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“ Victorian Government comments In 2003-04 Victoria continued to introduce new technology, new mediation processes and construct court houses to improve the delivery of services to the community. Construction of the $15.5M Warrnambool Courts Complex continued through 2003-2004. The multi-jurisdictional complex has four court rooms and will also accommodate the Office of Public Prosecutions, the Sheriff’s Office and Community Correctional Services. Work also continued on the new $16.7M Mildura Courts Complex through 2003–2004 and it was completed in early October 2004. The multi-jurisdictional court house has jury and custody facilities as well as a pre-trial hearing room, interview rooms and facilities for the public and staff. Both courthouses will incorporate ecologically sustainable development principles, including energy efficient design and features the latest in court technology. The Department is continuing to enhance access to technology for courts across the state. In 2003-04 the Victorian Government Reporting Service (VGRS) upgraded video-conferencing facilities, and in partnership with the County Court, trialed the installation of a combined DVD, VHS and CD Player for use in the presentation of evidence in courtrooms. The Supreme Court upgraded the IT infrastructure to support a rollout to windows XP and standardise information technology across the Melbourne and regional Courts. The Court commenced a project to upgrade court rooms in the criminal jurisdiction to support electronic delivery of evidence for major criminal trials. The County Court introduced a new criminal listing regime which has resulted in more appropriate timeliness in this jurisdiction, particularly in relation to criminal trials. The County Court also continued to address the increased caseload arising from the reintroduction of the common law right to sue for work related injuries, as well as addressing the changing caseload arising from Tort Law reforms introduced during 2003. Since its inception in February 2003 the mediation initiative for civil claims above $30,000 at the Magistrates Court has proved most successful. The Court’s accredited mediators (also Registrar’s of the Magistrates Court) conducted 138 mediations of which 91 settled and 47 matters were listed for hearing before an Open Court. The success rate currently lies at 66%. The total saving of Court sitting time has been a total 205 sitting days. In relation to designated Intervention Order complaints (which excluded applications between family members) an agreement rate of 72% was achieved between parties which resulted in the original complaint for an intervention order being withdrawn. Participation in the program is voluntary. The Criminal Justice Diversion Program operating in the Magistrates Court has also proved quite successful. 6.50 REPORT ON GOVERNMENT SERVICES 2005 ”
“ Queensland Government comments Queensland courts have continued to set high standards of efficiency and effectiveness during 2003–04. A range of initiatives have been undertaken to improve access to justice in Queensland including: • Implementation of the Evidence (Protection of Children) Amendment Act 2003 which improves the environment for children in the criminal justice system through pre-recording all evidence at a preliminary hearing unless (because of extraordinary circumstances) the court orders otherwise; and mandatory use of CCTV or screens where pre-recording has not occurred. • The continued expansion of closed circuit television (CCTV) and voice enhancement facilities for witnesses throughout Queensland including – in the Higher Courts – at Mt Isa, Cairns, Townsville, Bundaberg, Kingaroy, and Gympie and – in the Magistrates Courts – at Richlands. • The continued successful Drug Court program in South East Queensland and expansion of the Drug Court through trials in Cairns and Townsville. • Implementation of the Illicit Drug Diversion Program trial (at the Brisbane Central Magistrates Courts and Children’s Court) with the aim of diverting minor drug offenders into assessment, education and treatment. • Commencement of the operations of the Office of the State Coroner delivering high quality coronial services including comprehensive coronial investigations – with the aim of preventing future similar deaths. • Expansion of the Civil Case Register System (CRS) in the Magistrates Courts to a total of 19 sites (adding three new locations at Petrie, Noosa and Cleveland). This CRS facility enables solicitors and others to electronically lodge civil claims and requests for default judgement in Magistrates Courts. • Continuation of the development of the Integrated Justice Information System project - a whole-of-government initiative to better plan and implement integrated justice solutions in collaboration with government agencies. The project will deliver a number of initiatives over five years. The first stage in 2003–04 has involved the electronic transfer of bench charge sheets and related information from police to courts and access to court lists. • Planning for the delivery of state-of-the-art digital recording and transcription services in Queensland courts – commencing in 2004–05 with the Brisbane Magistrates Court and the Brisbane Higher Courts. • Continuation of the modernisation program in Queensland courts - not just as new bricks and mortar projects but as specific improvements designed to make the criminal justice system more effective. These include the new state-of-the-art Brisbane Magistrates Court complex (commencing November 2004), refurbishment of the Mackay Courthouse and an upgrade of the Hervey Bay courthouse. ” COURT ADMINISTRATION 6.51
Page 1 and 2: 6 Court administration This chapter
Page 3 and 4: Box 6.1 Criminal Magistrates court
Page 5 and 6: Box 6.3 Criminal Supreme court juri
Page 7 and 8: licence cancellation), asset seizur
Page 9 and 10: Figure 6.1 Major relationships of c
Page 11 and 12: Table 6.1 Court administration recu
Page 13 and 14: Figure 6.2 Distribution of court ad
Page 15 and 16: deaths and fires in the coroners co
Page 17 and 18: proportion of criminal matters lodg
Page 19 and 20: Table 6.6 Court finalisations — c
Page 21 and 22: As shown in figure 6.3, there are n
Page 23 and 24: Table 6.7 Average civil court fees
Page 25 and 26: distribution of cases may vary acro
Page 27 and 28: Table 6.9 Backlog indicator — the
Page 29 and 30: In each of the courts, the second n
Page 31 and 32: Table 6.12 Backlog indicator — th
Page 33 and 34: In the civil jurisdiction, the aver
Page 35 and 36: Table 6.15 Judicial officers, full
Page 37 and 38: Table 6.17 Clearance rate (finalisa
Page 39 and 40: Efficiency — cost per finalisatio
Page 41 and 42: Box 6.14 The impact of the electron
Page 43 and 44: Figure 6.6 Net expenditure per fina
Page 45 and 46: Figure 6.8 Net expenditure per fina
Page 47 and 48: of Australia, which has implication
Page 49: “ New South Wales Government comm
Page 53 and 54: “ South Australian Government com
Page 55 and 56: “ Australian Capital Territory Go
Page 57 and 58: 6.6 Definitions of key terms and in
Page 59 and 60: Method of finalisation Method of in

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