Appendix 11 - Senior Executive Service
Anet, Peter
Deputy Crown Solicitor, BA, LLB
Andrews, Peter
Director, Financial Services Branch,
B Fin. Admin. MBA
Baker, Lyn
Director, Local Courts, BA, MBA
Cox, Russell
Director, Finance and Strategic Services,
B Com.
Flett, Barbara
Director, Reporting Services Branch,
BA(Hons), MBA
Gabb, Ken
Practice Manager, Crown Solicitor’s Office, LLB
Glanfield, Laurie
Director General, BA, LLB(Hons)
Grant, Bill
Deputy Director General, LLB
Hennessy, Peter
Executive Director, Law Reform Commission, LIB, (WA), B Ec. (ANU)
Homel, Peter
Director, Crime Prevention Division,
BA(Hons) (Psychology), MA (Latin American Studies)
Inga, Giulia
Principal Courts Administrator, Compensation Court, BA, LLB
Johnston, Nerida
Chief Executive Officer, Supreme Court
LLB
Kaban, Lida
Director, Community Relations Division,
Dip. Law (BAB)
Knight, Ian
Crown Solicitor, BA, LLB
Le Breton, John
Director, Office of the Public Guardian
Mark, Steve
Legal Services Commissioner, LLB
O’Toole, Philip
Director, Estate Management, Office of the Protective Commissioner and Public Guardian
Porter, Brian
Protective Commissioner and Public Guardian,
Dip. Law (BAB)
Puplick, Chris
President Anti-Discrimination Board
BA(Hons), MA
Robertson, Brian
Director State Debt Recovery Office,
B Com.
Robertson, Gregory
Principal Courts Administrator/Industrial Registrar, Industrial Relations Commission, LLM
Ruse, Paul
Regional Coordinator, Northern Region, Local Courts, LLB
Ryan, Peter
Deputy Director, Local Courts,
Dip. Law (BAB)
Stacey, Trevor
Registrar, Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
Tangney, Maureen
Director Legislation and Policy, BA, LLB
Vernon, Claire
Director, Victims Services,
B Social Work
Weatherburn, Don
Director, Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, BA(Hons) (Psychology), PHD
Wotton, Claude
Principal Courts Administrator, District Court
Statement of Performance
Laurie Glanfield
Director General
SES Level 7
Over the course of the year, the Director General has placed a strong emphasis on fostering a culture of effective leadership across the Department. During November, senior managers participated in a Leadership Conference which aimed to address some key organisational issues identified in the latest round of the Guided Self Assessment (GSA). In order to extend the benefits of these forums, two leadership conferences for other managers in the organisation are being held in August and October 1999.
Work has continued on improving strategic alignment at all levels of the organisation through the implementation of an integrated planning framework. This has included the review of the Corporate Plan in consultation with staff, the development of a performance planning system and the ongoing development and implementation of business plans for each business unit.
Energy has also been focussed on improving internal communication throughout the organisation. Business units in the Department are currently undertaking communication audits and the development of the intranet is now almost complete. These initiatives will substantially improve both the flow of information across the Department and access to general information.
The Department’s commitment to implementing the Quality Program has continued to grow. Over 300 staff participated in the Department’s second round of the GSA during October 1998. The results of the GSA demonstrate a marked improvement in the areas of leadership, strategy and planning, information and analysis, people management, customer focus, quality and organisational performance.
One of the key areas identified for improvement was data collection. A major review of the Department’s data collection has begun, with the majority of business units expected to have data improvement plans developed by December 1999.
A number of quality teams are currently underway looking at a range of issues for the organisation. This year a total of 180 staff have participated in quality teams, with 80 per cent of team recommendations to date implemented. Strategic quality teams, which include magistrates and representatives from external agencies, have reviewed court processes.
Improved service delivery has been achieved through the Department’s web site which now provides a central access point for the people of NSW to legal resources and services from across the NSW Government. The site contains over 15,000 pages of information. Since the launch of LawLink NSW in mid June 1998, the total number of pages viewed has more than tripled (152, 238 pages viewed in July 1998 has grown to 596, 135 in June 1999).
CaseLaw NSW has been launched on the Department’s web site providing a judicial and legal research tool for staff, the legal profession and the community. Immediate access to decisions of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, Court of Criminal Appeal, Land and Environment Court and the Administrative Decisions Tribunal is now available.
The new Administrative Decisions Tribunal (ADT) commenced operation in October 1998. The ADT plays a key role in promoting high quality decision-making in the provision of government services and programs. The Tribunal provides a way for people to obtain review of administrative decisions and have certain general complaints, such as discrimination and professional misconduct, resolved.
The Drug Court was established under the Drug Court Act (1998), at Parramatta Court in February1999. This new initiative aims to break the cycle of drug addiction and criminal activity in which many substance-abusing offenders become involved. The Drug Court receives referrals from Local and District Courts in Western Sydney and is responsible for assessing the suitability of the referrals and admitting offenders into the program, as well as monitoring the progress of participants.
Law reform in a number of other areas has been achieved during the year. These include:
- Victims Compensation Amendment Act (1998), which allows for psychological injuries to be recognised for compensation and prevents offenders avoiding restitution;
- Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act (1998), which provides protection of personal information held by public sector agencies and privacy of individuals in general;
- Evidence (Audio and Audio Visual Links) Act (1998), which facilitates the giving and taking of evidence and submissions by video-link between NSW and other States and Territories; and
- Property (Relationships) Legislation Amendment Act (1999), gives people in same sex relationships and close personal relationships statutory rights concerning property redistribution and maintenance on relationship breakdown. It also reforms the law to ensure that same sex partners are not discriminated against in the operation of laws relating to the incapacity or death of a partner.
Significant progress has been made on the development of electronic courtrooms. Video link facilities are now available in two courtrooms of the Compensation Court and Dust Diseases Tribunal. Electronic courtrooms are expected to be fully operational in the District and Supreme Courts in late 1999.
The phased roll-out of Information Technology infrastructure to selected courts and court service locations has also continued. There has been a substantial upgrade of the computer support provided to judges of the District Court, as well as judges and commissioners of the Industrial Relations Commission.
The Director General has driven the successful implementation of the YEAR 2000 Remediation Program for the Department, with all key systems on track to be YEAR 2000 compliant by October 1999. He has also worked on the Chief Executive Officer’s YEAR 2000 Taskforce to oversee the implementation of remediation plans for all government agencies.
As part of the overall drive to improve the operation of the justice system, the Director General has focussed on:
- Decreasing delays and backlogs in NSW courts;
- Increasing accountability for the way in which justice is administered; and
- Providing quality-driven, integrated court services.
The District Court has improved hearing date certainty through the assignment of a criminal listing judge in the Downing Centre and the application of sound case management principles. The District Court has also finalised 2,500 of the 3,000 cases transferred from the Supreme Court during 1997/98.
Reductions in delays in criminal trials have been achieved in the Supreme Court through diversion of judicial sitting time from civil to criminal cases. Additional funding for judicial resources has allowed a decrease of eight per cent in time from commencement to hearing for most standard appeals in the Court of Appeal.
There has also been a strategic focus on maintaining and upgrading court facilities to improve access and services for all clients. Work on Waverley and Campbelltown Courts was completed in early 1999. Major maintenance and improvement work was also undertaken in other courts across the State. Construction of the new courthouse at Toronto is well underway and a major extension to court facilities at Bega has commenced.
Other highlights include the development of conservation plans for six of the State’s most valuable heritage courts and provision of parking facilities for people with disabilities at over 110 courts across the State.
Overall, the Department finished the year in a sound financial position, in accordance with expected results. The Review of Corporate Services has begun to deliver cost savings and even greater gains are expected during 1999/2000 with the identification of major improvements for corporate processes.
In the year ahead the Director General will continue to drive initiatives which build on these achievements and deliver further improvements in service delivery for the people of NSW.
Statement of Performance
Ian Knight
Crown Solicitor
SES Level 6
The Crown Solicitor’s Office (CSO) continued its successful commercial operation during the year achieving an operating surplus of approximately $2.848m and will again return a dividend to NSW Treasury.
The Crown Solicitor sought and obtained approval to recruit 4 solicitor advocates to provide advocacy services for clients. This followed a successful pilot scheme involving a solicitor advocate for the Community Law and Administrative Law Practice Groups and a solicitor advocate for the Criminal Law and Tort Law Practice Groups.
The Crown Solicitor continued to edit the CSO Client Newsletter which provides information to Ministers, CEOs and other clients about current legal developments. The newsletter not only summarises recent legal developments, it addresses the implications for the public sector and draws attention to any future conduct which may be necessary. The newsletter is receiving favourable comment and support.
In December 1998 the Attorney General approved the implementation of the CSO’s IT Plan for 1998-2000 involving the expenditure of approximately $1.2m on upgrade of IT infrastructure, records management and internet/intranet technology.
The Crown Solicitor supported the organisation by staff of the annual staff conference at the Quarantine Station on 7-8 May 1999. For the first time a staff committee organised the conference and set the agenda. The conference was highly successful with many of the recommendations implemented or in the process of being implemented.
The Crown Solicitor chaired the legal working party advising the Y2K Task Force.
The Crown Solicitor attended the annual meeting of Australian Crown Solicitors in Wellington, New Zealand.
The Crown Solicitor was a member of the State’s negotiating team which achieved a successful settlement in Singapore of perhaps the biggest commercial litigation in Australia involving BT Australia, the State and Telstra.
Numerous legal opinions were prepared or supervised by the Crown Solicitor during the year relating to the Executive, the Parliament and the Judiciary. Opinions related to such diverse matters as the power of the Legislative Council to call for State papers, contamination of Sydney’s water, appropriation and audit, the Republic, Y2K, the Legislative Council ballot paper, the reorganisation of Supreme Court and apology to Joern Utzon.
In the absence of the Solicitor General and the Crown Advocate, the Crown Solicitor advised on notices of applications for warrants for listening devices under the Listening Devices Act 1984.
Statement of Performance
Brian Porter
Protective Commissioner and Public Guardian
SES Level 5
The Office continued to lay strong foundations for the future, balancing the need to devote its major resources to direct client service with the need to trial and implement new business processes. Those processes are designed to improve client service, promote operational efficiency and increase transparency in decision making.
The Protective Commissioner continued the drive towards ensuring that the client is always the centre of focus of decision-making. The challenge of ensuring that this focus is not diminished in an expanding organization was met by establishing multifunctional teams of Estate Managers, Legal Officers and Specialist Disability Advisers with other advisers in areas such as Taxation and Property Services being available as required. Client focus is maintained through the Estate Manager reflecting the clients’ needs and wishes in all decisions taken and by allowing decisions to be taken close to the point of client contact through extensive delegation of authority.
Two surveys were conducted during the year to better inform the Protective Commissioner. The first was a survey of clients, which used a qualitative survey technique appropriate to the client population. This survey has established priority areas for the development of a continuous improvement programme. It has also provided baseline data to measure change in client satisfaction following improvements made in service delivery mechanisms adopted now and in the future.
The second survey was of the staff, which has confirmed the difficulties faced by staff when coping with change. This survey underscored the need for better communication, a need reflected in the development of a comprehensive internal communication strategy.
A major challenge for the Protective Commissioner during the year has been the need and opportunity to align the investment of the Common Fund with the “Prudent Person” approach to investment now encapsulated in the Trustee Act. This has involved the recruitment of specialist staff and the gradual repositioning of the Fund in anticipation of amending legislation being passed to allow the operation of multiple common funds.
The Protective Commissioner is also the Public Guardian and in that role major achievements have included the development by a representative group of OPG staff of a set of Draft Guardianship Standards (strong interest in these standards is being shown by other jurisdictions in Australia and the National Guardianship Association of USA); a comprehensive report on issues relating to the service and support needs of people with traumatic brain injury has been prepared by OPG in conjunction with external stakeholders; a report on issues surrounding the sexual assault of people with disabilities and who are under the guardianship of the Public Guardian has been researched and prepared; regional community education plans were developed and 44 presentations delivered; an education package was developed as part of ongoing support for private guardians.