AGY-3897 | Court Reporting Branch

Full description

Prior to 1911, parties involved in litigation hired their own court reporter to transcribe the evidence. As New South Wales grew, so did the number of court cases. At the same time, court cases became more complex and protracted. Because of this, there was a need to set up a more reliable court reporting system. (1)

The first Chief Court Reporter, Mr Arnold Walker, was appointed from 1 January 1911. The Court Reporting Branch in the Department of the Attorney-General and Justice thus began in 1911. Three court reporters were also appointed. (2) The new positions were consequent on the adoption of shorthand note-taking of evidence in all Courts. (3)

The Branch comprised a number of expert shorthand writers and was designed to replace in the Courts of New South Wales a system in which the presiding Judge recorded the evidence in longhand, in a book provided for the purpose.

In the introductory period, only a few of the courts were able to take advantage of the new system of reporting because relatively few shorthand writers were available. As staff became available and the advantages of the new system became more apparent, the practice was extended. (4) By 1919 the Chief Court Reporter was responsible for eleven court reporters and six typists. (5) On 1 July 1925 a Senior Court Reporter was also appointed and there were twelve court reporters and ten typists. (6) By 1960 the service had expanded to fifty-four court reporters and three clerks in addition to the Chief and Senior Court Reporters. (7)

In 1967 mechanical reporting of court proceedings was introduced. Tape-recording equipment was installed in the Crown Employees' Appeal Board and the No. 3 Court, Central Petty Sessions. It was also used by the Public Service Board when sitting as a tribunal on inquiries. (8) By 1968 the Court Reporting Branch was under the administration of the Attorney General. Its functions were to attend various courts and tribunals as assigned by the Chief Court Reporter, to take shorthand notes and where necessary make a transcript of proceedings. Court reporters were provided to staff all jurisdictions of the Supreme Court, including the Court of Appeal; Land and Valuation Court; the Industrial Commission of NSW; the Workers’ Compensation Commission of NSW; Courts of Quarter Sessions; District Courts; the Crown Employees Appeals Board; Royal Commissions, statutory inquiries, and other tribunals, such as the Medical Disciplinary Tribunal and the Statutory Committee of the Law Society. Court reporters required a shorthand speed of 150 words per minute, with a minimum of 130 words per minute in the Courts of Petty Sessions. (9)

By the end of 1970 the Deputy Chief Court Reporter replaced the position of Senior Court Reporter and the position of Assignment Officer was created. At 31 December 1970 there were 120 staff including 30 contract typists. (10) In 1971 the Branch provided services for 76 judges and a number of other tribunals in all parts of the State. Over 73 million words were transcribed in the year ended 30 June 1971 alone. (11)

By 1987 the Branch had sections located at Newcastle and Wollongong and an establishment of 132 court reporters. With the appointment of three additional Judges in the District Court and two Deputy Presidents in the Industrial Court approval was given for the appointment of an extra ten court reporters. The use of Computer Assisted Transcript (CAT) was introduced. (12) By 1988 the Branch staffed an average of 60 city courts and 14 country courts daily and produced an average of 20 daily transcripts. Its establishment included 136 court reporters.

As a result of an efficiency audit conducted by the Public Service Board and an earlier decision by the Department, steps were taken to amalgamate its recording services. From 1 July 1988 the Court Reporting Branch was amalgamated with the Transcription Services Bureau and the Recording Services of the Local Courts to form the Reporting Services Branch. (13)


FOOTNOTES:
1. Lawlink NSW: Reporting Services Branch – What we do (Lawlink web site: http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/rsb.nsf/pages/transcript15.html, cited 26 March 2004).
2. NSW Government Gazette, Wednesday, 30 August, 1911, p. 4803 and Progress: NSW Public Service Board Journal, Vol. 4 No. 1 (November 1964), p.28.
3. NSW Parliamentary Papers, 1912, Vol. 2, Public Service Board, Sixteenth Annual Report, 1911, p. 905.
4. Concise Guide to the State Archives of New South Wales, 2nd ed. Court Reporting Office, p. 28.
5. Public Service List, 1919, p.49.
6. Public Service List, 1926, pp.35-36.
7. Public Service List, 1960, p.62.
8. Report of the Public Service Board for the Year ended 30 June, 1967, p. 15.
9. Department of Attorney General and Justice, Outline, 1968, p.14.
10. Department of Attorney General and Justice, Outline, 1970, p.18.
11. Department of Attorney General and Justice, Outline, 1971, p.36.
12. Attorney General’s Department, Annual Report 1987, pp.71-74.
13. NSW Attorney General’s Department, Annual Report 1988, pp. 76-78.