In response to the recommendations of the Protecting Victoria's Vulnerable Children report in 2012, the Children's Court of Victoria has pursued ADR reform to resolve complex child protection disputes with the objective of promoting improved outcomes for children and families and reducing the length of the court process in Family Division matters.

The Children Youth and Families Act 2005 governs the operation of conciliation conferences in the Children's Court of Victoria and provides that the Family Division of the Children's Court may order any protection application made to the Family Division be referred for Conciliation Conference. A conciliation conference is an exercise in negotiation and joint problem solving: it establishes a process that enables parties in child protection applications to meet together in an informal environment facilitated by an independent convenor to discuss the action that should be taken in the best interests of the child. This model of ADR has been shown to be effective in assisting parties to resolve disputed protection matters.

There is now an opportunity for an experienced individual to join the Children's Court as a Conference Registrar for a fixed term 12 month role.

The position is responsible for assisting with the efficient administration of the Children's Court as well as conducting conferences as required by the President of the Children's Court. Major elements of the role will be to contribute effectively to case flow and listing functions and to monitor and interpret relevant legislation, procedures and guidelines.

The position will operate within a demanding and sensitive environment and require knowledge and/or experience in child protection and family violence. Therefore your sound judgement and decisiveness together with your exceptional communication, interpesonal, negotiation and problem solving skills will be crucial to your success.

This role requires an excellent working knowledge of Court protocols and procedures and significant experience in a complex judicial environment with competing demands. Qualifications in law, social work, psychology or alternate dispute resolution is desirable.

This position does require some travel to regional Victoria from time to time, including the requirement to stay overnight if necessary.

The successful candidate must be an accredited mediation practitioner (in accordance with the National Mediator Accreditation system) before they can conduct conferences. This training and accreditation can be facilitated by the Court and will include an initial induction period of on the job training with the Conference Unit.

How to Apply:

Applicants are encouraged to apply online, outlining professional skills, knowledge and personal qualities.  Applications should include:

1) resume       

2) a short covering letter and

3) completed application form (see file attachment).

You are only required to address the Key Selection Criteria listed in the Application Form. Individual responses to "key selection criteria" listed on the Position Description are not required. Attachments can be uploaded in either Microsoft Word or PDF format.

Applicants should view the full position description attached to this advertisement before applying. 

For all enquiries regarding this position, please contact Angela Carney on (03) 9993 4981.

Applications close Sunday 22 April 2018