Bendigo Law Courts officially opened

The new Bendigo Law Courts building was officially opened on Friday 24 February by Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria, in the presence of the Honourable Chief Justice Anne Ferguson, other Heads of Jurisdiction, and the Bendigo community, including Bendigo's Traditional Owners, the Dja Dja Wurrung people.

Informed by extensive consultation with users, court staff, legal practitioners, external agencies and community organisations, the building and service designs place people at the centre of a functional, safe, and accessible court. It will meet the needs of its diverse users, while keeping pace with the demands of the Loddon-Mallee region's growing population.

Built over five levels, the digitally-enabled court building has nine courtrooms, two hearing rooms, two mediation suites, remote witness facilities, safe waiting facilities, dedicated jury areas, and meeting rooms for support agencies and client services.

The contemporary design, featuring abundant daylight and calming material textures and tones, also acquits key recommendations from the Royal Commission into Family Violence by including a specialist suite and separate building entrances, remote witness facilities, and discrete meeting rooms.

A dedicated Koori Court is central to the building's design, with Dja Dja Wurrung artist Racquel Kerr's hammered-copper representation of creation being Bunjil enveloping the Koori Court's waiting area on the corner of Mundy and Hargreaves Streets.

The new Law Courts are visually and culturally anchored to Bendigo's unique identity and deeply informed by culture of the Dja Dja Wurrung, with Djarra artwork, language and representations of landscape evident throughout the building. 

The new Bendigo Law Courts will service the Magistrates' Court, Children's Court and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, along with the Supreme Court, County Court and Federal Circuit Court on a circuit basis.

The Court commences operations on Monday 27 February.

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_{Photo by Tim Griffith}