Senior Client Service Officer
Job No:
92477
Location:
Dandenong, VIC
- APS Level 4
- $63,197-$66,499 per annum, plus superannuation
- Ongoing; Full-time
- Based in Dandenong, VIC
Overview of Agency
From 1 July 2016, the Courts Administration Legislation Amendment Act 2016 merged the corporate services of the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia with the Federal Court of Australia into a single administrative entity – the Federal Court of Australia. The entity also includes the National Native Title Tribunal.
The Act makes provision for the courts to share corporate services including Human Resources, Information Technology, Finance as well as other functions.
Under the arrangement, each court remains independent to fulfil its statutory obligations. Heads of Jurisdiction continue to be responsible for managing the administrative affairs of their respective courts (excluding corporate services), with assistance from a Chief Executive Officer and Principal Registrar.
All staff of the courts are employed by the Federal Court of Australia under the Public Service Act 1999 regardless of which court or tribunal they work for or provide services to.
Court Jurisdictions
The Federal Circuit Court of Australia was established by the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999 (the Act) as an independent federal court under Chapter III of the Australian Constitution. Prior to 12 April 2013, under the Federal Magistrates Act 1999, the Court was known as the Federal Magistrates Court and its judicial officers as federal magistrates. The Court was established to handle less complex matters in the areas of family law and general federal law.
The Court sits in all capital cities, selected major regional centres and circuits to a number of regional locations. The Court is a federal court of record and a court of law and equity.
The Family Court of Australia, through its specialist judges and staff, assists Australians to resolve their most complex legal family disputes. The Family Court is a superior court of record established by Parliament in 1975 under Chapter 3 of the Constitution.
The purpose of the Court, as Australia’s superior court in family law, is to:
- determine cases with the most complex law, facts and parties
- cover specialised areas in family law, and
- provide national coverage as the appellate court in family law matters.
The Court maintains registries in all Australian states and territories except Western Australia.
Purpose of Position
Client service staff initiate, file and sort documents for which they also provide quality assurance and archiving functions. They assist in courtroom operations, facilitating flow through the courtroom and provide clients with information about issues such as how to address the Court and where they need to be at what time. Client service staff are aware of client security issues and act to assist and reassure clients in what can be a distressing and emotional time for them.
Client service staff provide case coordination to ensure the best service to clients by managing the effective and efficient progress of cases through the Courts. This assists clients to reach resolution of their family disputes while optimising the use of judicial and other resources.
Client service staff schedule cases, assign priority to cases and ensure they are ready to proceed to the next stage. Staff maintain positive relationships with clients and solicitors, contribute to the early resolution of cases and identify cases that require specialist attention or other intervention. Client service staff are proactive in the coordination of court events, including liaison with external clients, solicitors, professional staff, and other internal clients. They analyse and report on workflow and performance trends, making recommendations as necessary and perform the 'listing' function.
As part of an initiative of the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court to improve services and the quality of information provided to clients of the Family Law Courts, the National Enquiry Centre (NEC) was established. Client service staff working at the NEC are primarily responsible for answering national phone and email enquiries for the Family Law Courts.
Important Functions
The person appointed to this position is expected to carry out his or her duties so as to:
- Satisfy all relevant statutory obligations
- Satisfy the Australian Public Service Values and Code of Conduct
- Contribute to and support achievement of the Court’s Strategic and Business Plans
- Operate within the Court’s policies and procedural guide lines, and
- Support and contribute to the Court’s Service Charter
Key Responsibilities and Duties
This role involves the supervision and management of a number of cases in close partnership with child dispute services staff and legal staff, supporting clients through the Court processes.
The Senior Client Service Officer may be required to:
- Provide information and advice relating to court services, procedures, processes and forms as well as external options to clients in order to provide clarity and understanding to enable clients to take informed and appropriate action in relation to their situation
- Ensure information is available in an accurate and timely fashion to support the best outcome by providing file management, and quality assurance from initiation of matters, data entry and processing through to use in proceedings and archiving
- Progress cases by providing administrative services in accordance with court processes, including receiving and reconciling court fees and charges
- Assist in the management of complex cases through the case management system
- Schedule and prioritise matters for hearing and other interventions to achieve the earliest possible resolution
- Liaise with a range of internal and external stakeholders including legal practitioners, community organisations and other service providers to assist the resolution of cases
- Manage and supervise a small team, and
- Collate, analyse and produce reports as required.
Reporting Relationships
The Client Service Section consists of client service teams. Each team reports to the Registry Services Team Leader.
Eligibility
Employment with the Court is subject to the terms and conditions in the Public Service Act 1999, and the following conditions:
- Australian citizenship – the successful applicant must hold Australian citizenship;
- Security and character clearance – the successful applicant must satisfy a Police Records Check, and may also be required to complete security clearances during the course of their employment;
- Health clearance – the successful applicant will be required to complete a health declaration and may be required to attend a medical assessment to confirm their fitness for duty.
Interested candidates who have received a redundancy benefit from an APS agency are welcome to apply, but note that they cannot be engaged until their redundancy benefit period has expired.
Selection Criteria
- A demonstrated record of success in the provision of service to clients involving working directly with the general public and a demonstrated understanding of and commitment to providing client focused services.
- Demonstrated working knowledge or clearly demonstrated capability to quickly acquire a sound working knowledge of court procedures, guidelines, policies and practice, including the computerised information systems used by the courts.
- Demonstrated effective organisational skills with the ability to work under pressure, achieve objectives, manage competing priorities and analyse and interpret data.
- Demonstrated ability to work well in a team, to act with integrity, use initiative, work unsupervised, model, coach and mentor for effective performance.
- Demonstrated capacity to communicate effectively both orally and in writing with people from a wide range of backgrounds, including clients, other staff members, the judiciary and senior management. This will include a proven ability to manage stressful and/or conflict situations in a professional manner, on a continual basis.
How to Apply
To be considered you will need to upload a comprehensive statement of claims against the selection criteria and attach an up to date resume by 11:55 PM on 22 February 2018.
For more information contact Brenda Field, by email: brenda.field@familycourt.gov.au or phone: 0418 559 017.
Please note this position was last advertised in September 2017. If you were an applicant then, you need not apply again as you will be considered.