Call for Expressions of Interest

Federal Court of Australia Media Committee

30 June 2023

The Federal Court of Australia is establishing a Media Committee, to be comprised of Judges from across its registries, the Court's communications and media staff, and six representatives from the media.

The purpose of this Committee is to improve communication and consultation with the media on matters that affect their ability to provide fair and accurate reporting of proceedings in the jurisdiction of the Federal Court. The Court is keen to ensure there is a broad and national representation across all forms of media on the Committee.

The agenda and topics for the Committee will be set by the members of the Committee, subject to the views of the Chief Justice.

The Committee will have the capacity to make recommendations to the Chief Justice for changes to Court practices, policies and Court Rules, as well as recommendations about how the Court can improve its communications with the Australian community. The Committee will not have a decision making function, which is consistent with how other Committees within the Court operate.

The Court is calling for expression of interest in membership of the Committee.

Please forward written expressions of interest to rachael.cowdell@fedcourt.gov.au by 4:00pm on 13 July 2023.

The expression of interest should set out:

• the media organisation that seeks to be represented
• who the nominated representative of that organisation will be
• alternatively, for persons who are not members of a media organisation, the name of the person who seeks to be a member of the Committee
• the qualifications and experience of that nominated representative, and
• a short justification for why that media organisation, and that representative, should be accepted as a member of the Media Committee.

Any questions about this process should be directed to rachael.cowdell@fedcourt.gov.au.