RESIDENTS will no longer have to search high and low for a Justice of the Peace after the opening of a community JP desk in Bathurst.
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The desk, which was launched on Saturday, will operate as part of the network of community JP desks run by the NSW Justices Association throughout the state.
The man behind the local desk is JP Stuart Driver.
“So many people who needed a Justice of the Peace to complete documents struggled to locate one easily, with no co-ordinated service being available in Bathurst, and were often being sent from one location to another,” he said.
“This will give Bathurst residents the confidence to know when and where they can obtain Justice of the Peace services.”
The desk is the initial outreach activity of the Bathurst NSW Justices Association Support Group.
So many people who needed a Justice of the Peace struggled to locate one easily.
NSW Justices Association director Bruce Gibbs travelled to Bathurst to chair the initial meeting of volunteers recently.
“Bathurst will be the 131st community JP desk established by the NSW Justices Association and we are confident of its success. We are very pleased to see our services extend to Bathurst,” he said.
Mr Driver has been appointed as the co-ordinator for the Bathurst NSW Justices Association Support Group and he hopes the group will become more active locally.
The NSW Justices Association, through membership, provides support and training for JPs in NSW.
Mr Driver said the role of a JP is essential to the state’s legal structure and “it is very important that JPs have access to training and support to ensure that they provide a knowledgeable and accurate service to the community”.
The desk is being sponsored by Bathurst City Centre.
“We are very pleased to be able to support and sponsor this excellent initiative and we look forward to the desk’s success and building a strong relationship with the local NSW Justice Association support group,” centre manager Ivan Christian said.
Mr Driver said it is pleasing that, on establishment, the desk already has eight volunteer JPs “and we hope that more will come forward and encourage any JP who would like to increase their knowledge and skill and offer some time to the community to approach the desk volunteers”.
The desk will be located at the top of the escalators of the Bathurst City Centre in front of Tarocash. Some of the desk’s operational times will be deliberately outside normal business hours. The initial times will be:
- Tuesdays: 3.30pm-6pm.
- Thursdays: 5pm-7pm.
- Saturdays: 9am-noon.
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