Jenny Post is one of a handful of JP’s who volunteer to sit at the front desk of the Armidale Courthouse from 10am to noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but the problem is that there are only a handful JP’s now sharing an increasing workload. Put simply, it is a free, volunteer service that now needs more volunteers.
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To work at the front desk in Armidale Courthouse, JP’s would need to be members of the NSW Justices Association and Jenny said application forms to join the association were available at the courthouse.
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“Our number has decreased because of illness and people being away, being retired – people want time with grandchildren. and travel and so forth,” she said.
“It’s become quite difficult with just four or five of us right now.”
Jenny said if someone wanted to become a JP they could now apply online.
“It used to be a letter that you would write to your local MP,” she said.
“He would then pass it on to the Attorney General’s Office for a Police check. We have to go through that sort of thing.
“But I don’t think there’s a real problem getting JP’s in the area overall … it’s the retired JP’s, or the JP’s who have the time to come and sit on the desk here that is our main worry at the moment.”
Jenny said the demand for their services had also increased as more people were learning where to go when they needed the services of a JP.
In NSW the primary functions of a JP were to witness a person making a statutory declaration, witness a person making an affidavit and to certify that a copy of an original document is a true and accurate copy. JP’s cannot charge or accept gifts for these services.
Any interested JP’s can contact Jenny Post on 0417 920 726 or Peter Hutchinson on 0407 658 358