COURTS ADMINISTRATION AUTHORITY

2016-17 Annual Report

COURTS ADMINISTRATION AUTHORITY

Education Centre, 31 Flinders Street Adelaide SA 5000

www.courts.sa.gov.au

Contact phone number +61 8 8226 0138

Contact email enquiry@courts.sa.gov.au

ISSN 1443-0444

Date presented to Minister: 31 October 2017

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To: The Honourable John Rau

Deputy Premier

Attorney-General

Minister for Justice Reform

Minister for Planning

Minister for Industrial Relations

Minister for Child Protection

Minister for Public Sector Reform

Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs

This annual report is presented to Parliament to meet the statutory reporting

requirements of Courts Administration Authority Act 1993 (SA) and meets the

requirements of Premier and Cabinet Circular PC013 Annual Reporting.

This report is verified to be accurate for the purposes of annual reporting to the

Parliament of South Australia.

Submitted on behalf of the COURTS ADMINISTRATION AUTHORITY by:

The Honourable Christopher Kourakis

Chief Justice of South Australia

Chairman, State Courts Administration Council

31 October 2017

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Contents

Contents .................................................................................................................... 3

Section A: Reporting required under the Public Sector Act 2009, the Public

Sector Regulations 2010 and the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987 ................ 4

Agency purpose or role...................................................................................................... 4

Objectives ......................................................................................................................... 4

Key strategies and their relationship to SA Government objectives ................................... 4

Agency programs and initiatives and their effectiveness and efficiency ............................. 4

Legislation administered by the agency ............................................................................. 5

Organisation of the agency ................................................................................................ 6

Other agencies related to this agency (within the Minister’s area/s of responsibility) .......... 6

Employment opportunity programs .................................................................................... 6

Agency performance management and development systems .......................................... 7

Occupational health, safety and rehabilitation programs of the agency and their

effectiveness .................................................................................................................... 7

Fraud detected in the agency ............................................................................................ 8

Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud ......................................................... 8

Whistle-blowers’ disclosure ............................................................................................... 8

Executive employment in the agency ................................................................................ 8

Consultants ....................................................................................................................... 9

Financial performance of the agency ................................................................................. 9

Other information requested by the Minister(s) or other significant issues affecting the

agency or reporting pertaining to independent functions ................................................. 10

Section B: Reporting required under any other act or regulation...................... 10

Court Administration Act 1993 ......................................................................................... 10

Section C: Reporting of public complaints as requested by the Ombudsman. 13

Summary of complaints by subject .................................................................................. 13

Complaint outcomes ........................................................................................................ 13

Appendix: Audited financial statements 2016-17 ................................................ 14

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Section A: Reporting required under the Public Sector Act

2009, the Public Sector Regulations 2010 and the Public

Finance and Audit Act 1987

Agency purpose or role

The Courts Administration Authority is constituted by the Courts Administration Act 1993. It is independent of the legislative and executive arms of government and is the means by which the judiciary of the State controls the administration of courts through which judicial power is exercised.

Objectives

To provide participating courts and court users with services and facilities that support the proper administration of justice.

Key strategies and their relationship to SA Government objectives

Key strategy SA Government objective

The objectives of the CAA appear below: The strategies of the CAA appear below:

Modern Courts, Smarter Services Digital by default

Modernising court infrastructure

Collaborate with agencies to deliver criminal justice sector reforms

Putting people first Deliver professional support to the Judiciary of SA

Continuous improvement driving a consistent culture of service excellence to court users

Active engagement with stakeholders and staff

Exemplary performance Role and performance of the CAA is publicly accounted for

Anticipate change and find innovative solutions

Manage resources effectively and efficiently

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Agency programs and initiatives and their effectiveness and efficiency

Program name Indicators of performance/effectiveness/efficiency

Comments

Provision of administrative support to participating courts and tribunals necessary to allow them to resolve matters fairly, justly and efficiently. This program comprises four sub-programs; criminal jurisdiction, intervention programs, civil jurisdiction, Coroner.

Activity and performance indices applied annually to the work of the Courts include measures used by the Commonwealth Productivity Commission (Report on Government Services – ROGS) as well as estimates and actual figures in CAA financial statements to the SA Parliament.

Indicators of performance, effectiveness and efficiency for these programs and also the programs (below) relating to Alternative dispute resolution are available at www.data.sa.gov.au

https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/caa-ar- programs-and-initiatives-data

As an independent body which provides administrative facilities and services for the proper administration of justice by the participating Courts of the State across multiple jurisdictions, the CAA ensures access to justice is delivered to the South Australian community in a fair and efficient manner.

Alternative dispute resolution; provision of family conferencing, family care meetings, mediations and negotiation services which are an alternative to the formal court process, thereby aiming to provide an alternative means of resolution of matters in dispute.

Activity and performance indices applied annually to the work of the Courts include measures used for the Commonwealth Productivity Commission – ROGS, as well as CAA financial statements to the SA Parliament.

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) gives parties an opportunity to work through their disputed issues without the stress of having to attend Court. This has resulted in saving time and money in settling matters and given more people access to justice. It has allowed people to focus on their dispute issues. This type of resolution also provides the opportunity to be creative, allows more flexible remedies than Court can provide and has a focus on preserving relationships through co-operation.

Legislation administered by the agency

Courts Administration Act 1993

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Organisation of the agency

State Courts Administration Council (comprising the Chief Justice, Chief Judge, Chief Magistrate and three Associate judicial members).

The Participating Courts (Supreme Court, District Court, Environment, Resources and Development Court, Magistrates Court, Youth Court, Coroner’s Court and the judicial officers of the South Australian Employment Tribunal (SAET)).

State Courts Administrator

Executive Management Team (SCA (Chair), Executive Director and Principal Registrar Higher Courts, Executive Director and Principal Registrar Court Services, Executive Director Strategy and Court Operations, Director, Strategic Reform, Chief Financial Officer, Human Resources Manager).

Supporting Branches: Sheriff’s Office, Finance, Information Technology Services, Court Transcription Services, Library Services, Human Resources, Facilities Management, Electronic Court Management System Project Team, Contact Centre, Media and Communications Branch.

http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/OurCourts/CourtsAdministrationAuthority/Pages/Organisation -Chart.aspx

Other agencies related to this agency (within the Minister’s area/s of

responsibility)

Nil to report.

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Employment opportunity programs

Program name Result of the program

Step up to the Bar

An equal opportunity program providing opportunity for female legal practitioners to consider a career and gain suitable experience to pursue being a member of the SA Independent Bar.

The first participant has joined the SA Bar following completion of the program. A second intake participant is in the program at present.

Agency performance management and development systems

Performance management and development system

Assessment of effectiveness and efficiency

Performance Development Program

Based on planning, check-in, development and review. Emphasis is on discussions between employee and line manager.

The policy provides for each employee to have a written plan in place, reviewed annually, with each manager recording the date of the agreed development plan in the CHRIS HRM System. There is quarterly reporting to the CAA Executive Management Team on numbers of plans and their status.

Occupational health, safety and rehabilitation programs of the agency and

their effectiveness

Occupational health, safety and rehabilitation programs

Effectiveness

CAA WHS Strong Foundations Plan 2017-20

Success measures and progress reported quarterly to CAA Executive Management Team, since March 2017.

CAA Safety Climate Survey A three-week baseline survey was conducted in 2017 and will be repeated in 2020. Results were reported to CAA Executive Management Team and published on CAA Intranet. All staff and divisional WHS committees are encouraged to discuss the findings and to develop different practices, where necessary, to ensure safety.

Employee Assistance Program During the period under review, ACCESS EAP provided an employee assistance program. Participant rates were reported to Executive Management Team.

Managing psychosocial risks within the CAA, online training

Numbers of staff completing the online module have been tracked. Participant rates were reported to Executive Management Team.

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Occupational health, safety and rehabilitation programs

Effectiveness

Defibrillator installation program

Not assessed.

Fraud detected in the agency

Category/nature of fraud Number of instances

All type of fraud Zero

Strategies implemented to control and prevent fraud

The CAA has comprehensive internal control processes and promotes ethics and good governance to address the risk of fraud. Assessment that these controls are working is addressed via a risk based internal audit work plan and oversight by the CAA’s Audit and Risk Management (ARM) Committee. The ARM Committee provides independent assurance and assistance on the CAA’s risk, control and compliance framework, ethics, efficiency and effectiveness of business policies and practices and its internal and external accountability responsibilities. The ARM Committee has an independent chair and is supported by an externally appointed internal audit firm to assist in ensuring that controls are operating and that the CAA’s corporate governance framework is sound.

The CAA annually updates its Fraud and Corruption Policy and has adopted the SA Public Sector Fraud and corruption control plan and the internal audit program.

Data for the past five years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/caa-ar-fraud

Whistle-blowers’ disclosure

Number of occasions on which public interest information has been disclosed to a responsible officer of the agency under the Whistle-blowers’ Protection Act 1993.

0

Executive employment in the agency

Executive classification Number of executives

EXEC OA 3

EXEC OB 4

EXEC OC 1

Data for the past five years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/caa-ar-executive-

employment

For further information, the Office for the Public Sector has a data dashboard for further information on the breakdown of executive gender, salary and tenure by agency.

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Consultants

The following is a summary of external consultants that have been engaged by the agency,

the nature of work undertaken and the total cost of the work undertaken.

Consultants Purpose Value

All consultancies below $10,000 each Various 16,000

Consultancies above $10,000 each

DPTI Feasibility and engineering inspection study or various building sites

CQR Australian Consulting Data classification review

ESS PTY LTD Information Technology strategic plan

ESCIENT PTY LTD Work, Health, Safety and Injury Management audit

Total all consultancies 137,000

Data for the past five years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/caa-ar-

consultants

See also https://www.tenders.sa.gov.au/tenders/index.do for a list of all external consultancies, including nature of work and value. See also the Consolidated Financial Report of the Department of Treasury and Finance http://treasury.sa.gov.au/ for total value of consultancy contracts across the SA Public Sector.

Financial performance of the agency

The following is a brief summary of the overall financial position of the agency. The

information is unaudited. Full audited financial statements for 2016-17 are attached to this

report.

Summary Income Statement

Budget 2016-17

$’000

Actual Result

2016-17 $’000

Variance $’000

Actual Result

2015-16 $’000

Expenses 94 433 92 716 1 717 96 516

Revenues 4 131 4 430 299 4 479

Net cost of providing services 90 302 88 286 2 016 92 037

Revenues from SA Government 85 533 85 533 - 94 366

Payments to SA Government - - - (543)

Net Result (4 769) (2 753) 2 016 1 786

The CAA's revised operating Budget provided for a net operating deficit of $4.8 million. The CAA recorded an actual net operating deficit of $2.8 million. The favourable variance of $2.0 million is primarily due to re-measurement of long service leave liability and delayed expenditures for which CAA has applied for carryover into 2017-18.

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Total expenses decreased by $3.8 million in 2016-17, mainly due to a decrease in supplies and services expenses from the transfer of Forensic Services SA costs to another agency.

Total income decreased by $8.3 million in 2016-17, mainly due to reduced appropriation for investing project delays, and the transfer of Forensic Services SA costs.

The reduction of $2.8 million in net assets is mainly a result of depreciation of $7.8 million on property, plant and equipment, offset by purchase of property, plant and equipment of $3.3 million and repayment of finance lease liabilities of $1.4 million.

Other financial information

Nil to report.

Other information requested by the Minister(s) or other significant issues

affecting the agency or reporting pertaining to independent functions

Nil to report.

Section B: Reporting required under any other act or

regulation

Name and date of act or regulation

Court Administration Act 1993

13—Annual report

(1) The Council must on or before 31 October in each year make a report to the

Attorney-General on—

(a) the administration of justice in participating courts during the previous

financial year; and

(b) any changes to the law and procedures of the participating courts that may

be necessary or desirable to improve the administration of justice in participating courts.

(2) The Attorney-General must within 12 sitting days after receiving a report

under this section cause copies of the report to be laid before both Houses of Parliament.

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13 (1) (a) Each of the participating Courts has provided an At a Glance summary of staffing and workloads through the year under review, as well as summaries of the supporting branches within the CAA. These appear here:

https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/caa-ar-at-a-glance https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/caa-ar-sheriffs-office https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/caa-ar-contact-centre https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/caa-ar-court-transcription-services https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/caa-ar-library https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/caa-ar-audio-visual-links

13 (1) (b) Recommended changes to legislation

Bail Act 1985

Section 15 of the Bail Act provides that an arrested person dissatisfied with a decision made on an application for release on police bail may seek a review by a magistrate via telephone if the Court is not sitting. Section 10A of the Act directs that bail not be granted to a prescribed applicant unless they can establish the existence of special circumstances. The Chief Magistrate recommended that an additional category of ‘prescribed applicant’ who may not seek a telephone review with respect to bail be included in the Act.

The recommendation related to an applicant charged with a violent offence if an aggravating circumstance of the offence is that the applicant contravened an intervention order and the offence lay within the range of conduct that the intervention order was designed to prevent.

Evidence Act 1929

Section 591Q of the Evidence Act 1929 provides for the appearance of persons in court by audio visual link or audio link to give evidence of submissions. The Chief Justice, Chief Judge and Chief Magistrate recommended that consideration be given to amending the Act to allow a defendant to make their first appearance in court by audio visual link if the court is of the opinion that it is appropriate in the circumstances, and takes into consideration whether the defendant is represented or has had the opportunity to obtain legal advice before making such a decision.

Road Traffic Act 1961 – section 441 AA (2)

Section 471 AA (2) of the Road Traffic Act 1961, empowers police to give a defendant charged with various offences under the Act a notice of immediate licence disqualification of suspension (immediate loss of licence, ILOL). The charges that give rise to the ILOL are laid by the police and the matter comes before the Court, often months after the ILOL was issued. Most of these matters are finalised with a finding of guilt and the magistrate then determines the appropriate fine and period of licence disqualification.

In determining the appropriate period of licence disqualification to be imposed, section 471 AA (9) of the Act requires the Court to take into account the period of licence disqualification already served on the ILOL. The Act does not presently authorise the backdating of commencement of a period of disqualification by the Court to commence on the date the ILOL was served on the defendant. As a result, the Court is required to calculate the months, weeks and days that have elapsed since the ILOL commenced and deduct that period for the period of disqualification to the order.

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It is recommended that consideration by given to amending the Act to allow backdating of Court imposed licence disqualifications to the date of commencement of the ILOL.

Young Offenders Act 1993

The Young Offenders Act 1993 section 4 defines ‘victim’ as ‘a person who suffers injury as a result of the offence’ and ‘injury’ as ‘physical or mental injury, and includes pregnancy, mental shock and nervous shock’. Matters diverted to Family Conference may relate to the theft of property. An advantage of holding a Family Conference is to provide the victim (or the victim’s representative,) the opportunity to attend the conference to explain to the young person the impact and consequences of the offending, and, where appropriate to make restitution directly to the victim. The impact of the Family Conference is far more significant if this occurs.

The recommendation related to the amendment of the definition of ‘victim’ to include a person who has suffered economic loss as a result of the offence.

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Section C: Reporting of public complaints as requested by

the Ombudsman

Summary of complaints by subject

Public complaints received by CAA

Category of complaints by subject Number of instances

Service delivery 18

Process 4

Data for the past five years is available at: https://data.sa.gov.au/data/dataset/caa-ar-

complaints

Complaint outcomes

Nature of complaint or suggestion Services improved or changes as a result of complaints or consumer suggestions

Service delivery – by CAA staff e.g. inattention to resolving issues, errors and/or omissions, providing wrong information.

Investigations into eight complaints against Sheriff’s Officers showed (through CCTV footage in most instances) that the officers had acted reasonably in the circumstances.

Investigations into six complaints concerning errors made by staff in the discharge of the duties resulted in additional education/training of the staff concerned.

One complaint alleging discrimination due to disability was investigated. There was no supporting evidence found for the complaint.

One complaint alleged discrimination due to being a litigant in person. This was reviewed by a senior judicial officer who determined the staff member had acted within rules as required.

Two complaints related to system errors/IT ‘crashes’ the effect of which was to hamper the ability of staff to provide adequate service.

Process – refers to processes, procedures and legislative requirements to be fulfilled.

The four complaints received demonstrated general misunderstandings about court processes and compliance with legislation and rules. All responses explained that staff are required to comply with specific procedures and legislative requirements.

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Appendix: Audited financial statements 2016-17