NSW Overseas DDT List Today

The NSW Overseas DDT court list is the daily hearing schedule for matters in the Dust Diseases Tribunal of New South Wales where evidence is taken from a witness located outside Australia. The Dust Diseases Tribunal, commonly shortened to the DDT, is a specialist court that sits in the John Maddison Tower at 88 Goulburn Street in the Sydney central business district. It holds exclusive jurisdiction across New South Wales to determine common law damages claims brought by people who have developed a dust-related disease, and by the dependants of people who have died from one. When a witness in one of those claims cannot travel to Sydney and gives evidence from another country through an audio visual link, the matter is published on this overseas list so that the parties, their lawyers and members of the public can confirm the courtroom, the presiding judge and the listing time.

Because asbestos was manufactured, shipped and installed on a global scale for most of the twentieth century, dust disease litigation frequently reaches beyond Australian borders. A former shipwright, factory hand or building worker who was exposed to asbestos in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the United States or elsewhere may later be diagnosed in Australia, or a key witness to the exposure may now live overseas. The overseas list exists so that this cross-border evidence can be received without forcing a gravely ill plaintiff or an elderly witness onto a long-haul flight. If you are trying to locate a specific matter, the fastest approach is to match the plaintiff or defendant name against the published overseas list for the relevant sitting day.

What the Dust Diseases Tribunal Is and Why It Exists

The Dust Diseases Tribunal was established in 1989 under the Dust Diseases Tribunal Act 1989 (NSW) to hear and determine common law claims for people harmed by dust-related diseases. It was created to provide a fast, specialist and compassionate forum, because dust diseases affect the respiratory system, can take up to thirty years to become apparent, and often carry a short life expectancy once diagnosed. Rather than making a dying plaintiff wait in the general civil queue, the Tribunal was given its own streamlined rules of evidence and procedure.

The Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction over a long schedule of dust-related conditions. These include asbestosis, asbestos-induced carcinoma, asbestos-related pleural disease, pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma, silicosis, coal dust pneumoconiosis, aluminosis, berylliosis, byssinosis, bagassosis, hard metal pneumoconiosis and farmers' lung. In recent years the Tribunal has also become central to litigation arising from engineered stone, following the surge in accelerated silicosis among stonemasons who cut and polished manufactured benchtops.

Verified Statistics on Dust Disease and the DDT

The scale of the problem the Tribunal was built to address is significant and well documented by national agencies. The following figures are drawn from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, SafeWork NSW and the Tribunal's own reporting.

• Australia records between 700 and 800 new mesothelioma diagnoses each year, which is roughly two people every day, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
• The highest annual mesothelioma count on record was 836 cases in 2021, based on the Australian Mesothelioma Registry.
• Between 2020 and 2023, 929 people were diagnosed with mesothelioma in New South Wales, close to one third of the 3,033 cases recorded nationally over the same period.
• Australia has one of the highest measured mesothelioma incidence rates in the world, and asbestos-containing products are still estimated to remain in about one in three Australian homes.
• In the 2022 to 2023 financial year, the estimated health system expenditure attributed to mesothelioma was approximately $49.9 million.
• The five-year relative survival rate for mesothelioma has remained low and broadly stable at around 5 to 6 per cent since the mid-1980s.

The Tribunal's own workload confirms it remains a busy specialist court. According to the Dust Diseases Tribunal Annual Report to the President 2024, online filing was introduced on 15 May 2023 and adoption was rapid: in 2024 a total of 5,289 documents were filed online, representing 83 per cent of all documents filed, up seven per cent from the previous year. The same report shows several hundred new statements of claim and cross-claims moving through the Tribunal across the calendar year, underlining a steady and continuing flow of asbestos and dust disease litigation.

How the Overseas Evidence List Works

Evidence given from another country is governed by the Evidence (Audio and Audio Visual Links) Act 1998 (NSW), which allows a New South Wales court to direct that evidence be received by audio visual link from a place inside or outside the state. Under that legislation the court will not make such a direction if the evidence could more conveniently be given in the courtroom, and the remote location is treated as part of the court for the purposes of procedure, contempt and perjury. In practice this means an overseas witness is examined, cross-examined and re-examined almost exactly as they would be if they were physically present in Sydney.

The Tribunal has operated a dedicated video courtroom for this purpose for many years, with two-way video link facilities in its Sydney courtrooms. During a linked hearing the remote witness can be shown documents transmitted from the courtroom and asked to identify them, sees the counsel putting each question, and is seen in turn by the judge, counsel and others present. A short delay between picture and sound is normal on international links, so participants are expected to pause after speaking to give the overseas witness time to respond.

Key procedural points for overseas evidence

• An application to use the video courtroom should usually be made to a judge at a directions hearing, ordinarily no later than seven days before the hearing, although the Tribunal can shorten that time in an urgent case.
• The party requesting the video link generally bears the cost of transmission and associated charges, and those costs may become costs in the cause.
• Some foreign governments place conditions on their nationals being examined by an Australian judicial officer, and particular countries may require an oath or affirmation that follows local custom, so these matters are addressed in advance.
• Photographing, filming or recording a New South Wales court proceeding is prohibited under the Court Security Act 2005, and significant penalties apply.

The Claims Resolution Process Behind the Listings

Most matters that eventually appear on any DDT list have passed through the Claims Resolution Process set out in the Dust Diseases Tribunal Regulation 2019. This process applies to asbestos-related damages claims and is designed to cut cost and encourage early settlement by requiring information and particulars to be exchanged at the outset. A plaintiff suffering from mesothelioma or carcinoma has their claim treated as malignant and placed on a shortened timetable, while a plaintiff with a non-malignant asbestos-related disease follows a separate schedule. Where a claimant is gravely ill, the matter can be removed from the standard process for urgent case management.

The Tribunal is well known for accommodating the reality that many plaintiffs are seriously unwell. Its judges hold bedside hearings at hospitals and homes, on weekends and at any time of the day or night, and the Tribunal maintains a dedicated room in Sydney fitted with a hospital-style bed and an oxygen concentrator so that evidence can be taken in dignified conditions. For urgent terminal cases the Tribunal can hear and determine a mesothelioma claim within weeks, while more standard claims commonly resolve within a few months.

Reading the NSW Overseas DDT List

Each published entry on the overseas list identifies the matter and the sitting details you need to attend or observe. A typical listing sets out the case title, the presiding judicial officer, the courtroom or video suite, the scheduled time and the nature of the appearance, such as the taking of evidence by audio visual link. If you are a party or a witness, arrive with time to spare, allow for the technical setup that international links require, and confirm any documents that will be shown to the remote witness with the other side in advance.

This overseas list sits alongside the Tribunal's other daily schedules. Matters heard in the Sydney video courtroom or in person appear on the main DDT Sydney court list, evidence taken from witnesses elsewhere in Australia is published on the interstate DDT list, and hearings conducted away from the Sydney registry appear on the regional and offsite DDT list. Checking the correct list for the type of appearance saves time and avoids confusion on the day.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does DDT stand for on this court list?

DDT stands for the Dust Diseases Tribunal of New South Wales. It is a specialist court that hears common law damages claims for asbestos-related and other dust-related diseases, and the overseas list covers matters in which evidence is taken from a witness located outside Australia.

Why would a DDT witness give evidence from overseas?

Asbestos exposure and manufacturing were global, so relevant witnesses often live abroad, and plaintiffs are frequently too unwell to have witnesses travel. An audio visual link allows their evidence to be received without the delay, cost and health risk of international travel, under the Evidence (Audio and Audio Visual Links) Act 1998 (NSW).

Can interstate or overseas claimants file in the NSW Dust Diseases Tribunal?

In some circumstances yes. A claimant may be able to file in the Tribunal where the asbestos exposure occurred in New South Wales or where there is a sufficient connection to the state. Because the choice of forum is fact-specific, specialist legal advice should be obtained before deciding where to bring a claim.

How quickly can the Tribunal deal with a dust disease claim?

For terminal cases the Tribunal can hear and determine a mesothelioma claim within weeks, and it will convene urgent and bedside hearings when a plaintiff's life expectancy is short. More standard claims commonly resolve within a few months under the Claims Resolution Process.

Where is the Dust Diseases Tribunal located?

The Tribunal sits in the John Maddison Tower at 88 Goulburn Street in the Sydney central business district, and it forms part of the wider court structure administered through the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney and the New South Wales court system.

Getting Support

Living with a dust disease diagnosis, or supporting a family member through one, is difficult, and legal proceedings add another layer of stress. Several organisations provide free and confidential help, including the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute, the Asbestosis and Mesothelioma Association of Australia and the Bernie Banton Foundation, all of which offer information, advocacy and personal support to people affected by asbestos and dust-related illness. If you have a matter on the overseas list, your legal representative can also explain what to expect on the day and how the audio visual evidence will be taken.