Going to court as a witness

You are not expected to pay for travel and accommodation, or lose wages by going to court.

Costs that can be covered by the prosecutions office include all of the following:

• travel
• accommodation
• meals
• loss of wages.

If you don’t live in the area, you must phone the prosecution travel clerk at least 2 weeks before your court date to talk about booking flights and accommodation. You may also need to be sent cab vouchers.

You must call either:

• Darwin - 08 8935 7500
• Alice Springs - 08 8951 5800.

Flights

All flights will be booked in economy.

The DPP travel clerk will arrange the flights bookings and payment after you contact them to discuss dates and times of your travel and send you the details.

Your subpoena or summons will have the contact details of the DPP travel clerk.

You must show photo identification at the airport to prove your identity.

Cabs

You will usually be booked on the airport shuttle bus, unless you arrange for taxi vouchers to be sent to you. You must check the taxi company accepts the voucher before you travel.

Staying overnight and meals

If you need to stay overnight, or you are away from home for more than 12 hours, you will receive a meal allowance.

You are entitled to all of the following:

• breakfast
• lunch
• dinner.

To read more about allowances, go to the Director of Public Prosecutions website.

For witnesses under 12 years old, the meal allowance is halved.

If you order your meals with the hotel, you should book your meals against your room number and the cost will be covered as part of the accommodation.

If you eat outside the hotel, you should keep and submit receipts. Provided it's not more than the allowable amount, it will be reimbursed.

You will be expected to pay for all other hotel costs such as phone calls or watching movies.

Loss of wages

If you need to take time off work, you should take it as unpaid leave rather than using your paid leave.

You can be reimbursed for loss of salary. You will need to get a letter from your employer.

Local transport

If you need to take public transport to court, the cost of your ticket will be reimbursed. You must produce your receipt.

To claim costs, you must follow the steps below.

Step 1. Fill in the witness expense form and vendor creation form.

• witness expense claim form PDF (318.9 KB)
• witness expense claim form DOCX (604.5 KB)

• vendor form PDF (146.1 KB)v
• vendor form DOCX (68.3 KB)

Step 2. Submit to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) finance officer by email AGD.DPPTravel@nt.gov.au

If you travel in your own vehicle

You can claim the cost of driving your own car if you need to travel more than 40 kilometres from where you live to attend court.

A kilometre allowance of $0.76 per kilometre is payable for travelling by personal vehicle where there is no other transport options by air, train or bus.

Where one or more witnesses travel together in their own vehicle, payment will only be to one person to cover the cost of the trip.

If another option is available, you can claim the equivalent bus fare within the Northern Territory, or airfare if you are travelling from another state.

How to claim for travelling in your own vehicle

To claim costs, you must follow the steps below.

Step 1. Fill in the witness expense claim form and vendor form:

• witness expense claim form PDF (318.9 KB)
• witness expense claim form DOCX (604.5 KB)

• vendor form PDF (146.1 KB)
• vendor form DOCX (68.3 KB)

Step 2. Submit to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) finance officer by email AGD.DPPTravel@nt.gov.au

The money will only be paid once travel is completed and the forms have been submitted.

Being called as an expert witness

You may be called as an expert witness if you have specialised knowledge in your area of business.

You will need to submit a tax-compliant invoice.

Government employees

If you are employed by a state, federal, local or territory government department or statutory body, you can claim reasonable costs incurred in going to court.

You should not lose your entitlements as a result of going to court.