An outline of work achieved since merger of administrations in 2009 and framework for future planning, cooperation and partnership between the courts.
This plan outlines the challenges, directions and priorities of the courts' administration over 2012–13. It builds on the work already achieved since the merger of the administrations in 2009 and provides a strategic framework for future planning, cooperation and partnership between the courts.
The courts' administration operates in an environment of change, with increasing expectations from court users. We have a critical role in shaping and defining service delivery and we pride ourselves on delivering timely, high quality, cost effective support to the Family Court of Australia and Federal Magistrates Court of Australia.
Each court determines its own direction and strategy and the administration is committed to supporting the effective operation of each court.
I acknowledge there are significant challenges ahead including ongoing financial pressures and the Government's desire for closer sharing of corporate resources, as well as continued pressure on our staff to do more with less.
As you would appreciate our environment is very dynamic and some key issues are yet to be resolved. However, the administration must anticipate, plan and respond to these changes. As a result, this statement of strategic intent will be revisited annually to ensure it remains focused and current.
Richard Foster PSM
Chief Executive Officer
Family Court of Australia
Acting Chief Executive Officer
Federal Magistrates Court of Australia
Date: 16/7/12
The courts' administration provides resources and staff to the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia to support the judiciary and to benefit the users of the respective jurisdictions. The administration respects that the jurisdictions are independent courts and each court determines its own direction.
In addition to the APS Values, the administration strives for excellence. This includes:
Our clients have told us that they want:
To the Family Court and Federal Magistrates Court we deliver:
To the Federal Magistrates Court we also deliver:
In addition to the APS Values and APS Code of Conduct, the administration is committed to fostering a culture where our people are engaged, passionate and valued. We embrace a culture of learning, commitment and high performance, with an emphasis on diversity, flexibility and health, safety and wellbeing.
The Policy Advisory Committees (PAC) of the Family Court and Federal Magistrates Court, chaired by the Chief Justice and Chief Federal Magistrate respectively, are the primary advisory bodies of each court. The CEOs Management Advisory Group is responsible for providing advice to the respective PACs and implementing decisions of these committees.
The majority of decisions concerning strategic direction and resource allocation in family law are decided cooperatively through the Family Law Courts Advisory Group. This group includes the respective heads of jurisdiction, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a representative from the Attorney-General's Department. The group cooperatively decides and directs the administration through the CEO.
The heads of jurisdiction and the CEOs of the Federal Court, Family Court and Federal Magistrates Court meet to determine and direct the sharing of corporate services to achieve the most efficient system across the Commonwealth Courts.
The Family Court of Australia, through its specialist judges and staff, assists Australians to resolve their most complex legal family disputes. The Family Court is a superior court of record established by Parliament in 1975 under Chapter 3 of the Constitution. It commenced operations on 5 January 1976 and consists of a Chief Justice, a Deputy Chief Justice and other judges. The Court maintains registries in all Australian states and territories except Western Australia. The Court's goal is to deliver excellence in service for children, families and parties through effective judicial and non-judicial processes and high-quality and timely judgments while respecting the needs of separating families.
Outcome: As Australia's specialist superior family court, determine cases with complex law and facts and provide national coverage as the appellate court in family matters.
The Federal Magistrates Court of Australia was established by the Federal Magistrates Act 1999 as an independent federal court under Chapter III of the Australian Constitution. The Court was established to handle less complex matters in the areas of family law and general federal law. The Court is a federal court of record and a court of law and equity. It sits in all capital cities and circuits to selected rural and regional centres. The objective of the Court is to provide a simple and more accessible alternative to litigation in the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Court of Australia and to relieve the workload of the superior federal courts. The provisions of the Act enable the Court to operate as informally as possible in the exercise of judicial power, use streamlined procedures and make use of a range of dispute resolution processes to resolve matters without judicial decisions.
Outcome: To provide the Australian community with a simple and accessible forum for the resolution of less complex disputes within the jurisdiction of the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia.
1 Our performance in this area will be reviewed against International Court Excellence Framework. The International Framework for Court Excellence was developed in 2008 and represents a resource to assist a court in assessing its performance against seven key areas of court excellence. Further information is available at http://www.courtexcellence.com/.
2 The Skehill Review refers to the Department of Finance and Deregulation commissioned Review of Medium and Small Agencies within the Attorney-General's Portfolio by consultant Stephen Skehill.