pARt 6 MAnAGeMent AnD AccountABilitY - Family Court of Australia

Staffing profileAt 30 June 2010, the Court had 619 employees (excluding judicial officers, the Chief ExecutiveOfficer and casual employees) covered by the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia and FamilyCourt of Australia Enterprise Agreement 2010 or Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs). Thiswas a three per cent decrease compared with 638 employees at 30 June 2009. Tables 8.3 to 8.7 atAppendix 3 provide a breakdown of staff by location, gender, attendance, ongoing and non-ongoingemployment status.Judicial officersAt 30 June 2010, the Court had 30 judges, including the Chief Justice (10 female and 20 male) and twomale judicial registrars. Table 8.8 at Appendix 3 has further detail.The remuneration arrangements for all judicial officers and the Chief Executive Officer are governedby enforceable determinations of the Remuneration Tribunal. Further details including relevantdeterminations are available at: www.remtribunal.gov.auAgreement makingA single Enterprise Agreement for the CourtsFor most of the reporting year the employees of the Family Court were covered by the Family Courtof Australia Collective Agreement 2007–10. On 18 June 2010, Fair Work Australia approved the newFederal Magistrates Court of Australia and Family Court of Australia Enterprise Agreement 2010. TheAgreement was negotiated between the Courts and the Community and Public Sector Union andindividual staff bargaining representatives. It commenced on 25 June 2010, replacing the individualCollective Agreements of both Courts.The nominal expiry date of the new Agreement is 30 June 2011. However, under present arrangementsthe Agreement will continue to operate after that date until replaced or formally terminated. It applies toall employees of the Courts employed under the Public Service Act 1999, other than SES employees.The achievement of the Agreement was a significant event. It means that within the two Courts,staff working side-by-side doing similar work are employed under the same terms and conditions ofemployment. It positions the Courts for future developments in the conduct of workplace relations withinthe government sector.PART 6 MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITYThe Agreement supports significant improvements in the Courts’ operations to be achieved through therange of corporate efficiency/productivity measures produced following reviews of child dispute services,judicial support, library and guarding services, user pays options, divorce processes and procedures,including conciliation conferences, use of interpreters, technology (video links and teleconferencing),circuits and provision of transcripts.The Agreement provides that in order to receive the salary increases, or to progress from one pay pointto the next in the pay scale of a classification, an employee must participate in the Courts’ PerformanceManagement and Development System (PMDS) and be assessed as ‘meeting requirements’ or higher ator before the date of the pay increase.Family Court of Australia — Annual Report 2009–2010123