A new service hub at the Magistrates' Court of Victoria (MCV) has helped to cut the pending criminal case load by half, from 116,000 to 64,500.
The MCV Service Centre is a central contact point for court users, including unrepresented litigants. It provides information about court processes, refers court users to services, and initiates criminal jurisdiction cases.
The centre has also helped to reduce the number of cases that have been pending for more than 24 months, from 10.4 per cent to 8.3 per cent.
Head of the Criminal Division Magistrate Donna Bakos says the MCV Service Centre has revolutionised the way the court operates.
"Highly trained staff take inquiries and make referrals. They provide informed information to people. They answer phone calls, removing pressure on individual courts. They have access to all necessary information they could possibly have," Magistrate Bakos says.
"We want people to have pre-court engagement. We want people to be empowered with knowledge about what they can do about their case when they are not represented. It is all the work people can do before they enter the court building."
"It has revolutionised the way the Court operates. It is consistent with our goal of having one statewide practice for all our procedures in all matters, and with our strategic plan to be one MCV. That’s our motto. They’re not just words – we practise it.”
The MCV Service Centre won the Citizen-Centred Service Design Award in the national Institute of Public Administration Australia Public Sector Awards in June.
To read more about the MCV Service Centre, see the August edition of the Law Institute Journal.
Feature photo: Magistrate Donna Bakos via the LIJ.