FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
ANNUAL REPORT 1999 - 2000
Appendix 6: Workload Statistics
Introduction
The statistics in this appendix provide comparative historical information in relation to the work of the Court, in particular, comparative statistics concerning aspects of the Court’s jurisdiction.
It should be noted that, in this report, the figures reported may be marginally different from figures reported in previous years. The variations have occurred through refinements or enhancements to the Court’s FEDCAMS database which necessitated the checking or verification and possible variation of data previously entered, and secondly, from random audits of earlier data.
It should also be noted that Bankruptcy Act matters, consisting of creditors petitions and other related applications have been included in Table 6.1 and Figures 6.1 to 6.4a and 6.10 as part of the Court’s general statistics. Bankruptcy matters have been recorded in the FEDCAMS database since 16 December 1996 as a result of changes to certain bankruptcy administrative functions occasioned by the Bankruptcy Legislation Amendment Act 1996. Bankruptcy statistics in earlier reports were shown separately to enable a true comparison to be made with reporting years prior to 1995-96. However, as the current report looks at workload statistics from 1995-96 onwards, it is now appropriate to include bankruptcy statistics as part of the Court’s general workload statistics.
Bankruptcy matters only (Creditors petitions and related applications from 16/12/96)
In earlier reports, bankruptcy creditors petitions and related bankruptcy applications recorded in the FEDCAMS database since December 1996 were not included for 1996-97, 1997-98 and 199899 so that a true comparison could be made with earlier years. The Court has decided to include bankruptcy statistics in the Court’s general statistics, and they are so included in the “Total matters” section of Table 6.1 as to filed, completed and current matters for the reporting years 1996-97 onwards.
Matters filed 1995-96 to 1999-2000 (including bankruptcy applications from 16 December 1996)
The decline in filings between the 1998-99 and 1999-00 was due principally to a reduction in the number of bankruptcy and Corporations Law matters, and the one-off effect of 794 native title matters transferred to the Court from the NNT Tribunal on 30 September 1998 pursuant to provisions of the Native Title Amendment Act.
Matters finalised 1995-96 to 1999-2000 (including bankruptcy applications from 16 December 1996)
The number finalised refers to those matters finalised in the relevant financial year regardless of when these matters were originally filed.
From 16 December 1996, the number filed and the number finalised include creditors' petitions and other bankruptcy applications as shown below:
| Year | Filed | Finalised |
|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | 1,925 | 887 |
| 1997-98 | 3,530 | 3,272 |
| 1998-99 | 3,522 | 3,547 |
| 1999-00 | 3,044 | 3,121 |
Current Matters 1995-96 to 1999-2000 (including bankruptcy applications from 16 December 1996)
A total of 4,666 matters remain current as at 30 June 2000. The age of these are shown in the graph above. There were 110 applications still current relating to periods before those shown in the graph.
The total filed in 1998-99 includes 794 native title matters transferred from the National Native Title Tribunal on 30 September 1998. Of these, 605 matters remain current at 30 June 2000.
Time span to complete Matters completed in the period 1 July 1995 to 30 June 2000 (including bankruptcy applications from 16 December 1996)
| 70.0% | 64.8% | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60.0% | |||||
| 50.0% | |||||
| 40.0% | |||||
| 30.0% | |||||
| 20.0% | 16.3% | ||||
| 10.0% | 7.2% | 3.8% | 7.9% | ||
| 0.0% | 0-6 months | 6 - 12 months | 12 - 18 months | 18 - 24 months | Over 24 months |
A total of 30,120 matters were completed during the 5-year period ended 30 June 2000 excluding Native Title matters. The time span, from filing to disposition of these matters, are shown in the graph above.
Time span to complete 1995-96 to 1999-2000 (including bankruptcy matters from 16 December 1996)
The total number of applications completed for each of the last five years and the time span for completion
| are shown below: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Number | Percentage Completed | |
| under | over | ||
| 18 months | 18 months | ||
| 1995-96 | 3,879 | 83.2 | 16.8 |
| 1996-97 | 4,883 | 85.1 | 14.9 |
| 1997-98 | 7,357 | 87.0 | 13.0 |
| 1998-99 | 7,546 | 90.6 | 9.4 |
| 1999-00 | 6,613 | 90.8 | 9.2 |
During the reporting year the Court resolved to adopt a new benchmark of 85%. This will be applied from the 2000-01 reporting year.
Figure 6.5 Corporations Law current matters
A total of 42 Corporations Law matters remain current as at 30 June 2000. The age of these are shown in the graph above. There were 7 matters still current relating to periods before those shown in the graph.
Corporations Law current matters - historical 1995-96 to 1999-2000
| Current | Current | Current | Current | Current | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age of matters | as at | as at | as at | as at | as at |
| 30-Jun-96 | 30-Jun-97 | 30-Jun-98 | 30-Jun-99 | 30-Jun-00 | |
| under 6 months | 468 | 194 | 183 | 111 | 1 |
| 6-12 months | 129 | 79 | 59 | 45 | 2 |
| 12-18 months | 74 | 44 | 24 | 20 | 6 |
| under 18 months | 671 | 317 | 266 | 176 | 9 |
| 18-24 months | 30 | 57 | 30 | 19 | 10 |
| over 24 months | 41 | 65 | 54 | 44 | 23 |
| over 18 months | 71 | 122 | 84 | 63 | 33 |
| Total | 742 | 439 | 350 | 239 | 42 |
Trade Practices Act matters filed and current 1995-96 to 1999-2000
A total of 527 Trade Practices Act matters remain current as at 30 June 2000. The age of these are shown in the graph above. There were 33 matters still current relating to periods before those shown in the graph.
Trade Practices Act current matters - historical 1995-96 to 1999-2000
| Matters | Matters | Matters | Matters | Matters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age of matters | current as at | current as at | current as at | current as at | current as at |
| 30-Jun-96 | 30-Jun-97 | 30-Jun-98 | 30-Jun-99 | 30-Jun-00 | |
| under 6 months | 180 | 153 | 104 | 128 | 103 |
| 6-12 months | 166 | 142 | 99 | 108 | 204 |
| 12-18 months | 116 | 86 | 84 | 41 | 54 |
| under 18 months | 464 | 381 | 287 | 277 | 361 |
| 18-24 months | 98 | 82 | 67 | 51 | 50 |
| over 24 months | 186 | 177 | 175 | 161 | 116 |
| over 18 months | 284 | 259 | 242 | 212 | 166 |
| Total | 746 | 640 | 529 | 489 | 527 |
Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act matters filed and current 1995-96 to 1999-2000
A total of 152 Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act matters remain current as at 30 June 2000. The age of these are shown in the graph above. There were 4 matters still current relating to periods before those shown in the graph.
Migration Act matters filed and current 1995-96 to 1999-2000
A total of 481 Migration Act matters remain current as at 30 June 2000. The age of these are shown in the graph above. There were 2 matters still current relating to periods before those shown in the graph.
Some migration applications are filed under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act and these are shown in Table 6.4 on page 146.
Admiralty Act matters filed and current 1995-96 to 1999-2000
A total of 88 Admiralty Act matters remain current as at 30 June 2000. The age of these are shown in the graph above. There was one matter still current relating to a period before those shown in the graph.
Appeals to the Full Court filed and numbers still current 1995-96 to 1999-2000
A total of 221 appeals to the Full Court remain current as at 30 June 2000. The age of these are shown in the graph above. There were 2 appeals still current relating to periods before those shown in the graph.
Matters current as at 30 June each year 1995-96 to 1999-2000 (including bankruptcy applications from 16 December 1996)
The number of current matters at the end of each year as a percentage of the number of matters filed during
| that year is shown below: | ||
|---|---|---|
| year | percent | |
| 1995-96 | 87.9 | |
| 1996-97 | 80.8 | |
| 1997-98 | 60.5 | |
| 1998-99 | 60.0 | |
| 1999-00 | 74.3 | |
Bankruptcy Act matters filed and current 1995-96 To 1999-2000
Bankruptcy matters consisting of creditors petitions and other related applications have been recorded in the FEDCAMS database since 16 December 1996. These were previously recorded in a separate database.
The newly formed Federal Magistrates Court, which commenced on 23 June 2000, also has jurisdiction in Bankruptcy Act matters. As a consequence, the workload in this area is expected to reduce in the Federal Court.
A total of 1,150 Bankruptcy Act matters remain current as at 30 June 2000. The age of these are shown in the graph above. There were no matters still current relating to periods before those shown in the graph.
Native Title Act matters filed and current 1995-96 to 1999-2000
A total of 779 Native Title matters remain current as at 30 June 2000. The age of these are shown in the graph above. There was one matter still current relating to a period before those shown in the graph.
Included in the figures for 1998-99, there were 794 matters transferred from the National Native Title Tribunal on 30 September 1998. Of these, 605 matters remain current as at 30 June 2000.
Applications filed under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act from 1995-96 to 1999-2000
| ENACTMENT UNDER WHICH DECISION MADE | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission | 5 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection | 3 | 3 | - | 1 | 1 |
| Aboriginal Councils and Associations | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | - |
| Administrative Appeals Tribunal | 7 | 3 | - | - | 4 |
| Aged Care | - | - | - | 1 | 3 |
| Aged or Disabled Persons | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Air Force | 1 | - | - | 1 | - |
| Air Navigation | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Anti-Dumping Authority | - | - | 2 | 3 | - |
| Audit | - | 2 | - | - | - |
| Australian Citizenship | 4 | - | - | - | 1 |
| Australian Federal Police | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Australian Heritage Commission | 1 | 1 | - | - | - |
| Australian Maritime Safety Authority | - | - | 2 | - | - |
| Australian Securities Commission | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| ACT Ordinances and Acts | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Bankruptcy | 3 | 2 | - | - | 2 |
| Broadcasting | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Broadcasting Services | 4 | 7 | - | - | - |
| Child Care | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Child Support (Registration and Collection) | - | - | 2 | 2 | - |
| Christmas Island Ordinances and Acts | - | 1 | - | - | - |
| Civil Aviation | - | - | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Classification (Publications, Film and Computer | |||||
| Games) | - | 1 | - | - | - |
| Compensation (Commonwealth Government | |||||
| Employees) | - | - | - | 1 | - |
| Corporations | 5 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Crimes | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Customs | 2 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| ENACTMENT UNDER WHICH DECISION MADE | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customs Tariff | - | - | 1 | 1 | - |
| Defence | - | - | 2 | 2 | - |
| Defence Force Discipline | 1 | - | - | 1 | - |
| Development Allowance Authority | - | 1 | - | - | - |
| Director of Public Prosecution | - | 1 | - | - | - |
| Disability Discrimination | - | 4 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| Disability Services | - | - | 1 | - | - |
| Employment, Education and Training | - | 1 | 2 | - | - |
| Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Environmental Protection (Impact of Proposals) | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - |
| Excise | - | - | - | 1 | - |
| Export Control | - | - | - | 1 | - |
| Export Market Development Grants | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Extradition | - | 2 | - | - | - |
| Extradition (Commonwealth Countries) | - | - |