There is no set date for when Port Macquarie’s appointed Magistrate Dominique Burns will return from leave. 

A spokesperson for the Chief Magistrate’s Office said arrangements had been made for a number of Magistrates to relieve Her Honour while she is on leave.

The spokesperson said if a position became vacant it would be advertised.

Magistrate Burns was appointed to the Port Macquarie Court House on January 4, 2016 to replace the late Magistrate Thomas Hodgson.

Magistrate Hodgson passed away in September, 2015 after 25 years on the bench. He spent the last seven years based in Port Macquarie.

Magistrate Burns began her career as a court officer at Wyong, Belmont and Wallsend in the mid-1980s before being admitted to the bar in 1998.

She was a Newcastle barrister who practiced in Family Law, District and Supreme Court care appeals, Children's Court and some criminal matters.

Prior to being appointed to Port Macquarie Magistrate Burns presided over the Local Court and Children’s Court in Sydney.