In Brief Issue #1040

This week, the first training session for the Bar’s Peer Support Barristers was successfully completed by nine of our members.

Peer Support Barristers are barristers who have volunteered to be contacted by, and who have been trained to provide support and advice to, those who have experiences, or observe,  discrimination, sexual harassment and/or workplace bullying.

Please see here for the list of Peer Support Barristers.

The Victorian Bar’s Indigenous Justice Committee congratulates one of its law clerks, Mr Werner Dittrich, for being awarded the Moondani Balluk Outstanding Indigenous Student award by Victoria University’s College of Law and Justice.

Werner is a Muruwari man, whose traditional country is in north-western NSW and southern Queensland and who was born in Innisfail in north Queensland. Werner is in his third year of a Bachelor of Laws at Victoria University. His particular interests are constitutional law and criminal law.

Moondani Balluk is a culturally safe and supportive place for Aboriginal students and staff at Victoria University. Moondani Balluk means ‘embrace people’ in the Woiwurrung language of the Wurundjeri people. The award Mr Dittrich received is for an outstanding Indigenous student in the Moondani Balluk program.

Now in its 13^th year, the Victorian Bar Indigenous clerkship provides an opportunity for Indigenous law students to undertake paid work experience, with a placement at each of the Federal, County and Supreme Courts and a week spent ‘at the Bar’ with a Barrister. More information about the clerkship program can be found here.

The Victorian Bar Council is delighted to invite members of the Bar and Bench to the Victorian Bar End of Year Drinks at 5:00-6:30pm Friday, 17 December 2021 in the Peter O’Callaghan QC Gallery.

RSVP by Tuesday, 14 December 2021. Members will have received an email invitation including the RSVP link.

The Victorian Bar office and Victorian Bar Mediation Centre will close for the Christmas-New Year holidays at 5:00pm on Thursday, 23 December 2021. The Bar office and Mediation Centre will reopen at 9:00am on Monday, 10 January 2022.

We wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday season.

The following services for the 2022 Opening of the Legal Year will be taking place:

Friday, 28 January 2022

• Synagogue Service

9:00am at the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, 488 Albert Street, East Melbourne. Counsel are asked to robe (but not wig).

Monday, 31 January 2022

• Eastern Orthodox Service

9:00am at St Eustathios Greek Orthodox Church, 221 Dorcas Street, South Melbourne. A collaborative service involving the Greek, Antiochian, Russian, Serbian and Romanian Orthodox Churches followed by morning tea. Judges and counsel robe. Assemble at 8:45am for the procession. For more details, click here.

• Red Mass

9:00am at St Patrick’s Cathedral, East Melbourne. Subject to Covid-19 restrictions, His Grace, Archbishop Peter Comensoli will host morning tea after the mass in the presbytery grounds adjacent to the cathedral. RSVP to lisa@mcfarlanelegal.com.au or 9602 5440 for the morning tea by 14 January 2022. Judges and counsel: robe and medals are worn. For more details, click here.

• Ecumenical service

9:30am at St Paul’s Cathedral, Flinders St Melbourne. A Choral Morning Prayer service will be led by the Dean of Melbourne, the Very Revd Dr Andreas Loewe. The preacher will be the Master of Catholic Theological College, the Very Revd Dr Kevin Lenehan, STL, STD, PhD. Members of the Legal Profession are invited to process and robe.

Tuesday, 1 February 2022

• International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) community opening

9:00am at Waldron Hall, County Court of Victoria.

Wednesday, 2 February 2022

• Virtual Legal Laneway Breakfast 2022

8:00am online and is open to all members of the legal community. Speakers at the event include Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes MP and Victorian Legal Services Board CEO, Commissioner Fiona McLeay and Socceroo, human rights activist and recent law graduate Craig Foster AM. Click here to register.  

Thursday, 3 February 2022

• Geelong Community Opening of the Legal Year

9:00am online and will be hosted by the Honourable Justice Michelle Quigley.

The 2022 Victorian Bar Dinner will be held at the Plaza Ballroom on Friday, 27 May 2022. Be sure to keep the date free in your diary.

The Open Justice Project will take a break between 17 December 2021 and 14 February 2022. Requests for assistance can still be sent through via the online form during that period, and the barrister allocated a student upon return of the project.

As we have throughout the pandemic, Barristers’ Chambers Limited and The Victorian Bar remain focused on safeguarding the health, safety and wellbeing of the Bar, our people, our contractors and the community.

All buildings and a large proportion of individual floors remain on restricted access as we have done throughout lockdowns.  As we come out of restrictions and are living with the virus it is important to continue to reiterate the importance of us all (barristers, clerks, all occupants, BCL employees, contractors and public visitors) having responsibility in doing their part.

One small part of this is to ensure we are minimising the spread of COVID-19 as we increasingly return to chambers. Whilst most buildings and floors are already restricted and group representatives have been informed, effective Monday, 11 October swipe cards are again required until further notice. This includes all BCL buildings (including Owen Dixon Chambers East and West), lift lobbies, and individual floors (if this arrangement is not already in place). 

Please refer to Staying COVIDSafe at BCL for all information, communications, helpful links to COVID safe plans and restrictions as they happen, and what we all need to do.

STUDIO 11 – Always worth a Look! Level 11, Owen Dixon Chamber East. Come on down when you can. The cCORDA Exhibition featuring 75 collaborative works by Michelangelo Russo and Jennifer Jabu is now installed for your viewing pleasure. If you love beautiful things, colour, texture, shape and groove, you will get a return on your investment. Three-dimensional works, framed and stand-alone, in various colours and sizes with prices ranging from $4000 - $250 are available for sale, with all proceeds going directly to the artists. The body of work and each piece is accomplished, complex, evocative and generous. Works sheets (with lots of Italian references) and statements are available on Level 11 East. For enquiries contact lauracolla@vicbar.com.au

Victorian Bar members are encouraged to use the Member Benefits online portal, where you can access a wide variety of discounts, special offers, and member-only deals as part of your Bar membership.

The exclusive benefits are available Australia-wide and are not generally open to the public.

To activate your account and access the benefits, please click here. You must log in using your vicbar.com.au login details.

Click here for the monthly best buys!

The Supreme Court of Victoria issued a Notice to the Profession outlining changes to in person hearings.

It is no longer necessary to make applications for in person hearings in any matter before the Court. The Court will operate on a series of default positions and exceptions set out in the Notice.

Additionally, the Court has published an update on operational changes in line with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. Criminal jury trials have resumed as a priority, courtroom arrangements have returned to normal and the number of trials able to be run concurrently has increased.

For up-to-date information about the Courts’ responses, please visit their websites:

• Federal Court of Australia – see here.
• Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia – see here.
• Supreme Court of Victoria – see here.
• County Court of Victoria – see here.
• Magistrates’ Court of Victoria – see here.

Update to the profession: court forms

Grace period for forms ended

The three month grace period provided for filing old Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court of Australia forms, after the commencement of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) on 1 September 2021, has ended.

From Monday 29 November 2021 only the new, approved FCFCOA versions of court forms can be filed.

All FCFCOA forms are available from the website - www.fcfcoa.gov.au:

• Family law forms
• General federal law forms
• Migration forms

Work has continued to improve the new forms since they were first published, including minor amendments and corrections.

We always recommend accessing forms directly from the website, to ensure you are using the most up-to-date version.

Documents to be filed to initiate family law proceedings

The FCFCOA is currently considering the number of documents to be filed when initiating family law proceedings, balancing the need for judicial officers to have relevant details about the issues in dispute, including risk and safety concerns, with the overarching purpose of conducting family law proceedings as quickly, inexpensively and efficiently as possible.

The Court will provide further updates in this regard in due course.

Please note you are required to comply with pre-action procedures before you initiate Court proceedings. For more information about the Court’s expectations, pre-action procedures and dispute resolution, see the Court’s website.

This update is also available from the Court’s website:

Update to the profession: court forms | Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (fcfcoa.gov.au)

Lighthouse Project Monthly Update - November 2021

Please click here for the November 2021 edition of the Lighthouse Project newsletter.

This edition centres on the Lighthouse Project Evatt List and includes a Q & A with Evatt List Senior Judicial Registrars and Judicial Registrars. This will be the final newsletter for 2021 and contains information regarding Lighthouse Project operations over the Christmas/New Year period.

The Lighthouse Project Update newsletter will be recommencing in February 2022 and the Project looks forward to communicating all important updates, changes and developments in 2022.

If you have any feedback or questions on the project they can be sent via email to – LighthouseProject@fcfcoa.gov.au

Dear Practitioners

As you may be aware the CISP Pilot at the County Court of Victoria went live on 11 January 2021.

Please see below information concerning CISP operations for your attention:

CISP Assessment Timeframes:

Please be advised that with the last Court sitting date (17 December 2021) and Christmas period approaching, CISP will have very limited operations during the Court’s non-sitting period (17 December 2021 to 17 January 2022).

In those circumstances, CISP will be conducting assessments from Monday, 10 January 2022 and the indicative turnaround period for the CISP report is one week from the date of assessment.

We kindly request that the matters seeking a CISP component be listed to a date from the week commencing Monday, 24 January 2022 which will allow the CISP assessment and report process to take place for eligible persons.

CISP Pilot Participants:

All CISP staff will be unavailable from Friday, 24 December 2021 with administration staff returning Tuesday, 4 January 2022.

CISP operations such as case management for accepted participants only will recommence in the week commencing 10 January 2022.

Unfortunately, CISP are unable to provide crisis support during the closure period. However, as required accepted participants will be provided with details of services to contact over the Christmas period.

General:

For completeness, please see below general information with respect to the CISP Pilot at the County Court for your perusal.

Eligibility

Referred persons are assessed for risk of re-offending and provided clear information about how CISP can support their needs and access to treatment. The assessment process is designed to meet the needs of both the participant and the Court. In order to be eligible for CISP, referred persons must:

• not currently be sentenced to a parole or community corrections order
• be eligible for bail or a relevant deferral of sentencing
• have substantive matters committed to the Melbourne County Court
• reside, or intend to reside, in the greater Melbourne metropolitan catchment
• consent to be involved with CISP
• be experiencing one or more of the following:
  • mental health issues
  • disability, acquired brain injury or cognitive impairment
  • substance dependence or otherwise harmful use
  • family violence
  • inadequate social, family and economic support that contributes to the frequency or severity of their offending
  • homelessness
  • other relevant clinical support needs.

Exclusions

People accused of sex offences are ineligible for County Court CISP.
If a person's support needs are so significant that they may reasonably be unable to comply with the program requirements, then a recommendation is made to the Court around the most appropriate treatment and support pathway.

Referrer Guide
A copy of our new referrer guide can be accessed via our website here.

The document outlines elements of the CISP Pilot for people who are self-referring or referring another person to the program. This includes requirements for accessing the program, reports, pathways for referrals, review hearings, and program staff.

General Overview of CISP process

1. Eligibility triage
   A brief check of the referral information against eligibility criteria is conducted by CISP staff. Anyone considering making a referral is encouraged to contact us for an eligibility triage at the earliest opportunity.
2. CISP Assessment
   An assessment is scheduled for eligible persons and that arrangement is communicated to the Court and to defence by email from the CCV CISP inbox.
3. CISP Suitability Report
   The assessment is conducted by CISP staff and a report on the suitability of the referred person for the program is written by the assessing CISP staff member. The indicative turnaround period of the CISP report is one week from the date of assessment. That report is made available to all parties by email via CCV CISP inbox. The Court expects these reports to be submitted 24 hours prior to the next Court hearing.
4. Acceptance onto CISP Pilot
   A decision is made by the Judge at the next Court hearing to offer, postpone offering, or decline the referred person entry into the CISP program.
5. CISP Review Hearings
   Where the referred person takes up an offer to engage the CISP program, the presiding Judicial Officer will take carriage of ongoing CISP review hearings and determine the frequency of those hearings. These generally occur monthly. CISP case management commences from this point onwards.

Associates take carriage of ongoing communication and notices of listings to all parties.

How a referral can be made:

• Legal Practitioners: wishing to make a referral to CCV CISP must submit a CISP referral form together with all supporting documentation via the County Court of Victoria eLodgment Platform here.
  Important note: all documents must be filed under “CCV CISP Application Form" and “ CCV CISP Supporting Documents”
• For self-referrals: please contact: CCVCISP@courts.vic.gov.au or (03) 8636 6820

Examples of CISP supporting documents we require are as follows:

• Priors, summaries and charges (including any interstate police records if applicable).
• LEAP records.
• Police Informant details.
• Document relating to Mental Health e.g. psychiatric reports or assessments (if relevant).
• Copies of current Intervention Orders.

Examples of useful information to include in the CISP referral form:

• Client’s intended bail address; and
• Details about why this referral has been made
  For example:
  • Does the individual have any formal supports currently in place (i.e. mental health, AOD, NDIS, DHHS Disability Justice, family). Please list contact details.
  • Has the individual ever been charged with sex offences?
  • Does the individual have any sex offence charges pending?
  • Are there any concerns related to individual, worker, or community safety? Please explain.

A copy of our CISP referral form can be found via our website here.

We are very pleased to announce the release of our report: Smarter Data: The use and utility of administrative data in Victorian Courts and Tribunals.

This is the second in our Data Mapping Project, which maps and analyses the administrative data in three areas: legal assistance, courts, and tribunals, and dispute resolution bodies.

The aim is to examine the use and utility of administrative data in the civil justice system, a foundational step in understanding its availability, suitability, and utility in answering access to justice questions.

Our findings in this report show that administrative data in Victorian courts and tribunals are used for many important operational purposes, however, less is known about the people involved in civil matters and their experience.

Routine collection of additional data would make it easier to see the people who use courts and tribunals, making the data smarter and offering operational and access to justice insights.

The report is available for download here.