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Supporting the Judges of the Court
• 89% of respondents found correspondence to be timely and clear
• 100% of respondents agreed that the Court operating hours
(8.00am to 5.00pm) for subpoena inspection was satisfactory
According to the survey, staff were effi cient, very helpful, friendly, and
resourceful under pressure.
From 2008, the Court will conduct the survey on an annual basis.
Details of the survey results are available on the Court’s website
at www.countycourt.vic.gov.au.
Staff Learning and Development
A number of initiatives provided opportunities for staff to extend their
skills. The IT Training and Development Offi cer developed new courses
(Excel, PowerPoint and advanced Word) and conducted refresher
courses in several IT skill areas. These well-attended courses gave
staff opportunities to improve their skills through a series of short,
small group sessions.
We worked collaboratively to roll out the criminal orders training to
all Associates.
Prior to commencement of training, each Associate was offered
refresher training on the pre-requisite skills. We conducted 15, threeday
criminal orders training sessions between 3rd July 2006 and June
30, 2007. Over 50 Associates gained competence in computer skills
and creating criminal orders and entering these into the CLMS Orders
Module during the year.
At the inaugural Courts Division Justice Awards on March 19,
2007, the team of Hans Wolf, Ross Capuana, Shane Alexander,
Keith Williams, Lynn Germain, Steve Meakes and Adi Sathe was
acknowledged with awards for excellence in the development and
delivery of the County Court Criminal Orders Module training program.
Various other short training sessions were also conducted, including:
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Managing potentially violent clients
Dr Karda Cavanagh, a medical practitioner, conducted an
information session on maintaining good health in the workplace
Registry staff completed on-line training on the Victims Charter
Advocacy skills training arranged by Judge Hannan with Professor
Hampel and Judge Hampel
All sectors of the court conducted professional development activities
during the course of the year.
Research Unit Service to Judges
The Research Unit continued to undertake a broad range of research
work for the Judges. In April, staff numbers increased to three,
providing much needed additional assistance to the Judges.
The provision of a monthly research requests summary has
increased awareness of the range and complexity of research
undertaken for the Judges.
Secretarial Support
During the year, Judges’ secretaries monitored the amount of work
and the type of work undertaken by them. There has been an increase
in the number of pieces of work submitted using digital dictation and
a decline in hand written copy, signifying the changing nature of the
secretarial work required in this technological age.
Facility Management
The Facilities Manager and his staff continue their responsive service
with respect to email and messages; relocations within the building;
supervision of minor work space changes to ensure adequate and
comfortable offi ce accommodation; and provision of refreshments for
meetings.
Library and Information Services
Updates to the various legislation and loose leaf services for in-court
and chambers use, and updates to the website and supporting
requests for library assistance were carried out with the usual high
degree of effi ciency. Work continued on the collation of sentences and
judgments with the aim of capturing this information electronically
over time. The librarian’s visits to regional courts highlighted the need
to improve the facilities for Judges on circuit.
Employee Attitude Survey
Our strengths included a high rate of staff engagement; strong
motivation; pride in working at the Court and commendation of the
Court as a good place to work. We noted some areas in which we
could improve our performance and these will be included in the
focus of next year’s work.
Staff engagement will be crucial to the implementation of the ICMS
system, as we will be working within a broader integrated courts
environment. Committees and user groups are regularly meeting
with the ICMS staff to plan for the changes.
Left: Associates access electronic information at their work station and in Court.
Right: Tipstaves have formal functions to perform in Court as well as tasks for the Judge in Chambers.
www.countycourt.vic.gov.au
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