If you miss court

It is important that you attend court on all the mention dates (if there are more than one) and that you attend the hearing. If you don't go to court, the magistrate can make a decision without you being there. The magistrate may adjourn (postpone) your case to another date, but you should not rely on this happening. 

If you are on bail and you miss court, you may be committing an offence and a warrant may be issued for your arrest. You should get legal advice.

If you missed court, you can:

​Call the court and check what happened

If you missed your court date you should call the court and find out what happened. The registry staff will be able to tell you if:

• the case was adjourned and if so, when the next court date is
• a decision (an order or finding) was made and if so, what the decision was
• a warrant was issued.

If the magistrate issued a warrant for your arrest, you should get legal advice.

If you have been charged with a driving offence and didn't go to court, it is important to find out what happened. If the court convicted you in your absence, you may also have been disqualified from driving.

File an Annulment application

If you miss your court date, and you are found guilty in your absence, you may be able to apply to have the decision annulled (cancelled). You must have a good reason why you couldn't attend court.

You can file an Annulment Application at any NSW local court, but your matter will be listed at the same court where the original decision to find you guilty was made.

If the magistrate accepts your explanation, the decision will be annulled and your case re-heard.

Some reasons why the decision could be annuled may be:

• you were too sick to attend court
• you were involved in an accident on your way to court
• you were delayed because of some other reason, for example, assisting police, you were under arrest, or there were serious traffic delays
• if the court thinks it is in the interests of justice to annul the decision.
• An application for annulment may not be successful where:
• you simply forgot to turn up to court, or
• you got your days confused.

You have two years from the date of the court's decision to make an Annulment Application.

For information about how to make an application, see Making an Annulment Application. ​