Courts and Tribunal hours - December 2020 & January 2021

Most courts and tribunals will be closed during the holiday period. All courts and tribunals will be open on Monday 11 January 2021, with some opening from Tuesday 5 January 2021.

If you have any questions, call 0800 COURTS (0800 268 787).

On this page:

Courts and Tribunals Operating Hours 2020/2021

Senior courts

Supreme Court

The Chief Justice has determined the following:

Close: 5pm, Wednesday 23 December 2020
Open: 9am, Monday 11 January 2021

Court of Appeal

The President of the Court of Appeal has determined the following:

Close: 5pm, Wednesday 23 December 2020
Open: 9am, Tuesday 5 January 2021

High Court

Auckland, Blenheim, Christchurch, Dunedin, Gisborne, Greymouth, Hamilton, Invercargill, Masterton, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Rotorua, Tauranga, Timaru, Wellington, Whanganui, Whangarei (rule 3.2 High Court Rules 2016)

Close: 5pm, Wednesday 23 December 2020
Open: 9am, Tuesday 5 January 2021

District Court

Auckland, Blenheim, Christchurch, Dunedin, Gisborne, Greymouth, Hamilton, Hastings, Hawera, Hutt Valley, Invercargill, Kaikohe, Kaitaia, Levin, Manukau, Masterton, Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, North Shore, Palmerston North, Papakura, Porirua, Pukekohe, Queenstown, Rotorua, Tauranga, Timaru, Waitakere, Wellington, Whakatane, Whanganui, Whangarei

Close: 3pm, Thursday 24 December 2020
Open: 9am, Tuesday 5 January 2021

Alexandra, Ashburton, Dannevirke, Gore, Huntly, Morrinsville, Taihape, Taumarunui, Taupo, Thames, Tokoroa, Wairoa, Westport

Close: 3pm, Thursday 24 December 2020
Open: 9am, Monday 11 January 2021 (unless gazetted otherwise)

The following courts are Hearing Courts. They will not be open over the Christmas and New Year period, and will resume hearings as rostered in the New Year:

Chatham Islands, Dargaville, Kaikoura, Marton, Oamaru, Opotiki, Ruatoria, Te Awamutu, Te Kuiti, Waihi, Waipukurau

Special Jurisdictions

Employment Courts

Close: 5pm, Wednesday 23 December 2020
Open: 9am, Tuesday 5 January 2021

Environment Courts

Close: 5pm, Wednesday 23 December 2020
Open: 9am, Monday 11 January 2021

Māori Land Courts

Close: 3pm, Thursday 24 December 2020
Open: 10am, Tuesday 5 January 2021

The Auckland Information Office:

Close: 3pm, Thursday 24 December 2020
Open: 9am, Tuesday 5 January 2021

Coronial Services

Close: 3pm, Thursday 24 December 2020
Open: 9am, Tuesday 5 January 2021

The National Initial Investigation Office (NIIO) will remain open 24 hours a day.

Tribunals Unit

Close: 3pm, Thursday 24 December 2020
Open: 9am, Tuesday 5 January 2021

Urgent applications to the Family Court

Family Courts will provide a national service for urgent applications over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. Urgent applications will all be dealt with via the National eDuty platform. Court staff and duty judges have been allocated to deal with applications on the following days:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
21 Dec 2020	22 Dec 2020	23 Dec 2020	24 Dec 2020	25 Dec 2020
			Applications close 12:00pm. All Registries close 3:00pm	*
28 Dec 2020	29 Dec 2020	30 Dec 2020	31 Dec 2020	1 Jan 2021
*	Applications close 2:00pm	Applications close 2:00pm	Applications close 2:00pm	*
4 Jan 2021	5 Jan 2021	6 Jan 2021	7 Jan 2021	8 Jan 2021
*	Larger Courts reopen 9:00pm Applications close 2:00pm	Applications close 2:00pm	Applications close 2:00pm	Applications close 2:00pm

* Closed for observed statutory holiday

All urgent Family Court applications are required to be submitted to the registry by 2.00pm (exception 12pm on 24 Dec) on the days above in order for them to be processed. Any applications received after that time will be considered the following day.

The process for urgent Family Court applications will go back to normal on Monday 11 January 2021.

Mental health

Judges will be available to deal with any applications made to the Family Court for a review of a patient’s condition, section 16 of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992.

Arrest courts

Any persons arrested over this period will be brought to the nearest available court for the initial appearance before a judge, Community Magistrate or Justice of the Peace. 'Arrested' includes those arrested on new charges, on warrant or for breach of bail.

If bail is sought and it is not within jurisdiction of the judicial officer presiding at the first appearance, then any remand in custody (unless there is consent otherwise) must be adjourned to the next working day. This will allow the bail application to be dealt with via AVL from the prison (or police station) to the nearest, or most convenient, court where a judge is rostered to sit.

Electronically Monitored Bail applications

The following provides for the time frames for filing and processing of Electronically Monitored (EM) Bail applications prior to and after the Christmas break.

The Department of Corrections EM Bail Team have confirmed the dates for the filing and processing of EM Bail applications as follows:

	2020		2021
	Applications Close	Last Hearing	Existing applications First Hearing	New applications Close for First Hearing	New applications First Hearing
Adult	8 Dec 2020 5:00pm	22 Dec 2020	19 Jan 2021	5 Jan 2021 5:00pm	19 Jan 2021
Youth	15 Dec 2020 5:00pm	22 Dec 2020	19 Jan 2021	5 Jan 2021 5:00pm	19 Jan 2021

2020 Application close off and last hearing date

Applications for hearing in the 2020 calendar year will need to be received by the EM Bail Team no later than 5:00pm Tuesday 8 December 2020 for adult applications and 5:00pm Tuesday 15 December 2020 for youth applications. The final date for EM Bail applications to be heard in 2020 will be Tuesday 22 December 2020.

2020 Applications adjourned for the New Year

The first date for hearings of any existing EM Bail applications adjourned from 2020 into the New Year will be from Tuesday 19 January 2021. Please ensure the EM Bail Team is advised of any such adjournments over the holiday period so arrangements can be made for potential installations of equipment as early as possible.

2021 Applications and first hearing dates

The first hearing date for new applications filed in the New Year will be from Tuesday 19 January 2021 for both adult and youth applications. Applications for hearing on these dates will need to be received by the EM Bail Team by 5:00pm Tuesday 5 January 2021 (including the applications received after 8 and 15 December 2020).

If there are any queries regarding the above time frames, please don't hesitate to contact the Electronically Monitored Bail Team, on 0800EMBAIL or embail@corrections.govt.nz.

Urgent Harmful Digital Communications Act applications

Judges will be available to deal with any urgent applications filed under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 (HDCA) on 21 - 24, and 29 - 31 December 2020.

Urgent High Court applications

Urgent High Court applications can be made during the Christmas and New Year period.

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This page was last updated: 10th November 2020