Skip to content.

Judgments Coordinator - FCC

Job No: FedCourt19
Location: Melbourne, VIC

  • APS Level 6
  • $74,198 - $84,754 per annum, plus superannuation
  • Ongoing, full-time role

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 fulfill 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 Jurisdiction:
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.

Purpose of Position:
Working under limited supervision, the Judgments Coordinator is in charge of managing the judgments publication function to ensure all judgments from the Federal Circuit Court of Australia are published within the correct standards. This is a high volume role which includes a lot of liaison and training of key stakeholders as well as managing two staff within the Judgments Publication team.

Important Functions of Position:
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:
The position plays a key role in the provision of access to the Court’s judgments to Judges, Court staff, practitioners, self-represented litigants and the community, in particular through the development of appropriate information systems and resources. Under limited supervision, the Judgments Coordinator is required to:

  • liaise and consult within the Court on a range of matters relating to judgment publishing;
  • assist in the identification of gaps in legal precedent in databases of published judgments of the Court;
  • maintain comprehensive knowledge of judgments subject matter and support current awareness services about judgments of this and other Courts;
  • manage and co-ordinate publication of judgments on the Court’s website and Austlii, and by law report publishers;
  • work in cooperation with Austlii to improve and promote the Court decisions database as the primary public access point to published judgments;
  • manage and develop the Court’s judgments databases to meet the needs of the Court;
  • develop and/or maintain resources to facilitate judgment preparation, including guidelines and style manuals;
  • identify and resolve technical problems regarding judgment preparation and publication;
  • develop and deliver training to associates and staff;
  • manage and supervise the Courts judgments team;
  • review judgments prior to publication to ensure anonymity and compliance with Court judgments publishing standards;
  • ensure that published judgments meet the requirements of s 121 Family Law Act and other legislative requirements; and
  • other duties as required.

Reporting Relationships:
The Judgments Coordinator reports to the Deputy Principal Registrar of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.
There are two judgments publication officers who report to the Judgments Coordinator.

Eligibility:
Employment with the Court is subject to the terms and conditions in the Public Service Act 1999, and the following conditions:

  1. Australian citizenship – the successful applicant must hold Australian citizenship;
  2. National Police Check – the successful applicant must satisfy a Police Records Check, and may also be required to complete security clearances during the course of their employment;
  3. 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:

  1. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills appropriate to the requirements of the position.
  2. Demonstrated ability to work under broad supervision, to plan and deliver services, to manage and respond to change.
  3. Demonstrated high standards of integrity and leadership, and capacity to communicate and share ideas, knowledge and expertise. Models and promotes fair and equitable behaviour, the APS Values and Code of Conduct.
  4. Possesses strong decision making, strategic thinking, conceptual and analytical skills and the capacity to objectively analyse problems from various angles, evaluate information quickly, critically and accurately.
  5. Relevant experience and knowledge including legal research skills, knowledge of judgment publication and reporting, understanding of the Federal Circuit Court and its role.
  6. Innovative use of automated systems and databases for storage and retrieval of information, experience with internet and intranet technologies, experience in training others in the use of electronic resources.

How to Apply:
To be considered you will need to upload a concise expression of interest (2 page maximum) detailing how your experience and skills relate to the position description and selection criteria and attach an up to date resume by 11:55PM on 1 February 2018.

For more information contact Adele Byrne on (03) 8600 4470.

Personal Details * Required field

Questions