Joanne Stampalia, a director in the Court and Tribunal Services division of the WA Attorney-General's Department Source: The Australian
COURTS can be overwhelming places for the uninitiated, particularly when one is caught up in extraordinary events, such as being the victim of, or witness to, a crime.
So having someone to walk beside you can make a big difference, whether that person is a victim support worker or simply the customer service officer behind the counter who provides advice on court practices and procedures.
"We help people navigate their way through the court system," explains Joanne Stampalia, director of strategic business development within the Court and Tribunal Services division of Western Australia's Department of the Attorney-General.
The division administers more than 123 court locations across the state.
Presently advertising several vacancies, the division is responsible for managing tribunals and boards, the Sheriff's Office and the Fines Enforcement Registry, as well as providing services to victims of crime.
For example, the Family Violence Service is seeking someone to help provide services to victims of family violence and case management services to the Joondalup Family Violence Court.
The successful applicant will have well-developed case management skills and knowledge of the dynamics of family violence, and be able to provide crisis support and interventions to victims of family violence.
Sounds daunting, but this role, and others within the division, tend to attract people who are driven by the desire to make a difference, Stampalia says.
"As in other areas within the public sector, it is difficult to reward people in a financial way," she adds.
"But employees seem to thrive on the fact that every day is different and the rewards are really about the difference they make to customers and clients."
The vacancies have come about due to a range of factors, including staff promotions, periods of parental leave and, in the case of two Coroner's Office positions, increased demand for services.
"The Coroner's Office has received some extra salary funding to provide additional temporary staff to reduce the number of outstanding matters," Stampalia explains.
For example, in addition to the 12-month counsel assisting appointment (see left), designed to help the coroners with the preparation, management and conduct of inquest hearings, a senior coronial counsellor is sought to ensure the delivery of high quality services to families coming into contact with the Office of the State Coroner.
The successful applicant will be involved in co-ordinating the disaster victim identification counselling response for WA in the event of a mass fatality incident in Australia or overseas if it involves WA residents.
Undertaking clinical counselling duties associated with the work of the Coroner's Office and providing education and training on sudden death and trauma issues to relevant government and non-government agencies will be other key responsibilities of the role.
Employees working within Court and Tribunal Services enjoy access to flexible working conditions and the ability to work in different areas of the state. Stampalia says staff, particularly those working in regional areas, need to be able to deal with a broad range of matters over the course of a day, from criminal or children's court through to fine enforcement and applications for birth, death or marriage certificates.
"It can be hard to attract people to the regions, because we have to compete with the mining sector," she says.
Finding people with the right ethos is also not always easy.
"Something that's really important for us is to have people with an interest in customer service, and that's not just for customer service officers, because each role has a customer service element to it," she says.
"We're here to serve the community of Western Australia."
Stampalia adds that people also need to be comfortable performing different functions.
"We welcome people who are open to challenging the way we do things and proposing new ways of doing them," she says. As in the case of many other workplaces, the division is finding it a challenge to cater to the strengths of different generations.
"People tend not to stay in their jobs for as long [as they once did] and that presents issues when a job relies on a lot of corporate knowledge," says Stampalia.
Departmental goals for the future include expanding the capacity and commitment to modernised justice.
"A focus for the next three years is providing West Australian courts with a single integrated courts management system across all jurisdictions," Stampalia points out.
"The change will also introduce other benefits to the courts, such as reduced data entry and the automatic production of some forms.
"There is also scope to further streamline a range of other processes for the courts in the future as the case management system is developed."
* * *
COUNSEL ASSISTING
Where: Perth CBD
Salary: $113,684 to $134,825
Closing: July 25
Contact: Gary Cooper, (08) 9425 2900
CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICER
Where: Armadale Magistrates Court
Salary: $48,730 to $52,916
Closing: August 1
Contact: Sue Wilde, (08) 9399 0704
VICTIM SUPPORT WORKER
Where: Joondalup Courthouse
Salary: $75,392 to $83,322
Closing: August 1
Contact: Lynne Ridgeway, (08) 942
