CHAPTER 2

ANNUAL REPORTS OF STATUTORY AUTHORITIES

2.1        The following reports of statutory authorities for the financial year 2006‑07 were referred to the committee for examination and report:

• Administrative Appeals Tribunal;
  
  
• Administrative Reviews Council;
  
  
• Australian Crime Commission;
  
  
• Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity;
  
  
• Australian Law Reform Commission;
  
  
• Classification Board and the Classification Review Board;
  
  
• Family Court of Australia;
  
  
• High Court of Australia.
  
  
• Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission;
  
  
• Migration Agents Registration Authority;
  
  
• Migration Review Tribunal and Refugee Review Tribunal; and
  
  
• National Capital Authority.

2.2        The committee decided to examine the annual reports of the following agencies in more detail :

• Classification Board; and
  
  
• Family Court of Australia.

 

Classification Board

2.3        The Classification Board (the Board) outlined the new administrative arrangements affecting the Board and the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC).[1] The Board reported that all policy and administrative functions of the OFLC were transferred to the Attorney-General's Department on 1 July 2006 and as a result the OLFC would cease to exist as of 1 July 2007.[2] Under the new arrangements the Board, which remains wholly independent and separate, will be serviced by dedicated and co-located secretariat support provided by the Classification Operations Branch of the Attorney-General's Department.[3]

2.4        The committee was interested to understand the volume and nature of work undertaken during the reporting period. During 2006-07 the Board received 7,034 applications (for material to be classified) and of these, 6,939 were finalised.[4] This represented a 29% decrease in the number of applications received compared to 2005-06.[5] The Board advised that this significant decrease was a result of numerous factors including changes in the way applications for "multiple devices" were handled.[6] Of interest to the committee was the rise in applications for the classification of computer games. These increased 17.78% to 894 for 2006-07 compared to 759 in 2005-06.[7]

2.5        The committee notes that the Board has had considerable success in achieving its performance targets. During the reporting period the Board made 6,097 decisions about commercial films, computer games, publications and advertising approvals.[8] Of these, 6,087 (99.84%) were made within the service target of 20 business days.[9]

2.6        The committee considers the annual report of the Classification Board to be apparently satisfactory.

 

Family Court of Australia

2.7        The committee examined in detail the performance data provided by the Family Court of Australia (the Court).[10] The committee was concerned to read that the Court fell well short of a number of its performance targets[11] for the reporting period and has highlighted some particular areas of concern below.

Mediated Agreements[12]

2.8        The Court provided detailed statistics on the percentage of its Final Orders Cases resolved through mediated agreement. The committee was disappointed to read that the percentage of cases resolved by mediated agreements has decreased steadily from 69% in 2003-04 to 57% in 2006-07.[13] This compares to the Court's performance target of 75%.[14]

Applications in a Case[15]

2.9        The Court reported that in 2006-07 it finalised 63% of Applications in a Case within three months which compares to the Court's target of 90%. The court cited several factors influencing the Court's performance in this area:

Reductions in senior registrars and judicial registrars have meant much of this work has to be done by judges. Increasing complexity reduces likelihood of settlement and frequently these issues are not dealt with until the substantive Final Orders case reaches trial. These factors are all having an impact on the Court's capacity to meet the target.[16]

2.10      The Court did however further reduce the backlog of Applications in a Case, finalising more applications than were received during the reporting period.[17] Over the past four years, the Court has consistently achieved a clearance rate in excess of 100 per cent each year.[18]

Changes in Family Law

2.11       The Court reported that significant changes to the family law system have changed both the volume and nature of cases before it.[19] The Court cited several examples of these changes including[20]:

• the establishment of Family Relationship Centres;
  
  
• the establishment of the Federal Magistrates Court; and
  
  
• the commencement of the Family Court's Less Adversarial Trial designed to make disputes involving children less adversarial.

2.12      These changes have resulted in the less complex cases either being resolved by agreement in Family Relationship Centres (FRC) or being dealt with by the Federal Magistrates Court. The Court reported that the volume of cases coming into the court is reducing, but that these represent the more complex of family law disputes. The Court reported that its role must evolve in response to these initiatives:

The Family Court must therefore re-examine its role, and focus on its primary responsibility which is to determine the more complex family law disputes by judicial decision. With the advent of FRCs and compulsory dispute resolution before filing, there will inevitably be less emphasis on dispute resolution services within the Court[21]

Committee View

2.13      The committee is concerned that the Court has been unable to meet its performance targets. The committee notes that the issue of the adequacy of resourcing for this Court has been raised previously at Estimates hearings and in the context of the committee's recent inquiry into the Inquiry into the Family Law Amendment (De Facto Financial Matters and Other Measures) Bill 2008. The committee further notes that a review of the Family Court and Federal Magistrates Court is currently underway.

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