Jury duty in WA: compare your pay and prepare your request

What should you do when the summons arrives?

Read the whole summons package and tell your employer as soon as practicable. Keep the summons number, actual courthouse and attendance instructions. The official juror guide explains using the Jury WA Portal with your summons number and date of birth. Enter personal and payment details only through the official process.

A summons is not an accusation and does not guarantee selection for a trial. Jurors are drawn from eligible people on the WA electoral roll. The ordinary age range is 18–74: a person who has reached 75 is not eligible. Occupation, criminal history and other statutory conditions also matter. Bankruptcy alone is not a current disqualification.

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Perth Jury Services: (08) 9425 2481; jurors@justice.wa.gov.au; Level 2, District Court Building, 500 Hay Street, Perth WA 6000. For a regional summons, use the issuing court’s details. The excusal guide gives portal, email, post and in-person submission options.

Deferral and excusal are different decisions

Under Juries Act sections 34E–34J, the correct route depends on the reason. The decision-maker must excuse a summoned person if satisfied of a section 34G ground, such as ineligibility, living outside the district or inability to serve effectively because of the specified language, disability or impairment circumstances. A permanent certificate under section 34E requires the Sheriff’s decision; a diagnosis alone does not automatically create one.

For section 34H hardship, the first route is normally a deferral. Attendance must cause undue hardship or serious inconvenience to you, your family or the public because of the listed personal, work, health or other circumstances. Outright excusal under that section requires a summons following a previous deferral AND either a reason not reasonably foreseeable when it was granted or exceptional reasons for excusing you again. Ordinary inconvenience is not an automatic exemption.

The published deferral process asks you to nominate a Monday within six months of the original date. Actual allocation depends on court sittings; where no jury is required within the statutory period, the Act provides for the first later panel or pool. Choose carefully and obtain confirmation.

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If the summoning officer refuses an application under sections 34G–34J, section 34F permits it to be renewed before a judge. Ask promptly about the process for your actual decision. Do not invent facts, treat an employer’s letter as approval or assume a renewed request suspends attendance.

Compare employee pay, income-loss claims and attendance fees

The payment routes come from section 58B and regulations 4–8. Attendance in response to a requirement to serve can qualify even if you are not selected for a trial. Do not add a basic attendance fee to a full income-loss claim as if both were automatic bonuses.

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The official payments page explains processing and claim forms. Parking and rideshare costs are not promised reimbursement. The current regulation is version 01-e0-00; an older regulation link or online mileage example should not replace it. For an assessed lost-income application, regulation 4 requires application within three months after the last service day; exceptional circumstances may support a further extension of no more than one year. Seek a decision promptly rather than assuming an extension.

Does a WA employer have to keep paying you?

Section 56 of the WA Juries Act prohibits prejudicial action because an employee is summoned or does jury service. It includes not paying the earnings the employee could reasonably expect under the contract while doing that service. The provision defines employee broadly, including a person employed under a contract for services. The facts, expected work and relevant terms matter; the guide does not decide every disputed contract.

The federal Fair Work Act sections 108–112 provide jury-service leave, notice and evidence rules and a ten-day make-up-pay baseline for non-casuals. Section 112 preserves more beneficial state entitlements. WA employees should therefore not be told simply that casuals receive nothing or that all employer pay stops after ten days. The Fair Work Ombudsman also directs readers to better state entitlements.

Tell your employer the expected absence as soon as practicable and provide attendance evidence when requested. Keep the roster, normal earnings history and any correspondence about changed pay or shifts. Ask about the actual contract, award or agreement if a reduction is proposed; do not assume a clause can remove a statutory protection.

The WA prohibition covers dismissal, stopped or reduced remuneration, other prejudice and threats because of jury service. It does not make every unrelated employment decision unlawful. The maximum section 56 fine is $10,000 for an individual employer or $50,000 for a body corporate; compensation and other court orders depend on the proceedings.

Employer reimbursement is separate from employee rights. Under section 58B and the regulations, a qualifying employer that pays the relevant earnings may claim; government departments, State instrumentalities and State trading concerns are excluded from that reimbursement class. The employer guide and current form require evidence of actual wages, not replacement staff or general business losses. A reimbursement question is not itself a reason to withhold wages.

Prepare the correct income or care claim

Use the current employer reimbursement form or self-employed income-loss form. Both September 2026 forms require their included statutory declaration and supporting evidence. Follow the form’s instructions and submit promptly; the legislative income-loss period is an application deadline, not a guarantee the claim will be finalised within three months.

For self-employment, show actual personal income lost because of attendance. The current form asks for your latest individual ATO Notice of Assessment or permitted invoices for the six weeks immediately before service with matching bank statements. If you employ staff or contractors, or invoices do not separate labour and materials, the form requires the Notice of Assessment. A person drawing a regular wage or salary from the business is directed to the employer form.

The form excludes business overheads, replacement labour, delayed or rescheduled work and speculative future work. Disclose any work performed during the service period and any attendance fees received. A bill based only on your usual charge-out rate does not establish the claim.

For employer reimbursement, assemble payslips immediately before service and every payslip covering attendance, plus hours, rate, ABN and actual earnings paid. Explain variable work patterns and any work performed during the period. An employee under a contract of service with a non-excluded employer must give Jury Services the employer’s name and business address in writing no later than 14 days after completing service.

For extra care expenses, the official primary-carer form offers a separate operational claim for out-of-pocket costs on attendance days when care is not usually needed. The provider must be licensed. Show usual and additional care, invoices or payment proof and deductions such as subsidies. The form asks for submission within three months. This is not a promise to fund every care arrangement.

Ask Jury Services to clarify a disputed amount or missing evidence. Its form summaries do not state every legislative exception: the $1,000 income-loss figure has an undue-hardship exception, and the statutory late-application discretion is conditional. Keep the submitted form, attachments and receipt.

How long will service last, and what stays private?

Selection and trial service are different. The ordinary pool limit is five court sitting days, subject to the Act’s provisions; a person sworn for a trial may have to remain until that trial finishes or they are discharged. Follow each day’s directions. Being unselected once does not necessarily end your obligation. Contact your employer about returning to work when released.

Criminal juries are chosen by ballot. The Act permits 12–18 jurors to be sworn; if more than 12 remain before the verdict stage, the statutory ballot reduces the number. Raise a connection to the case or an attendance problem with the judge or jury officer at the appropriate time. Do not investigate the case or obtain outside opinions.

Sections 56A–56E protect deliberations and juror identity through offences with specific publication elements and exceptions. The rules continue after trial; a juror’s own identity, or another’s with consent, has a defined post-trial exception, which does not free you to publish deliberations. Follow the judge’s directions and seek court guidance. Do not enter evidence, other jurors’ details or deliberations into an AI service or social media.

The Juror Support Program offers eligible WA attendees, including people not selected for a trial, up to six free 50-minute psychological-support sessions within six months after completing service. PeopleSense: 1300 307 912. This wellbeing service is not a general legal exemption from confidentiality obligations.

An $800 notice and a $5,000 court maximum are different

Under section 55, failing without reasonable excuse to obey a served summons or the specified direction is an offence. The prescribed infringement amount is $800; the court maximum is $5,000. These are not automatic successive charges, and the maximum is not the inevitable outcome of every missed attendance.

Contact Jury Services promptly with the actual circumstances and records. If you want the allegation dealt with by a court, the prescribed notice directs you not to pay and to notify Jury Services in writing before its due date. Get advice about the consequences and the correct response to your own notice. Leaving it outstanding can lead to enforcement.

Keep proof of a medical emergency, a prior request, the official decision and when documents arrived. Do not assume that applying for excusal after missing the date cancels a notice, or that a lawyer booking stops a deadline. If it has already been paid, ask about the actual available process rather than assuming every possible remedy is closed.

Save your jury-service evidence checklist

1. Keep the complete summons and instructions. Record the court, attendance dates and every application or notice deadline.
2. For deferral or excusal, identify the statutory reason, relevant dates, supporting evidence and any previous deferral. Keep the submission and the written outcome.
3. For employee pay, collect the contract or agreement, roster, payslips, attendance record and employer correspondence. Identify the earnings you expected to receive.
4. For an income claim, choose the correct current form. Assemble tax-verifiable income or wages evidence, actual attendance and work records, the required declaration and any hardship evidence.
5. For a notice or dispute, keep the notice and delivery records and ask about the correct response before its due date. Send sensitive records only through the court’s or lawyer’s agreed channel.

The checklist helps organise your next step. It does not submit an application, secure approval or excuse attendance. Routine requests and payments go to Jury Services; current-trial concerns go through the court.

Official help and free legal information

Use Jury Services for administration and the appropriate employment or legal-help service for a dispute. Information, individual advice and representation have different scope and eligibility requirements.

Common questions about WA jury duty

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