Glossary of process design information terms Term Description Acceptance The act of receiving a document by a court. When a document is received by a court it will then be reviewed by a registrar (or judge) before being accepted for filing. Some documents may be automatically accepted for filing (eg criminal charging documents filed electronically by the Police).

Act An Act of Parliament. A statute; a law passed by the legislature. Address for service A place given by a party to a court proceeding for the delivery of documents filed by another party, or documents issued by the court. (See also Service of documents.)

Bail The release of a person charged with an offence, on the condition they return to the court at some specified time, and any other conditions the court may impose.

Case management An approach to the control of litigation in which the court assumes responsibility for the progress of cases through pre-trial stages to ensure that court resources are deployed appropriately and court backlogs and delays are reduced.

Dealt with on papers When a decision is made on the basis of the documents provided by the parties without an oral hearing.

Election The exercise of the right to choose (or elect) to be tried before a judge and jury or a judge alone when a person is charged with an offence punishable by a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment or more.

Fee waiver A decision by a registrar (or a judge on review) to forgoing the requirement of a party to pay a prescribed court fee.

Guardian (of a child) A person who is legally responsible for the care of a child.

Hear/hearing The listening to a case by a judge. Hearing court The place where the hearing takes place. It may differ from the ‘home court.

Injunction A court order requiring a person to do, or refrain from doing, a particular action. Injunctions can be temporary ('interim injunctions') or permanent.

Judgment The final order or set of orders made by a court after a hearing, usually accompanied by reasons for making the order or orders.

Lawyer for child A lawyer appointed by the court to represent a child involved in, or affected by, proceedings, particularly in the Family Court. Leave (of the court) Permission given by the court to do something in a proceeding where such permission is required.

Matter An issue or proceeding before a court.