pARt 6 MAnAGeMent AnD AccountABilitY - Family Court of Australia

Family consultantsIn October 2009, a single management structure was introduced and the first allocation of dedicatedfamily consultant and registrar resources was made for the Federal Magistrates Court. The new structurereplaced the previous positions of Manager Child Dispute Services positions with Regional Coordinatorsin Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Deputy Managers Child Dispute Services were replaced by six newSenior Family Consultant positions at these same registries, with three assigned to each Court to managethe pool of available resources. An additional six Senior Family Consultants will be located in NorthQueensland, Newcastle, Parramatta, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart.Resources continue to be moved between the Courts to meet the needs of the judiciary and clients.RegistrarsThe regional management and appeals structure of registrars was maintained. In October 2009 apredetermined level of registrar resources for each location was decided, to be made available throughthe pool of registrars in each location.The approaches to the use of registrar resources to support both courts was ongoing at 30 June 2010.PART 6MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITYResource allocationAt 30 June 2010, the management information reporting continued its development. It is an essentialtool for accurately determining the distribution of the available family consultant and registrar resources.The transition to the new arrangements for both family consultants and registrars is another key stepin ensuring the success of the single administration. The ongoing management of resources will beachieved at a regional level through a transparent management process that will be monitored andregularly report to the Family Law Courts Advisory Group.Internal evaluationsIntegration of Courts’ administrationAs reported last year, in March 2009, in advance of the government’s decision about the future of theCourts, a plan to further integrate the administration of the Family Court and the Federal MagistratesCourt was made by the Family Law Courts Advisory Group. This was done to maximise the efficiency andresources of the Courts and to help address the challenging financial position facing both Courts.The integration of the administrations proceeded. The integrated administration continued to recognisethat the two jurisdictions remained as independent courts.In addition to the restructuring of registrar and family consultant resources, a number of changes weremade to regional and registry management structures and to client services within registries.Single regional and registry management structureThe Courts now have a single regional management structure, managed through four regions by fourRegional Registry Managers under the leadership of the Executive Director, Client Services (StephenAndrew):118 Family Court of Australia — Annual Report 2009–2010