“I have a Complaint!” Federal Court of Australia AIJA Annual Court Administrators’ Conference Adelaide, Friday 6 August 1999

Structure of Presentation The Environment for Change Present position in the Federal Court of Australia Defining complaints, what should be recorded and responded to Warts and all!

The Environment for Change Greater consumer expectations Business imperatives (that is, staying in business) The Federal Government’s service charter requirements (applicable to all Federal bodies) Need to be client focussed to maintain public trust and cconfidence in Courts

Present Position in the Federal Court of Australia Long standing culture of courteousness, and politeness as well as national user consultation has avoided complaints Improvements can be made Very few complaints - Many spurious, but not recorded in any cohesive way

Present postion cont. No official complaints recording system Proposed complaint handling system developed and under consideration Proposed system linked to Service Charter Requirement for information about complaints to be included in future Annual Reports

Present postion cont. Uncertainty about inclusion of and collection of complaints about the judiciary Although local responses are proposed, it is also proposed that there be a collection of complaints and suggestions, to enable pro-active changes as problems identified Security issues

Present postion cont. Complaints are made (very rarely) about the way a judge has dealt with a case. These are dealt with by the Chief Justice. The judge concerned provides a response to the Chief Justice, and either the Chief Justice or the Registrar responds to the person complaining. Complaints about the result are dealt with by the usual appeal process. Reserve Judgments protocol

Defining Complaints - What should be recorded and responded to? Present proposal is that Registries record and therefore, respond to:

Any complaints that are received either over the counter, by telephone, or in writing (including by ) which raise a concern about the service standards included in the ‘charter’ eg. Courtesy promptness physical access

Complaints about the Court’s processes which involve the Registry (not the judgment) including complaints about: the manner of setting hearing dates (eg delays or inconvenient timing) the overall time a case is taking complaints about decisions on the non- acceptance of documents for filing complaints about a particular procedure eg the system for determining costs

any suggestions or compliments about the Court’s services in the categories just mentioned

Warts and All Existing culture produces an inherent avoidence of problems - problems (complaints) are seen as negative and not positive Difficulty in generating a need for change about complaints Difficulty in producing an environment that encourages a willingness to invite and deal with criticism

Warts and All cont. Presumption that complaints mean that the organisation is not performing well (when it is, by quantitative performance criteria) Complaints are not seen as suggestions or supportive calls for improvement

Warts and All cont. A special system for Complaints about the Judiciary? NSW has a system According to those that operate it, it works well there are other opinions

Warts and All cont. There is a difficulty in separating complaints about usual practice and procedure and the individual practice of a judicial officer Seperating the Judiciary and Registries - is it possible?

Warts and All cont. Complaints about judicial decisions appropriately excluded, but the exclusion is often not understood or accepted. Perhaps there is room for better explanations of the reasons for decision.