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Jury Service

Entitlements

9 May 2025 (Last updated 3 Dec 2025)

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Jury service plays an important role in the Australian judicial system. Juries are used to ensure that legal verdicts are impartial and in line with community standards of behaviour. Serving as a juror is an important role, and one that your employee may be called upon to perform.

In this best practice guide for employers, we outline jury service, your obligations as an employer, and key things to remember. Please note that the information provided below is general and is not intended to act as advice. If you need help with jury service or any type of leave, consult an employment relations professional.

Jury duty

Jury duty or jury service is a type of community service leave in Australia. Employees, including casual employees can take leave to attend jury selection or jury duty.

In New South Wales, the names of around 200,000 potential jurors are randomly selected from the NSW Electoral Roll and included on a jury roll. Approximately 150,000 people on the roll are sent a jury summons notice at some point in the year. This notice requires them to come to court, where they may be selected as a juror for a specific trial. Out of these, just 9,000 people a year are selected to serve on jury panels for specific trials. They are then empanelled as jurors.

Things employers need to know

Employers are obliged to release any employee summoned for jury service.

You are required to pay employees for the first 10 days of jury service under the Fair Work Act. Casual employees don’t get paid for jury service, but they may be entitled to payment under state or territory laws. There may also be additional provisions in your industry award.

As per the provisions outlined in the Jury Act 1977 and the Jury Amendment Act 2010, you cannot:

  • Force employees to take own leave, such as recreation or sick leave, while doing jury service (this includes the day they go to court for a jury summons).
  • Dismiss, injure or alter the employee’s position for doing jury service.
  • Ask employees to work on any day that they are serving as jurors.
  • Ask employees to do additional hours or work to make up for time that they missed as a result of jury service.

An employer who contravenes any of these laws, can be fined $22,000 (corporation) or $5,500 (individual) under Section 69 of the Jury Act 1977.

You can also provide staff members with letters giving reasons why it might be difficult for the business if your employee has to attend jury service. The information contained in the letter will be taken into consideration by the Office of the Sheriff, and your employee may be excused on that occasion for a short period of time. If the employee is excused from jury service, they may be called up again in a few weeks or months. It is important that you provide this information to your employee prior to them attending on their summons date, as they cannot be excused once selected.

Payment for jury service

The National Employment Standards (NES) say you have to give your employees time off for jury service. Jury service is the only form of community service leave that is paid. When employees take leave for jury service, they receive jury service pay from the government and employers then top this up to their usual pay for up to 10 days.

Topping up is only for permanent employees only. Below is an example of how it works:

  • Your permanent employee earns a usual weekly base rate of, say, $700.
  • The government pays, say, $250 per week for jury service.
  • You top up their pay by $450.

You can ask your employee for evidence they have taken steps to get the full amount of jury service pay and evidence of how much pay they received in the first two weeks. You do not have to pay community service leave for employees who are still doing jury service after 10 days.

The allowance paid to jurors is not intended to be a substitute for a salary or wage.

If a state law provides for paid community service leave that is more generous than the NES, then the generous amount applies.

Things employees need to know

If an employee receives a jury summons, they should discuss it with the company’s HR person or supervisor. If there are any policies around jury service, they can ask their supervisor or manager to share it with them. You can also request confirmation for payment of jury service.

We have worked with thousands of businesses in Australia on matters of employment relations and workplace health and safety. Our services are tailored for your needs and your industry. From hiring, onboarding, performance management to dismissal, termination, and resignation, we are with you at every step of the employee lifecycle. Peninsula can advise you on handling jury service.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute as business or legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. It does not take into consideration your specific business, industry or circumstances. You should seek legal or other professional advice regarding matters as they relate to you or your business. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Peninsula Group disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions contained in this information or any failure to update or correct this information. It is your responsibility to assess and verify the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of the information in this article.

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Entitlements

Employee Entitlements in Transfer of Business

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Entitlements

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Entitlements

Keeping in Touch Days

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