CSV Annual Report 2017-18 Released

19 December 2018

The Court Services Victoria Annual Report 2017-18 was released today.

In its fourth year of operations, CSV farewelled former Chief Justice the Honourable Marilyn Warren AC and welcomed The Honourable Anne Ferguson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, as the new Chair of the Courts Council

In Her Honour's opening message of the report, Chief Justice Ferguson said, "The Court Services Victoria Act 2014 established CSV as an independent statutory body corporate to provide services and facilities to Victoria's courts, Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, the Judicial College of Victoria and the Judicial Commission of Victoria."

"At the heart of this change is a commitment to improve how justice is delivered, and in doing so, serve our community. All of Victoria's courts and the tribunal make an equally important contribution to the justice system."

"Accessibility, equality before the law and a fair hearing underpin the work of the courts and tribunal. Those enduring values and principles drive what we do and how we do it. At the same time, we must also ensure that the processes and procedures that support them evolve with the changing needs of our community. The support received by the jurisdictions from CSV is critical in this regard."

This year saw the delivery of notable achievements to support the courts and tribunal.

• The opening of the five-level Shepparton Law Courts in April 2018, was the first major asset project completed by CSV, and the state of the art building sets the standard for future regional buildings.
• The new Courts Koori Portfolio Committee was established in July 2017. Chaired by the Honourable Justice Stephen Kaye AM and with strong representation from each jurisdiction, the Judicial College and Koori staff, Koori Court Elders and the Victorian Koori community, the Committee's core role is to enable CSV to discharge its role in delivering justice to Indigenous Victorians.
• An essential need of the courts and tribunal is up-to-date and modern technology. 2017-18 saw the commencement of full transition of CSV systems to a new, cloud-based platform that will deliver improved IT services and support, and underpin further development of independent IT capacity and capability for CSV.
• The program to upgrade safety and security across Victorian court buildings continued through the year. Fifteen courts received priority asset upgrades, and a new and expanded contract was implemented with G4S Integrated Services to deploy Courts Security Officers at 40 Victorian courts and tribunals.
• The 2017-18 State Budget allocated around $250 million to address recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence that relate to Victoria's courts. Staff of CSV supported the Magistrates' Court and Children's Court to commence this major program of works that will result in five specialist family violence courts being established, as well as enhanced services across many court locations.
• CSV is also undertaking a major project to deliver a modern case management system (CMS) for the Magistrates' Court and Children's Court. The project team completed the Initiation Phase in March 2018 and has since moved into the Procurement Phase.
• The Victorian Government provided nearly $5 million to fund safety and security improvements to Echuca Court, and $20 million for land acquisition for future court developments in Bendigo and Wyndham. These new projects add to our increasing portfolio of works. CSV will continue to build its capabilities and systems to deliver modern fit-for-purpose courts.

The CSV Annual Report 2017-18 is available for download on this website.