Jury duty is an important civic duty associated with active citizenship. Barriers to jury service in current law and practice are out of touch with community expectations, laws and policies about non-discrimination and the inclusion of people with disabilities in public life.

This report recommends ways to remove barriers from current law and practice that prevent people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision from serving on juries.

Key recommendations

• Change the Juries Act and jury processes to ensure that people get the reasonable adjustments they need to be able to serve – such as Auslan interpreters, speech-to-text translations or screen readers.
• The 13th person rule’, which prevents anyone except a juror from going into the jury room, should be limited so that interpreters and support persons can go in the jury room if they take an oath to maintain confidentiality, not participate personally in deliberations, and interpret truthfully.