FEATURE
ONLINE PORTAL TO LODGE CRIMINAL AND CARE & PROTECTION DOCUMENTS TO GO LIVE PENNY CROSER, STATE COURTS ADMINISTRATOR
T
he CourtSA portal for the Criminal, Special and Care and Protection jurisdictions will be launched on 29 August. When CourtSA launches in the Criminal, Special and Care and Protection jurisdictions in addition to Civil and Probate, you will be able to use CourtSA to: • start a case such as a bail review, appeal or an application for intervention order, access a criminal case if you are the legal practitioner representing the party on the case • file documents on a case • view your past and future hearings • view filed documents such as applications, affidavits, orders and records of outcome
WHAT IS COURTSA? CourtSA is a service that enables legal practitioners to lodge cases online and access information about their client’s case from anywhere at any time.
WHY HAS COURTSA BEEN INTRODUCED? In an age of fast internet and cutting-edge software, there is a growing expectation that services will be delivered digitally. By introducing a more streamlined, accessible, online court service, the CAA aims to make it more convenient for court users to interact with the courts. This means making the courts more accessible for everyone. It also means improving access to information. CourtSA is transforming the way justice is delivered in South Australia, forming the foundation of a suite of services to be offered in the future.
WHAT DO I NEED TO USE COURTSA? CourtSA requires access to a computer, internet, scanner and in some instances a printer. You can use any modern browser (Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Safari) but Chrome is recommended.
20 THE BULLETIN August 2022
HOW DO I USE IT? Everyone will use CourtSA differently. CourtSA is an electronic lodgement system not a practice management tool. It is not intended to be used to draft and settle documents or to replace practice management software.
WHAT DO I DO TO GET STARTED? To get started you will need to register a CourtSA account. You can create an individual or organisation account. If you already have a CourtSA account, you don’t need a new one for the launch of CourtSA in the Criminal, Special and Care and Protection jurisdictions. You can use your existing account. If you work for a firm or organisation, you don’t need to create an account. Someone in your organisation will do it and invite you.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANISATION ACCOUNT? In general, individual accounts are for those registering for themselves. Organisation accounts are to be created by a representative of an organisation who can then invite people to join the account. If you are legal practitioner that is part of a law firm or organisation, you should not need to create an account, as you will be invited to join your law firm or organisation CourtSA account by your firms account administrator. For example, the South Australian Police, the Legal Services Commission, the Crown Solicitor’s Office, the Department for Child Protection and the State and Commonwealth Departments of Public Prosecutions all have organisation accounts with users attached. Once you have created an account or been invited to join your law firm or organisation account, you can login and work through the home page options. If you would like access to a case, you
need to request case access. There are instructional videos which show you how to use CourtSA. Please see the CourtSA Help Centre for more information.
WHEN CAN I CREATE A COURTSA ACCOUNT? You can create an account now. If you are a private practitioner who works in criminal defence then you should create your account prior to the go live date.
WHAT SHOULD I DO BEFORE CREATING AN ACCOUNT? Before creating a new account you need to contact the Law Society of South Australia to update the email or address that is associated with the P or L code. The CAA receives information from the Law Society when P or L code details are updated and then update our case management system with this information.
WHAT IS CASE ACCESS? You must have access to a case to view it and lodge any documents on it. A person can only access a case if they are: • Representing themselves • A practitioner representing a party • A barrister representing a party • A party represented by a lawyer
WHO CANNOT ACCESS A CASE IN COURTSA? • • • •
Parent/s in a care and protection case Media Interested parties A member of the public
HOW DO I APPLY FOR ACCESS TO A CASE? You can request case access by logging into CourtSA and selecting ‘Access a case’ from the drop down menu, completing the ‘CourtSA Request access to a case’ form. You must provide a L code and P code when you fill out the form. A green
