What is jury duty?

Jury duty is the civic obligation of Australian citizens to serve as a juror in a criminal or civil court trial when they are summoned by a court. Jurors decide questions of fact in a trial, with the judge directing them on the law. Jury duty is a foundational part of the Australian criminal justice system and is treated as both a right and a duty of citizenship.

Each state and territory runs its own jury system under its own legislation. The Sheriff's Office or equivalent body in each jurisdiction selects potential jurors at random from the electoral roll. Selected people receive a jury summons in the post asking them to attend a court on a specified day. Most jurisdictions use jury panels of about 100 to 200 people, from whom the final jury (12 jurors for criminal trials, 4 to 6 for civil trials, depending on the state) is empanelled at the start of each case.

Jurors are paid a daily allowance set by each state, ranging from about 100 to 300 dollars a day for the first few days and rising for longer trials. Employers must allow employees time off for jury service and many top up the jury allowance to ordinary pay during service. Most trials last a few days to two weeks, but complex matters such as fraud or murder cases can run for months.

Some categories of citizens are exempt or excused. Members of Parliament, judges, lawyers, police officers, doctors and pharmacists in active practice, and ministers of religion are usually exempt by law in most jurisdictions. People aged over 70 or 75 (the age varies by state), people with serious illness or disability, people who are the sole carer of young children, and people whose jury service would cause substantial hardship can apply to be excused. Failing to attend jury duty without a valid reason is an offence punishable by fines that can reach 5,000 dollars in some states. Permanent residents are not normally selected for jury duty: only Australian citizens enrolled to vote can be summoned.