This plan outlines the challenges, directions and priorities of the courts’ administration over 2012–13. It builds on the work already achieved since the merger of the administrations in 2009 and provides a strategic framework for future planning, cooperation and partnership between the courts.
The courts’ administration operates in an environment of change, with increasing expectations from court users. We have a critical role in shaping and defining service delivery and we pride ourselves on delivering timely, high quality, cost effective support to the Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court of
Australia.
Each court determines its own direction and strategy and the administration is committed to supporting the effective operation of each court.
I acknowledge there are significant challenges ahead including ongoing financial pressures and the
Government’s desire for closer sharing of corporate resources, as well as continued pressure on our staff to do more with less.
As you would appreciate our environment is very dynamic and some key issues are yet to be resolved.
However, the administration must anticipate, plan and respond to these changes. As a result, this statement of strategic intent will be revisited annually to ensure it remains focused and current.
Richard Foster PSM
Chief Executive Officer
Family Court of Australia
Acting Chief Executive Officer
Federal Circuit Court of Australia
Date 16/07/12

The courts’ administration provides resources and staff to the Family Court of Australia and the Federal
Circuit Court of Australia to support the judiciary and to benefit the users of the respective jurisdictions. The administration respects that the jurisdictions are independent courts and each court determines its own direction.
• Maintaining community confidence in courts and justice by delivering professional advice and delivering excellence in service provision and administration.
1 1
• Responding to the budget pressure on Government, the courts will pursue opportunities to make savings (Refer Skehill Report
2
2 to Cabinet and implementation of those recommendations endorsed by
Government).
• Consideration and advancement of users pays whilst maintaining access to justice principles.
• Delivering regional and rural services through Federal Circuit Court circuits and Family Court special listings on a needs basis.
• Continued and active investigation of transformational opportunities, such as electronic court file, electronic divorce and examination of the courts’ case management pathways.
In addition to the APS Values, the administration strives for excellence.
This includes:
1 Service: For our people to look for opportunities to assist clients, litigants, lawyers and the judiciary in resolving disputes.
2 Respect: To be courteous, considerate and impartial.
3 Professionalism: To be proficient and accountable and to do our best to support the judiciary and the community.
Our clients have told us that they want:
• Ease and simplicity in procedure, policy and system.
• Information that is understandable and accessible.
• Timeliness.
• Assistance.
• Respect for privacy.
• A safe environment.
To the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court we deliver:
• Administrative support, through client services staff to:
Accurately record the activities and processes.
Provide client service to the judiciary, public and profession.
Prepare cases for resolution and determination.
• Support to the judiciary through judicial support and chambers staff to assist in case management and conduct of hearings.
• Legal expertise, through our registrars to facilitate the case management and resolution of matters in family law.
• Expert advice and assessment, through our family consultants in parenting cases.
1 Our performance in this area will be reviewed against International Court Excellence Framework. The International
Framework for Court Excellence was developed in 2008 and represents a resource to assist a court in assessing its performance against seven key areas of court excellence. Further information is available at www.courtexcellence.com.
2
The Skehill Review refers to the Department of Finance and Deregulation commissioned Review of Medium and Small
Agencies within the AttorneyGeneral’s Portfolio by consultant Stephen Skehill.

• Leadership and management in courts administration.
• Technology that supports the operations of both courts.
• Data and technical analysis of the courts’ workload.
• Financial management accountability for both courts in accordance with statutory and governmental requirements.
• Human resource processing, advice and support for the judicial officers of each court and staff.
• National property and accommodation initiatives, including management, monitoring and reporting of environmental impacts.
• Communication and public affairs through high level communication, media, products and online services for both courts.
• Security and protection services to protect our people, assets and clients.
• Procurement and risk management services including tendering and contract management, risk, fraud, and business continuity.
To the Federal Circuit Court we also deliver:
• Interface with the Federal Court of Australia to ensure administrative support to judges in general federal law matters.
1 1 Implement ongoing savings measures in support of our agreed budget position including possible restructure of the service model and/or funding arrangements.
2 Continue development of the unified corporate service to support our courts and exploration of any opportunities to share or restructure corporate services with the Federal Court.
3 Complete, integrate and adopt operational data (known as ‘The one pagers’) for judiciary, registrars, family consultants and client services to inform case management planning in accordance with the
Court Excellence Framework.
4 Advance transformational opportunities through the developmen t of an ‘Electronic Court File’ including the development of an electronic divorce file and process.
5 Implement agreed recommendations resulting from the Dandenong Project and any other relevant evaluations and pilots to advance higher quality approaches in family law parenting cases.
6 Implement changes to process, practice and procedure arising from the family violence amendments.
7 Advance and integrate the seven key areas in the Court Excellence Framework.
8 Consider and implement change in response to the 2011 Family Law User Satisfaction Survey so that we are continually reviewing and improving our services for court user value.
9 Work with the Federal Court to ensure appropriate services and facilities are available for general federal law matters.
10 Review the application of the Staff Development Fund to ensure it is effectively deployed to key learning and development opportunities for staff.
11 Continue to explore accommodation options for Federal Circuit Court judges in the Sydney CBD.
In addition to the APS Values and APS Code of Conduct, the administration is committed to fostering a culture where our people are engaged, passionate and valued. We embrace a culture of learning, commitment and high performance, with an emphasis on diversity, flexibility and health, safety and wellbeing.
The Policy Advisory Committee’s (PAC) of the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court, chaired by the Chief
Justice and Chief Judge respectively, are the primary advisory bodies of each court. The Chief Executive
Officer’s (CEO) Management Advisory Group is responsible for providing advice to the respective PACs and implementing decisions of these committees.
The majority of decisions concerning strategic direction and resource allocation in family law are decided cooperatively through the Family Law Courts Advisory Group. This group includes the respective heads of jurisdiction, the CEO and a representative from the AttorneyGeneral’s Department. The group cooperatively decides and directs the administration through the CEO.

The heads of jurisdiction and the CEOs of the Federal Court, Family Court and Federal Circuit Court meet to determine and direct the sharing of corporate services to achieve the most efficient system across the
Commonwealth Courts.
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. It commenced operations on 5 January 1976 and consists of a
Chief Justice, a Deputy Chief Justice and other judges. The Court maintains registries in all Australian states and territories except Western Australia. The Court’s goal is to deliver excellence in service for children, families and parties through effective judicial and non-judicial processes and high-quality and timely judgments while respecting the needs of separating families.
As Australia’s specialist superior family court, determine cases with complex law and facts and provide national coverage as the appellate court in family matters.
The Federal Circuit Court of Australia was established by the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999 as an independent federal court under Chapter 3 of the Australian Constitution. The Court was established to handle less complex matters in the areas of family law and general federal law. The Court is a federal court of record and a court of law and equity. It sits in all capital cities and circuits to selected rural and regional centres. The objective of the Court is to provide a simple and more accessible alternative to litigation in the
Family Court of Australia and the Federal Court of Australia and to relieve the workload of the superior federal courts. The provisions of the Act enable the Court to operate as informally as possible in the exercise of judicial power, use streamlined procedures and make use of a range of dispute resolution processes to resolve matters without judicial decisions.
To provide the Australian community with a simple and accessible forum for the resolution of less complex disputes within the jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.