Directions hearing: in the room — Self Rep Ready
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Directions hearing: in the room

Part 2 of the directions hearing guide. The sequence at the bar table, the vocabulary, and the limits of consent.

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Part 2 of the directions hearing guide. The sequence at the bar table, the vocabulary, and the limits of consent.

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Directions hearing: what it is for

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A NSW civil litigation barrister.

In the room

Sit in the public seats until your matter is called. Watch two or three matters before yours. You will learn the registrar's or judge's style, how parties announce themselves, and how quickly things move.

When your matter is called, go to the bar table. The usual sequence:

  1. Appearances. Each party says who they are. "Jordan Lee, I appear for myself, the defendant" is enough. The plaintiff's side is usually announced first.
  2. Who speaks first. Normally the party who brought the matter, or the applicant on the motion. If you are the respondent or defendant, you can listen, take notes and respond. Let the other side speak first if you can; you will often learn what you need to answer.
  3. What is proposed. The court asks what directions the parties seek. If orders are agreed, someone hands up the short minutes. If not, each side says briefly what it wants and why.
  4. Questions. The registrar or judge may ask you direct questions: Have you complied with the earlier orders? How long do you need? Are you prepared to mediate? Answer the question asked, briefly and honestly. "Not yet, and I expect to have it done by the 14th" is a good answer. A long explanation is not.
  5. Orders. The court makes the orders and states the next date. Write both down exactly. Ask the court to repeat a date if you did not catch it.
Stand when you speak, sit when you have finished

Stand to address the court and sit when the other side is speaking. Do not interrupt. If the other side says something you disagree with, note it and wait to be asked, or say "May I respond briefly?" when they finish. Short and orderly reads as credible; long and heated does not.

Words you will hear

Plain-English glossary for the room
Directions — orders about how the case will be run, usually with dates. Short minutes of order — a concise document setting out the proposed orders, handed up so the court can make them without dictating each one. Consent orders — orders both sides agree to. The court can still decline to make them. Stood over / adjourned — the matter is put off to another date. "Stood over to 14 November for further directions." Vacated — a date that was fixed is cancelled. Liberty to apply — permission to come back to the court about the orders if something arises, without waiting for the next listed date. It is not an invitation to reargue the case. Timetable — the sequence of dates by which each step must be done. Non-compliance — a party has not done what an earlier order required. The court will want to know why and what will fix it. Referred to a judge — the registrar has decided the matter needs a judge and lists it accordingly. Hand up — to give a document to the court from the bar table. Only do this if invited or if it is the accepted practice for the list.

The litigation pressure glossary covers the wider vocabulary, and the labels guide explains what "without prejudice" and similar headings mean when the other side refers to correspondence.

What you can agree to

Most directions are agreed between the parties. Agreeing to a sensible timetable is not weakness. It is usually the fastest way to get a date you can meet and to be the reasonable party in the room.

  • Dates you can meet. Agree to them. If a proposed date is too tight, say what date you can meet and why. "I am working alone and would ask for three weeks rather than two" is ordinary and acceptable.
  • Mediation. NSW courts can refer a matter to mediation with or without consent under the Civil Procedure Act, though the power does not apply in every list (Local Court small claims are excluded). Agreeing to mediate is not agreeing to settle.
  • A short adjournment if you genuinely need time to obtain advice or documents. Say so plainly.

Be careful with anything that goes beyond the timetable. If proposed orders include a substantive step, such as agreeing to give particular evidence, produce particular documents, or accept a description of the issues, do not agree on the spot. Say: "I would ask for a short time to consider that order." The court may stand that order over or make the rest and leave that one for later, or may decide it there and then; asking is a request, not a right.

Limit the agreement in the sentence that gives it

If you agree to something narrow, say the narrow thing out loud. "I have no objection to the timetable in orders 1 to 4. I do not agree to order 5." An unqualified "no objection" can later be described as agreement to everything.

Parties sometimes sign a consent adjournment or consent orders and assume the appearance is no longer needed. That is not always so. A registrar or judge can decline to make consent orders, or can require the parties to attend and explain the delay. Be prepared for the possibility that you will be in the room, and possibly before a judge, on the same day.

  • Check the court's instructions on whether an attendance is excused when consent orders are lodged.
  • If in doubt, attend. It is far cheaper than a missed appearance.
  • Bring a copy of the signed consent orders and be ready to explain why they are appropriate.

Before you leave the building

  1. Write down every order made, every date, and who has to do what. Do it while you can still hear it in your head.
  2. If you heard something you did not understand, ask the court officer, or check the published orders on the online registry later that day.
  3. Enter the dates in your calendar with reminders a week and a day before each one.
  4. Add a line to your chronology and your correspondence log for the hearing itself.
  5. If procedural matters were discussed with the other side outside the courtroom, send a short open email the same day confirming your understanding, "subject to any corrections". Do not do this for settlement discussions; those may be protected and an open email can compromise that. The example letters include a confirmation template.

From Jordan's case file

Fictional example: Three minutes in a registrar's list
Jordan's matter with Meridian Builders was listed for directions before a registrar at 9:30am. Forty matters were on the list. He arrived at 9:00, found his name at number 23, and sat down to watch. When the matter was called, Meridian's solicitor announced her appearance, then Jordan announced his. The solicitor handed up short minutes and said orders 1 to 5 were agreed. The registrar asked Jordan whether that was right. Jordan said: "Orders 1 to 4 are agreed, Registrar. I would ask for a short time to consider order 5, which asks me to produce a category of documents I have not yet been able to identify." The registrar made orders 1 to 4, stood order 5 over to the next directions date, and asked both parties to confer about it in the meantime. Total time: about three minutes. Jordan wrote down the orders and the date before he stood up from the bar table. That afternoon he sent Meridian's solicitor a two-line open email confirming that order 5 had been stood over and proposing a call to discuss it. What he did right was small: he watched the list, he answered the question asked, and he limited his agreement in the sentence that gave it.

Checklist

  • Read the practice note for your court and list
  • Know whether it is a registrar's list or a judge's list, and how to address the bench
  • Read any proposed orders line by line and mark what you can and cannot accept
  • Prepare your own realistic timetable
  • Write the one-page script
  • Arrive early, check the daily list, watch two matters before yours
  • Announce your appearance; let the other side speak first where you can
  • Answer the question asked, briefly
  • Limit any agreement in the sentence that gives it
  • Write down every order and date before leaving the bar table
  • Confirm procedural out-of-court discussions in a same-day open email; never settlement or mediation discussions
General information only, not legal advice. This page describes general practice in NSW civil courts as understood at the review date. Procedures differ between courts, lists and individual matters, and change over time. Check the current rules, practice notes, orders and registry instructions for your court. All names, matters and events in the examples are fictional. Last reviewed: September 2026.