Federal Court of Australia

Federal Court of Australia Practice News No. 2: 1 July 2005

New Court Reporting Contract

I am writing to advise that the Federal Court is about to enter into a new contract for the provision of court reporting services to the Court.

The new contract, for the whole of the Federal Court on a national basis, will be with Auscript Australasia Pty Ltd.

Previously, court reporting services were provided to the Court under two contracts:

• in New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory – services were provided by Auscript Pty Ltd; and

• in Victoria, South Australia and Western a Australia – by Spark & Cannon Pty Ltd

The new contract will also cover the provision of transcript services for General Law matters heard by the Federal Magistrates Court in Federal Court courtrooms.

These arrangements will come into effect on 1 July 2005 for New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory. For the remaining States, it is expected that the changeover to the new contract will occur in Victoria in early August, in Western Australia in late August and then in South Australia.

Associated with the new contract will be a number of significant changes. These include a change to digital audio recording technology over the first few months of the contract. This will enhance the capability of the contractor to provide a national transcription service for the Court and parties.

Another significant change will be in the transcript format, which from early 2006 will be produced using paragraph numbering. This will have the benefit of providing a consistent reference point for transcript, particularly in courtroom proceedings and for research purposes.

For further enquiries, please contact Mr Bruce Finlay, Assistant Director Policy & Planning on 02 9230 8358.

Yours faithfully

Philip Kellow

Deputy Registrar

If you do not wish to receive further issues of Practice News, please do not reply to this email . To unsubscribe, go to the Unsubscribe page and follow the instructions. | email the Court | © www.fedcourt.gov.au 2005 | Disclaimer | Privacy