New South Wales Consolidated Regulations New South Wales Consolidated RegulationsFor the purposes of section 59 (3) of the Act, the oral explanation of the committal process is to be in or to the effect of the following (as applicable to the accused person)--
The prosecutor has given you or your lawyer a charge certificate. The charge certificate shows all the offences that the prosecutor intends to proceed with if your case goes to trial in the District Court/Supreme Court [specify correct court].
[Include only if the accused person is represented by a legal practitioner]
Your case will now be adjourned so that your lawyer and the prosecutor can discuss your case at a case conference. The case conference is to help you decide whether to plead guilty or not guilty to the charges against you and to discuss any offers that may be made.
You must be available to give your lawyer instructions during the case conference and your lawyer will arrange this.
After the case conference, a certificate will be prepared by the prosecutor and your lawyer as a record of the conference. What is in the case conference certificate is confidential.
After the case conference you will come back before a Magistrate.
[Include only if the accused person is not represented by a legal practitioner]
Your case will now be adjourned so that you can decide if you want to plead guilty or not guilty to the offences on the charge certificate. If you wish to contact the prosecutor about the offences listed in the charge certificate, you can do so in writing.
You may wish to get legal representation or legal advice about your case while your case is adjourned. This may be available from Legal Aid NSW.
After the adjournment you will come back before a Magistrate.
The Magistrate will ask you whether you plead guilty or not guilty to each offence proceeding.
If you plead guilty, the Magistrate will send your case to the District Court/Supreme Court [specify correct court] to decide your sentence. If you plead not guilty, the Magistrate will send your case to the District Court/Supreme Court [specify correct court] for trial.
[Include if the accused person is an offender to whom the discount scheme under Division 1A of Part 3 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 applies]
If you plead guilty to an indictable offence, you may get a discount on your sentence. The amount of the discount depends on when you plead guilty and you should seek legal advice about it.
You will be given some written information with more details about the committal process and the sentencing discounts that may be available.