Step by step guide - Presenting your guilty plea

You should arrive at court at least 30 minutes early. This will give you time to go through security and find your courtroom. 

If you think you are going to be late, you should ring the court registry and let them know. If you are not at court when your name is called, the Court may decide your case without you.

You can find your courtroom on:

• the court lists at the courthouse
• the Search NSW Court and Tribunal Lists page on the NSW Online Registry.

For information about how to find your courtroom, you should watch the video below:
Finding your courtroom.

This video is available with the audio description​.

Once you have found your courtroom, you can take a seat in the public gallery, or, if the courtroom is full, you can wait outside. There are often many cases listed on the same day and you will have to wait until your name is called. You could be at court for just a few hours or most of the day, so you should make arrangements with your work or childcare if necessary.

If you wait outside, make sure you stay close enough to the courtroom to hear the court officer call your name. If you leave, or are not there when your name is called, your case can be decided without you.

The courtroom may be closed for morning tea (usually around 11:30am) and for lunch (usually from 1:00pm to 2:00pm). You will have to leave the courtroom during these breaks. You can check with the court officer or the registry what time the courtroom will reopen.

Before entering the courtroom:

•  remove your hat and sunglasses from your head
• stop eating or drinking
• turn your mobile phone off or put it on silent.

When your name is called, you will usually be asked to stand next to the bar table, where the lawyers and prosecutor sit.

Depending on the offence, the prosecutor may be a police prosecutor, council or RSPCA officer or a lawyer representing the Transport for NSW.

You may need to ask for an adjournment if:

• you can’t attend court
• you want to

If you can't attend court, you should contact the court and explain why. It is a good idea to send something in writing, for example, a letter, email or fax. If you are sick you should also send a medical certificate that states that you are not fit to attend court. You should do this as soon as possible. Do not leave it until the day you are due in court! The court may adjourn (postpone) your case for a period of time, usually one or two weeks.

If you are sending a medical certificate to the court, you should make sure the doctor writes why you are unable to attend. The magistrate may not accept a certificate if it only says you are unwell or unfit for work.

You may also be able to plead guilty in writing. If you do this you may not have to attend court. If you want to plead guilty in writing, you must do so at least seven days before your court date.

For more information, see Pleading guilty in writing.

If your case is in the callover list, you might appear before a Registrar who will ask you how you intend to plead. If you tell the Registrar you want to plead guilty, your case may be moved to another court so that you can be sentenced by a Magistrate.

Not all Local Courts have a callover.

If the Court doesn’t have a call over, you may appear directly before a Magistrate. The Magistrate will ask you how you intend to plead. 

When you plead guilty, the prosecutor will give the Magistrate a copy of the factsheet and your criminal and/or driving history.

The factsheet explains the offence according to the police.  The police write the factsheet based on what they saw and heard, and what the victim or witnesses say they saw and heard.

You should ask the prosecutor to let you have a look at the factsheet before they hand it up. If there is anything you disagree with in the facts, you should let the prosecutor know. If the prosecutor agrees, they may be able to amend the facts. Or there may be a hearing to decide what the correct facts are. You should also have a look at your criminal and/or driving history to confirm that it is correct and that you know about the offences listed on your history, if any.

After the Magistrate has read the prosecutors documents, they will ask you if you want to make any submissions or have any documents you want to hand up.

You should also tell the Magistrate about:

• your personal history
• your education and employment history
• your financial circumstances, including your income and expenses (this may help the Magistrate decide how much to fine you)
• your good character
• your criminal and/or traffic history
• your need for a driver licence (if necessary)
• how sorry you are for your actions.

Watch the video below to learn what to do and say in the courtroom:
Pleading Guilty and making submissions.

This video is available with the audio​​​ description.​

Checklist: Submissions

Sample: Sample Written submissions

Before you hand up your documents, you must show them to the prosecutor first. If the prosecutor doesn’t object to your documents, the court officer will take the documents from you and give them to the Magistrate. You should not approach the bench (the table where the Magistrate sits) unless you are given permission.

After the Magistrate has read all the documents and heard all submissions, they will decide whether to convict and sentence you for the offence.

The Magistrate will usually ask you to stand up when they are reading out their decision.

If the Magistrate convicts you, they will usually sentence you on the same day, unless you ask for an adjournment to enrol in an intervention program, or the Magistrate requests a sentencing assessment report.

When sentencing you, the Magistrate will usually go through the details of the offence and your history. The magistrate will then tell you what sentence they are giving you.

In most cases, your sentence will be a fine. The amount of the fine will depend on a number of factors, such as:

• the circumstances of the offence
• the maximum penalty for the particular offence
• your financial situation
• your driving or criminal history
• whether you have completed any relevant programs.

The maximum fine a court can impose is usually a lot higher than the original fine.

Section 10 dismissal

Magistrates have the power to find you guilty but not record a conviction. This is commonly known as a 'section 10 dismissal'. A section 10 dismissal can either be instant or come after a period of good behaviour (a good behaviour bond) of up to two years.

If you are given a section 10 dismissal, you won’t be fined or have to face any other punishment. A section 10 dismissal is hard to get, and will usually only be given where:

• you have a clear criminal and driving record
• the offence is minor
• there is little chance of you re-offending
• there were mitigating factors surrounding the offence.

Even if the above factors apply to your case, there is no guarantee you will get a section 10 dismissal.

If you get a section 10 for a traffic matter, you won’t get any demerit points, but you may have to pay court costs.

For some driving offences there are minimum periods of disqualification that the court must impose.