Annual report [1997-98] - Family Court of Australia

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The Family Court of Australia – annual report 1997-98 Social justice, access and equity Government’s charter of public service in a culturally diverse society The Court’s focus on improving customer services includes an acknowledgment that strategies to meet the needs of a culturally diverse society are vital in ensuring a fair and equitable distribution of services in a manner that is accessible to all Australians. To this end, initiatives this year have focused on community liaison in an effort to make Court services more relevant to families from diverse cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds. Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderAwareness Committee ■ The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awareness Committee, chaired by Justice Colleen Moore, continues to focus on registry-based initiatives designed to establish a framework for ongoing consultations between Court staff and locally based indigenous communities. The aim of the consultations is to ensure Court practices and procedures help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to access the services they require. ■ The future of the Alice Springs sub-registry and the role of the four Aboriginal Family Consultants employed in Darwin and Alice Springs was subject to review in June 1997. Asummary of the subsequent report, ‘Evaluation of the Alice Springs Counselling Service and the engagement of Aboriginal Family Consultants in Alice Springs and Darwin’was published in May 1998. The Evaluation assessed whether the Counselling Service in Alice Springs and the engagement of Family Consultants in both centres had been successful in meeting the aims and objectives of the Counselling Service, particularly in relation to the services provided to the indigenous community, in a culturally sensitive and appropriate way. It also considered appropriateness, effectiveness, efficiency, possibilities for further improvement, and cost-effectiveness.The Evaluation found there was almost universal support for the Counselling Service in Alice Springs, and in particular for the value of having Aboriginal Family Consultants. ■ In Darwin there has been a substantial increase in the proportion of customers from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. For voluntary counselling the proportion rose from 5% to 27% in the first year of operation. The Evaluation suggested that the engagement of the Family Consultants was the major reason for the change. ■ The comments made in the Evaluation by clients, counselling staff and people from other agencies about the Family Consultants were overwhelmingly favourable. The consultants have greatly improved the quality of the service to Aboriginal customers in many ways and have been resoundingly successful in achieving the Court’s objectives. There is widespread support for the continuation and expansion of this initiative from within the Court, the customers themselves and those in outside agencies. ■ In response to these comments the Court has expanded the Family Consultant project to staff two further positions in Far North Queensland, based in Cairns. ■ Following the appointment of the indigenous family consultants for Queensland a judicial training workshop was held in Cooktown for those judges and judicial registrars who work in registries where there are likely to be indigenous customers. 49
The Family Court of Australia – annual report 1997-98 ■ One consistent response received from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in consultations with the Court is the need to increase the number of indigenous people employed throughout the Court. To this end the Court has developed an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Recruitment and Career Development Plan. Chief Justice’s Advisory Committee on Ethnic Issues The Committee, chaired by Justice Nahum Mushin, has been working of a number of initiatives throughout 1997-98, with two significant projects now under way: ■ At the Committee’s instigation the Court has agreed to fund the production of audio tapes in Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin and Arabic to provide information about the Court’s services, family separation and children’s issues in a culturally appropriate and sensitive way. This follows the pilot project which produced an audiotape for the Turkish community. It is anticipated that the project will be completed by mid-1999. ■ The Court has also approved the establishment of and funding for two half-time Ethnic Liaison Officer positions to be based in Melbourne. These officers are to work with the Vietnamese and Chinese communities and the achievements of the pilot program will be evaluated at the end of 12 months. The responsibilities of these positions are primarily to establish a process to ensure services of the Family Court are provided to communities in a way that respects their cultural needs and are of relevance and benefit to families. The Committee has also continued its involvement in liaison activities with a range of ethnic communities throughout 1997-98. Examples of this include: ■ Consulting with representatives of the Philippino community ■ Guest attendance at the Committee’s March meeting by Mr Stephan Romaniw, Chair of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, together with Commissioner Due-Dung Tran. They outlined the Commission’s work and indicated support for the court’s committee. ■ Organising an information session for representatives of the Islamic Arabic community led by Sheik Imam Fehmi at the Melbourne Registry. ■ Addressing a meeting of the Vietnamese Buddhist community to speak on family separation and court process issues. ■ Guest address by Professor Kee Poo Fong, Director of the Centre for Asia Pacific Studies at the Victoria University of Technology, at a meeting of judges and judicial registrars of the Melbourne and Dandenong registries on issues of culture and ethnicity in the Australian community. ■ As part of the continuing cultural awareness program a member of the committee, Mr. B.D.Kamat spoke to a group of staff from the Melbourne Registry about the experience of migrants to Australia. ■ Planning for the Ethnic Issues Conference to take place in Sydney in August 1998. Commonwealth Disability Strategy ■ Work within the property section of the Court continues to ensure that new fit outs and lease negotiations provide suitable access and accommodation for staff and clients with disabilities. The Court has developed and is implementing a Disability Action Plan which includes strategies to meet the service and access needs of clients with disabilities. 50
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