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The National Standard for Professional Development for Australian Judicial Officers is Currently Under Review. A revised National Standard and Curriculum with a twenty-year perspective will be available by October 2023.

In 2004 the National Judicial College of Australia initiated a process to promote the preparation of a national standard for the amount of time and funding that should be available for each member of the Australian judiciary for professional development.

The Standard was endorsed by the Council of Chief Justices of Australia, Chief Judges, Chief Magistrates, the Judicial Conference of Australia, the Association of Australian Magistrates, the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration and judicial education bodies. The Standard was reviewed in late 2010.

The recent ALRC Report recommendations noted that: “there is currently no publicly available curriculum or professional development pathway for Commonwealth judges. This means that, although a significant number of judicial education courses may be available, covering issues important for supporting judicial impartiality, there is no clear or transparent expectation that judges will attend those courses specifically throughout their judicial career.”[Without Fear or Favour,[12.65]

The NJCA, as the national leader in judicial education and training, is committed to meeting the need for a coherent and high quality system of judicial education and training in Australia through the development and delivery of a dynamic national curriculum (the National Curriculum). The National Curriculum will be a living framework, designed to allow for adjustments to new developments, changing demands, actions and will be referenced based on the contribution of judicial education stakeholders committed to its implementation. Importantly, the National Curriculum will also provide a benchmark for the implementation, monitoring and the evaluation of judicial education and training into the future.

Once approved by our Council, further details about the National Curriculum will be available shortly on the NJCA website.