Public Defenders

Welcome to the Public Defenders website

Public Defenders are salaried barristers independent of the government who appear in serious criminal matters for clients who have been granted legal aid. Learn more about Public Defenders.

We do not provide general legal advice to the public. If you need legal help, refer to the Legal Aid/LawAccess NSW website, or call 1300 888 529 for assistance. 


​Latest News

The Public Defenders 2024 Criminal Law Conference - Registrations Now Open

The Public Defenders Defenders Criminal Law Confernece is will be held on 9th & 10th of March. Register for the event here.

The Public Defenders 2021/22 Annual Report 

The Public Defenders Defenders 2021/22 Annual Report has been tabled and is available on the Parliament website. A copy of the report can be found here

BAIL FOLLOWING CONVICTION AND BEFORE SENTENCING - THE NEW SECTION 22B OF THE BAIL ACT 2013

The new amendments commenced on 27 June 2022 and apply now.  If you practice criminal law, you need to know about them as this is a major change to bail laws.  A guide to them is here

The postal details for the Public Defenders have changed.

Effective immediately the Public Defenders no longer has a DX service.

All Sydney CBD postal correspondence should be addressed to: 

The Public Defenders Level 23, 1 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010

For regional Public Defenders' Chambers see details here


Legal Aid commissioned expert report on the risk COVID-19 poses to pregnant women, in particular incarcerated women. Written by Professor Caroline Homer, Co-Program Director,  Maternal and Child Health at the Burnet Institute and an Emeritus Professor of Midwifery at the University of Technology Sydney.

Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020

This Act commences 27 March 2021. For a guide to significant changes and procedural flow charts for Unfitness to be Tried and Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Defences see below under Popular Resources




​If you experience difficulty reading any of the documents on this website and you require 
an accessible version, please email accessibility@justice.nsw.gov.au