Corporate governance

This section reports on aspects of the Federal Circuit Court’s corporate governance arrangements.

The legal framework for the Federal Circuit Court’s corporate governance practices is set out in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999, the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and the Public Service Act 1999.

Under the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999, the Chief Judge is responsible for ensuring the orderly and expeditious discharge of the business of the Federal Circuit Court and management of the administrative affairs of the Court. In the latter role, the Chief Judge is assisted by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Principal Registrar.

On 1 July 2016, the Federal Court, Family Court and Federal Circuit Court became a single administrative entity for the purposes of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and the Public Service Act 1999. The budget and staff of the Court sit within that entity, with the CEO and Principal Registrar of the Federal Court the relevant accountable officer under those acts.

Responsibilities for the Court’s budget and staff have been delegated to the CEO and Principal Registrar of the Federal Circuit Court, pursuant to a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Court CEO and Principal Registrar. The Federal Circuit Court retains its distinct statutory identity.

Senior executives

CEO and Principal Registrar

Deputy Principal Registrar and National Family Law Registrar

Executive Director, Child Dispute Services

Judicial committees

The Court’s corporate governance framework includes a range of committees and cross-entity mechanisms to support the effective management of the Court. This is in accordance with s 93 of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999 (Cth) which provides for the Court to form advisory committees on the following aspects of the Court’s business:

• the exercise of powers under the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999
• the making of the Rules of Court, and
• management of the administrative affairs of the Court.

Overarching committees

National Practice Area Committee

The National Practice Area Committee provides advice to the Chief Judge in relation to the current and proposed case management structures, judicial conduct and judicial education, and the interaction between the Federal Circuit Court and other Courts. Each area of the Court is represented according to a national practice area.

The committee met three times in 2019–20.

The committee comprised:

• Chief Judge Alstergren (Chair)
• Judge Driver
• Judge Riethmuller
• Judge Altobelli
• Judge Spelleken
• Judge McGuire
• Judge Dunkley
• Judge Cole OAM
• Judge Willis AM
• Judge Harland
• Judge McNab
• Judge Kendall
• David Pringle (CEO and Principal Registrar)
• Virginia Wilson (Deputy Principal Registrar)
• Jordan Di Carlo, and
• Catherine Bull (Secretariat).

Case Management Judges Committee

The Federal Circuit Court has a structure consisting of a National Coordinator of Case Management and case management judges who represent discrete geographical areas/locations. Through this structure, the Court actively monitors its case management across the nation and considers opportunities for improvement.

The role of case management judges also aids the communication throughout the Court on all aspects of workload, timeliness and court practice. Case management judges are also local points of contact for regional stakeholders. The committee meets quarterly with the Chief Judge and the National Coordinator of Case Management to share information about workload trends and issues in their regions and to enhance the adoption of consistent case management practices at registry, regional and national levels.

Membership of the committee for 2019–20 comprised:

• Judge Driver (National Case Management Judge)
• Judge Brown
• Judge Hughes
• Judge Terry
• Judge Dunkley
• Judge Street
• Judge Middleton
• Judge Boyle
• Judge McNab
• Judge Kendall, and
• Amanda Morris.

Legal Committee

The Legal Committee considers possible rule amendments and wider legal issues about the jurisdiction of the Court. The committee refers its recommendations to the Chief Judge for the consideration of the Court as a whole. Legislation requires that the Rules of Court be approved by all or a majority of judges. Meeting monthly, the committee considers:

• legislative developments to consider any workload or jurisprudential impacts
• recommended rules, practice notices and approved forms, and
• legal issues impacting on the jurisdiction of the Court.

The committee also liaises with the Family Court and the Federal Court in relation to rules, forms and fees, where appropriate, and with other committees as required to achieve their respective objectives and provide coordinated advice to the Chief Judge and the CEO and Principal Registrar.

Membership in 2019–20 comprised:

• Judge Driver (Chair)
• Judge Jarrett
• Judge Hughes
• Judge Riley
• Judge Harland
• Judge Kendall
• Judge Baird
• Virginia Wilson, and
• Amanda Morris.

Working groups and committees

Finance Committee

The role of the Finance Committee is to consider the Court’s budget position and financial affairs generally, and to make recommendations to the Chief Judge where appropriate on policies and procedures in light of expenditure. The committee also assists the CEO and Principal Registrar in the discharge of his or her obligations arising from the delegation of responsibility for the Federal Circuit Court budget, as part of the broader entity.

The committee meets at least four times in each financial year and comprised:

• Judge Driver (Chair)
• Judge Cole OAM
• Judge A Kelly
• Judge Costigan
• Judge Boymal
• Catherine Sullivan
• Kathryn Hunter, and
• David Pringle.

The committee acknowledges the assistance provided by Ms Catherine Sullivan, Executive Director, Corporate Services, and Ms Kathryn Hunter, Chief Financial Officer.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Access to Justice Committee

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Access to Justice Committee continues to coordinate the implementation of the Court’s Reconciliation Action Plan and the Court’s engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities around Australia. This work has been undertaken with the help of Indigenous community members working with judges and staff.

Membership for 2019–20 comprised:

• Judge Willis AM (Chair)
• Judge Coates
• Judge C Kelly
• Judge Terry
• Judge Kemp
• Judge Myers AM
• Judge Stewart
• Judge Young
• Judge Boyle
• Dennis Remedio
• Mr Rick Welsh, and
• David Pringle.

A number of events and activities occurred throughout the year to promote the Court’s Reconciliation Action Plan aspirations.

Family Violence Committee

The Family Violence Committee is a joint committee of the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court. The committee’s principal responsibility is to provide advice to the Chief Justice, the Chief Judge and the CEO and Principal Registrar of both Courts on the issue of family violence.

In discharging this responsibility, the committee reviews and updates the Courts’ Family Violence Plan and Family Violence Best Practice Principles, as well as undertaking discrete projects.

Membership of the committee at 30 June 2020 comprised:

• Judge Hughes (Chair)
• Justice Benjamin AM
• Justice Gill
• Justice Baumann AM
• Judge Spelleken
• Judge Terry
• Judge Bender
• Janet Carmichael
• Virginia Wilson
• Steve Fewster
• David Pringle
• Lisa O’Neill
• Di Lojszczyk, and
• Melissa Buhagiar (Secretariat).

The committee’s focus during the year was on a number of initiatives including implementing safety at Court policies and establishing the co-location of state and territory child welfare officials in the Courts’ family law registries.

In early 2020, state and territory child welfare officials and police were co-located in the busiest family law registries of the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court as part of a co-location initiative announced by the Federal Government. The co-location initiative is intended to improve the sharing of information between the state and territory police and child welfare authorities and the family courts, and ensure that this information is available to judges and registrars at the earliest opportunity. Child welfare officials are co-located in most registries save for the Northern Territory. Police officials are co-located in most registries save for the Northern Territory and Victoria.

Judicial Wellbeing Committee

The Judicial Wellbeing Committee was established to promote and protect the health and wellbeing of judges.

Membership of the committee comprised:

• Chief Judge Alstergren (ex officio)
• Judge Driver
• Judge Altobelli (Chair)
• Judge Willis AM
• Judge Stewart
• Judge Vasta
• Judge Heffernan, and
• Jordan Di Carlo.

Regional wellbeing coordinators

• Judge Burchardt (Dandenong and Melbourne) (with Judge Stewart)
• Judge Obradovic (Parramatta)
• Judge Monahan (Lionel Bowen Building Sydney)
• Judge Costigan (Newcastle)
• Judge Kendall (Perth)
• Judge Hughes (Canberra)
• Judge Purdon-Sully (Brisbane)
• Judge Stewart (Melbourne) (with Judge Burchardt)
• Judge Driver (William Street Sydney)
• Judge Heffernan (Adelaide)
• Judge Willis AM (all single judge registries), and
• Judge Altobelli (overall coordinator).

Judicial Education Committee

The Judicial Education Committee provides advice and recommendations to the Chief Judge on judicial education and professional development, and on coordinating and promoting professional development activities.

This committee met four times during 2019–20.

Membership comprised:

• Judge Altobelli
• Judge Cole OAM
• Judge Vasta
• Judge Stewart
• Judge Street
• Judge Mercuri
• Judge Kendall (Chair), and
• Judge Kari.

Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Committee

The Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Committee is tasked with identifying barriers to access to justice in the Federal Circuit Court for people from non-English speaking backgrounds, identifying the relevant issues and developing and implementing strategies to overcome such barriers.

The focus of the committee during the financial year was to identify issues that could be the subject of action in the short and medium term.

Membership comprised:

• Judge Harman
• Judge Vasta, and
• Judge Obradovic.

Children’s Committee

The Children’s Committee, a joint initiative between the Federal Circuit Court and the Family Court, meets to explore the work to be undertaken with respect to the involvement of children in parenting proceedings and improving the experiences of children in the family law system.

The committee has established and is building links with the Australian Children’s Contact Services Association.

Membership for 2019–20 comprised:

• Judge Cole OAM (Chair)
• Justice Moncrieff (Family Court of Western Australia)
• Justice Forrest
• Janet Carmichael
• Kylie Beckhouse (Legal Aid NSW)
• Alexandra Wearne (Independent Children’s Lawyer (ICL) NSW)
• Kate Bint (ICL, Qld), and
• Gayathri Paramasivam (Victoria Legal Aid).

Research and Ethics Committee

The Research and Ethics Committee is a joint committee established to consider and advise on research proposals that are received by the Courts on their merits and against ethical guidelines.

Membership of the committee comprises:

• Justice Stevenson (Chair)
• Justice Gill
• Judge M. Neville
• Virginia Wilson
• Manuela Galvao, and
• Michael Raine (Secretariat).

Collaborative committees

Joint Rules Harmonisation Working Group

A joint committee of the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court, comprising judges of both Courts, responsible for developing a common set of rules, forms and case management in the Courts. The working group is chaired by the Hon Dr Chris Jessup QC, assisted by two barristers Ms Emma Poole and Mr Christopher Lum.

Membership for 2019–20 comprised:

• Chief Justice Alstergren
• Deputy Chief Justice McClelland
• Justice Ryan
• Justice Watts
• Justice Rees
• Justice Williams
• Justice Hartnett
• Judge Driver
• Judge Hughes
• Judge Harland
• The Hon Dr Christopher Jessup QC (Chair)
• David Pringle
• Virginia Wilson
• Emma Poole
• Christopher Lum, and
• Jordan Di Carlo.

Joint Costs Advisory Committee

The committee comprises representatives of the four federal courts: the High Court of Australia, the Federal Court, the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court.

Membership at 30 June 2020 was:

• Justice Benjamin AM (Chair) (Family Court)
• Philippa Lynch, CEO and Principal Registrar (High Court)
• Scott Tredwell, Acting Deputy Principal Registrar (Federal Court)
• Virginia Wilson, Deputy Principal Registrar (Family Court and Federal Circuit Court), and
• Amanda Morris, Registrar (Family Court and Federal Circuit Court).

Scales of costs

The current cost scales for each of the federal courts are provided for in the following legislation:

• High Court Rules 2004 Schedule 2
• Federal Court Rules 2011 Schedule 3
• Family Law Rules 2004 Schedule 3, and
• Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001 Schedule 1.

Audit and Risk Management Committee

The Audit and Risk Management Committee is established in accordance with s 45 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. The CEO and Principal Registrar must establish and maintain an Audit Committee, with the functions and responsibilities required by s 17 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014.

The functions of the committee are to:

• provide independent assurance of the effectiveness of the entity’s Risk Management Framework
• review compliance with the entity’s Risk Management Policy
• monitor the implementation of the entity’s Risk Management Plan
• review compliance with finance law, including financial and performance reporting
• review risk reports periodically (quarterly and annual reports)
• review the internal control programs and advise whether key controls are appropriate and are operating effectively
• monitor and understand the potential impact of emerging risks on the entity’s ability to achieve its objectives, and
• provide assurance that the entity has well-designed business continuity and disaster recovery arrangements in place and are tested periodically.

Membership of the committee comprises:

• Mr Ian Govey, External Member (Chair)
• Justice Nicholas, Member (Federal Court)
• Justice Farrell, Member (Federal Court)
• Justice Murphy, Member (Federal Court)
• Justice Benjamin AM, Member (Family Court)
• Justice Harper, Member (Family Court)
• Justice McEvoy, Member (Family Court)
• Judge Driver, Member (Federal Circuit Court)
• Judge Howard, Member (Federal Circuit Court), and
• Ms Frances Cawthra, External Member.

Federal Court Security Committee

This is a joint Courts committee which considers issues of security across the federal courts with cross-jurisdictional representation, supporting the overarching security issues across the entity.

Membership of the committee comprises:

• Justice Logan (Chair)
• Deputy Chief Justice McClelland
• Judge Vasta
• Sia Lagos
• Catherine Sullivan, and
• Steve Fewster.

Digital Court Program Steering Group

The Digital Court Program Steering Group has oversight of the introduction of the Digital Court File and document management system and associated case management. This project is being run by the Federal Court and involves representatives from the three courts.

Membership of this steering group includes:

• Sia Lagos (CEO and Principal Registrar, Federal Court)
• Catherine Sullivan (Executive Director, Corporate Services, Federal Court)
• Craig Reilly (Chief Information Officer, Federal Court)
• Jamie Crew (Executive Director, Court and Tribunal Services, Federal Court)
• Justice McClelland (Family Court)
• Judge Jarrett (Federal Circuit Court)
• Justice Perram (Federal Court)
• Justice Sutherland (Family Court of Western Australia), and
• Suzanne Taylor (Family Court of Western Australia).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander access to justice

During the past 12 months, the Court’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee continued to focus on activities in keeping with the Court’s commitments under our second Reconciliation Action Plan. Despite the difficulties arising from COVID-19, judges initiated and engaged in National Reconciliation Week celebrations as best they could, whether it was through formal public acknowledgment or hosting virtual events. Judge Boyle in Sydney hosted a screening of the new film Our Kids followed by panel discussion. Judge Willis in Cairns held a virtual morning tea with representatives from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal centres and other entities to discuss how the Indigenous communities and legal centres were managing with the pandemic lock down conditions.

Encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal students with their studies and mentoring has continued, including an Indigenous law student networking event in Sydney in December 2019, with guest speaker Tony McAvoy SC, the first Indigenous Senior Counsel in Australia.

Promotion of the Court’s parenting orders for kin carers is an issue of vital importance for the Committee as it can result in fewer Indigenous children being placed in care. This was promoted with our first Kin Carers conference held in Cairns. Congratulations to Dennis Remedio, the Court’s Indigenous Liaison Officer in Cairns, for being instrumental in setting up this event in partnership with Debra Bennet, Director of Relationships Australia. It is hoped to conduct another Kin Carers conference in the Torres Strait in the future.

Indigenous case work continues around Australia through either specialised lists or alternate case management for appropriate cases supported by relevant services.

Judges on the committee continue with their personal involvement in professional associations focused on education and understanding of Indigenous Access to Justice issues and community engagement and speaking events to promote the Court’s work and parenting orders available for parents, grandparents and kin carers.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander committee acknowledge the release of the film Our Kids, which was achieved by the Greater Western Sydney Family Law Pathways Group, noting the significant involvement of retired Judge Sexton AM and Ricky Welsh, both members of the Court’s Committee. Having a short film about the issues of domestic violence and parenting orders, the impact on families and children, and the interplay between the state and federal court systems, has long been a goal of the committee for use in educating the broader community. Congratulations to all involved.

Internal and external scrutiny

External scrutiny

Commonwealth Ombudsman

The Commonwealth Ombudsman received 13 approaches about the Federal Circuit Court for the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020. Of these approaches, 12 were closed without investigation. There is one approach currently open.

External evaluations

There were no external evaluations.

Internal evaluations

There were no internal evaluations.

Media and stakeholder engagement

The Court’s National Manager, Media and Public Affairs, is responsible for the management of all media requests and inquiries received by the Court. These inquiries may relate to specific cases, judgments for cases or on issues relating to family law and the Court’s broader jurisdiction.

During 2019–20, the Court disseminated 14 media releases and provided many statements to individual journalists upon request.

Engaging with the media is an important part of communicating the work of the Court to the Australian public. The Chief Judge is committed to open justice and in line with that commitment, his Honour participated in a significant number of interviews with journalists during the reporting year and provided many statements to the media.

This engagement became particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020. Circumstances arising from the crisis led to separated and divorced parents questioning how to adhere to parenting orders or manage shared-parenting arrangements in situations where travel across state borders was restricted, schools and contact centres were closed, and parents were concerned for the safety and welfare of their children.

To provide some guidance for parents and the community at large, the Chief Judge undertook the unorthodox step of making a public statement outlining the Court’s expectations in regard to court orders and offering general advice as to the options available to parents in seeking support and assistance. Of great importance to the Court during this time was communicating to the public that the Court was available to deal with cases, and if an urgent hearing was required due to circumstances arising from the pandemic, parents could apply to have their dispute dealt with as part of the Court’s COVID-19 urgent list.

To promote this information, the Chief Judge participated in interviews with the following media outlets:

• ABC TV – The Drum
• ABC Radio National
• ABC radio – The Law Report
• Triple M radio – Melbourne
• 3AW radio – Melbourne
• 97.3 FM radio – Brisbane
• The Age newspaper, and
• The Australian newspaper.

During the reporting year, the Chief Judge also participated in several webinars hosted by the Law Institute of Victoria, the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia and other organisations. For more information, see Appendix 7 (Judge activities).

In addition to the media activities relating to the pandemic, the Chief Judge provided interviews or articles for several law journals including:

• Proctor – Queensland Law Society
• Victorian Bar News
• Law Institute Journal – Law Institute of Victoria
• Law Society Journal – New South Wales Law Society
• The Bulletin – Law Society of South Australia, and
• Australian Family Lawyer.

Direct communication with stakeholders is of significant importance to the Court. In 2019–20, the Court established a series of meetings to hear from various groups that have involvement in or interest in family law and the Court. Some of those groups included Women’s Legal Services, Relationships Australia, Legal Aid, Law Societies and Bar Associations, Men’s Referral Services, Men’s Rights Agency, Lone Fathers Association, Women’s Safety NSW and No to Violence.

In the reporting year, there was extensive media interest in a number of cases including the matter of Isileli ‘Israel’ Folau v Rugby Australia Limited & Anor. Due to demand from media to access public documents in the matter, the Court established its first online file where all documents that were deemed publicly accessible were published and available from the Court’s website. As well as establishing an online court file, television access was provided to the ABC to film inside the courtroom for the directions hearing of this matter which was disseminated to all other mainstream media outlets.

Social media

With the move to more digital practices, the Court uses social media to communicate in real time with court users and the profession. During the COVID-19 pandemic Twitter was an effective tool for quickly distributing information to the profession and court users.

Twitter

Twitter provides followers with timely, relevant and easy access to information about the Court. Followers are predominately legal professionals, law students, journalists and members of the general public.

Tweets include:

• judgments, reports, publications and factsheets
• legislative news – changes to rules, practice directions, forms or fee updates
• Commonwealth Courts Portal news, and
• media releases and statements.

YouTube

The Court’s YouTube channel provides a range of videos to help litigants prepare for and understand court processes.

During 2019–20, the Court’s channel had 362 subscribers and a total of 38,066 views, with 2,130 hours watched. The most viewed video was ‘How to apply for a divorce: serving divorce papers’, which provides a step-by-step guide to serving divorce papers in Australia.

The Court’s YouTube channel is at www.youtube.com/user/federalcircuitcourt.

Correction of errors in the 2018–19 annual report

The Court has no matters to report.