW Government Department of Communities and Justice advised that:
“Flooding at the Downing Centre on Tuesday 17 June caused extensive damage to the infrastructure of the building, including electricity, IT systems and other equipment. As a result, the Downing Centre will be closed for at least four weeks.
Assessment of the damage is ongoing, however it is clear that extensive repairs will be required which will take a lengthy period of time.”
It has been reported that Local Court defended hearings are being listed as far away as March 2026, with significant delays also occurring in a range of other substantive matters including section 14 mental health applications and some more complex sentencing hearings, including after guilty pleas).
Update by NSW Government – 9 July 2025
On 9 July 2025, a further update was provided advising that the damage to the Downing Centre is more extensive and serious than thought earlier.
Accordingly, the Department of Communities and Justice has advised that the courthouse will be closed until at least late 2025, which will certainly put more pressure on other courthouses and cause significant court delays.
In relation to District Court proceedings, Communities and Justice has advised that:
District Court trials
“The District Court’s current focus is to complete trials that are part-heard, particularly those where the proceedings have been ongoing where the accused is in custody.
Associates are contacting parties regarding these arrangements.
Jurors currently empanelled in criminal trials in the Downing Centre will be contacted by the NSW Sheriff’s Office with further updates.”
District Court criminal list, including mentions and sentencing cases
“All District Court list matters (usually listed in court room 3.1) will be dealt with at John Maddison Tower (JMT), 86-90 Goulburn St, Sydney in Court 21A. Other matters listed in the District Court will also be held in John Maddison Tower, please check the online court or noticeboards on Level 1, JMT for further information.”
Monitoring arrangements
The Sydney Criminal Lawyers® team continues to appear daily in courts across the Sydney CBD, including Central Local Court and John Maddison Tower, as well as across the Sydney Metropolitan Area and beyond, and is available to advise clients on how these changes may affect their listings, and to provide outstanding representation in all criminal and traffic law cases.
