pARt 6 MAnAGeMent AnD AccountABilitY - Family Court of Australia

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Chief Executive Officer. SES salaries are benchmarked against other public sector agencies and takeaccount of the Court’s budgetary position.Non-salary benefitsNon-salary benefits provided by the Court to employees include:• motor vehicles• car parking• superannuation• access to salary sacrificing arrangements• computers, including home-based computer access• membership of professional associations• mobile phones• studies assistance• leave flexibilities• workplace responsibility allowances (for example, first aid, fire warden, community language), and• airline club memberships.Performance pay arrangementsDuring 2009–10, the Court neither entered into any performance pay arrangements nor paidperformance pay to any employee.Training, learning and developmentThe Court recognises the value of a well-educated workforce that is able to contribute effectively tomeeting the Court’s objectives. It provides staff with an extensive array of learning and developmentopportunities to develop their skills and knowledge for current and future roles and responsibilities. Itachieves this by assisting employees to meet their development and career needs consistent with thePerformance Management and Development System and available resources.PART 6 MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITYThe Court’s in-house training facilities include the provision of self-paced, on-line learning courses on arange of topics including APS induction training, OH&S, Accounting Basics, Effective Project Management,Business Communications and the Windows XP suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint). In addition, during theyear training was provided in a number of specific areas, including on how to deal with difficult clients,family violence training for professionals working in family law, courtroom technology, bullying andharassment, risk awareness and fraud awareness. The Court also has a peer support network, for whichtraining is provided as required.The Court facilitates staff participation in the comprehensive range of leadership, learning anddevelopment programs provided by the Australian Public Service Commission. It also provides studiesassistance including leave and support for employees undertaking relevant tertiary studies.Family Court of Australia — Annual Report 2009–2010125
Performance Management and Development SystemThe Courts’ Performance Management and Development System aims to align individual outcomes toteam and branch business plans, leading ultimately to achieving the two Courts’ visions and businessplans. Participation is mandatory for all employees except probationers. Employees must participate inthe system to be eligible for the salary increases provided under the new Enterprise Agreement and forsalary advancement within their classification scale.Performance management and development provides a framework to develop individual performance toassist an employee to achieve his or her potential. It is a continuous process and imposes responsibilitieson both individual employees and their supervisors/managers. It relies on ongoing and open discussionsto provide clarity on what is expected to be done, how it could or should be done, and to recogniseprogress and achievement against agreed outcomes. It fosters a working environment that values theCourt’s people, recognises diversity and acknowledges their contribution to organisational success.The target in 2009–10 was for 100 per cent of employees participating in the system. This was achieved.Employee assistance programPART 6MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITYThe Court’s employee assistance program provides a free, confidential counselling service to the judiciary,Court employees and their immediate families experiencing personal or work-related problems. Theservice also provides a telephone advisory service for managers.Converge International managed the program and provided generic data to the Court to guide thedevelopment of wellbeing strategies.Peer support networkThe nature of the Court’s core business means that employees may be exposed to and involved inhighly sensitive and stressful situations. During 2009–10, the Court continued a proactive approach tolessen the risk of stress in the workplace by introducing a peer support system within registries and theNational Support Office.The system provides a network of trained staff in the workplace to ensure that skilled support is availablefor immediate assistance should an individual experience a distressing situation or difficult event. Thesystem is designed to complement the employee assistance program and allows support to be availableimmediately should an incident occur.Peer support officers from any location can provide assistance as required, that is, there is no restrictionon staff accessing officers from outside their immediate work area. All communication with trained peersupport officers is strictly confidential.Productivity gainsThe first full year of the single administrative structure for the Family Court and the Federal MagistratesCourt continued to produce efficiency savings through the more efficient allocation of resources,elimination of duplicated services and the rationalisation of court services.Synergies were achieved in the area of training where program delivery was made available to the staffof both courts, thus reducing cost and capturing a greater number of staff.As part of the single administration, the review of client services and registry management structuresresulted in a number of changes being introduced to further reduce duplication, improve the overall126 Family Court of Australia — Annual Report 2009–2010
Page 7 and 8: The Honourable Justice Nahum Mushin
Page 9 and 10: Executive Director Information, Com
Page 11 and 12: • National Case Management Commi
Page 13 and 14: • Improving Responses to Family
Page 15 and 16: • Acting Executive Director, Cli
Page 17 and 18: • Chief Executive Instructions
Page 19 and 20: No instances or allegations of frau
Page 21 and 22: Family law services reviewOn 24 May
Page 23 and 24: Family consultantsIn October 2009,
Page 25 and 26: The review showed that the program
Page 28 and 29: Staffing profileAt 30 June 2010, th
Page 32 and 33: structure through a more integrated
Page 34 and 35: Judges and support: All employee an
Page 36: • four new consultancy contracts

pARt 6 MAnAGeMent AnD AccountABilitY - Family Court of Australia

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