National Survey of Australian Judges: Preliminary Findings

1. National Survey of Australian Judges: Preliminary Findings Professor Kathy Mack Professor Sharyn Roach Anleu Law School Sociology Department Flinders University Adelaide, Australia JUDICIAL CONFERENCE OF AUSTRALIA 5-7 October 2007 Sydney

2. Magistrates Research ProjectJudicial Research Project Consulting interviews with magistrates in all states and territories (2001) National Survey of Australian Magistrates (2002) National Court Observation Study (2004) National Survey of Australian Judges (2007) Second National Survey of Australian Magistrates (2007)

3. [I]t [is] impossible to assemble relevant and reliable data, short of seeking answers from individual judges to questionnaires which, we surmise, many judges would regard as intrusive, and perhaps even impertinent. (Campbell and Lee , The Australian Judiciary, 2001: 25-6) Judicial Research

4. Developing the National Survey of Australian Judges National Survey of Australian Magistrates (2002) Consultations Literature review Survey design mail back questionnaire open-ended and close-ended questions Comments on draft survey Pilot tested

5. Administering the National Survey of Australian Judges Ethics approval Deciding which judicial officers would be included Obtaining names and court addresses Preparing/mailing surveys and supporting documents personally addressed introduction letter information sheet 566 judges throughout Australia March 2007 No tracking mechanism Follow up letters

6. Analysing the National Survey of Australian Judges 309 surveys received--54.5% Data entry Data cleaning Generating frequencies Generating cross-tabulations Analysis � what does it mean?

7. Representativeness Type/level of court Gender Years as a judge Age

8. Representativeness: Type/Level of court

9. Representativeness: Gender

10. Representativeness: Years in Current Judicial Position

11. Representativeness: Years in Current Judicial Position

12. Representativeness: Age

13. Preliminary Findings Personal and social characteristics Professional background The decision to become a judge Essential skills for everyday work Satisfaction, dissatisfaction and stress Everyday work and household responsibilities

14. Personal and Social Characteristics Gender/age Ancestry/ethnicity Religion Childhood location School Marital status

15. Ancestry/Ethnicity

16. Religion

17. Childhood Location

18. School

19. Marital Status

20. Professional Background

21. Professional Background 1/4 previous judicial appointment. 24 years �average time between admission to practice and first judicial appointment

22. From Bar to Bench

23. Considering Judicial Appointment Longstanding desire to be a judge 6/10 unimportant/not very important 1/4 important/very important Personal approach by someone in court or government 6/10 very important 1/4 important

24. Judicial Appointment

25. The Decision to Become a Judge

26. Becoming a Judge

27. Essential Skills/Qualities

28. Satisfaction: Overall Work Varied and interesting Important to the community Level of responsibility Intellectual challenge Content of work Diversity of work

29. Satisfaction: Working Conditions 9/10 Geographic location Working relations with court staff Working relations with judges 7/10 Benefits Continuing education Salary Hours

30. Working Conditions: Support Staff Adequate support staff is available Always 2/10 Often 4/10 Sometimes 2/10 Rarely/Never 1/10

31. Dissatisfaction: About 1/4 express dissatisfaction with Policies and administration Control over amount of work Scope for improving the court system Court facilities Note: over 1/3 to 1/2 express satisfaction with these aspects of work

32. Working Conditions: Remuneration �Considering all the factors associated with my work, my remuneration is low.�

33. Tensions A very worthy research project, and one that I look forward to reading with much interest. I do hope you manage to draw out some of the �tensions� that exist within the judiciary at (the) moment � tensions associated with change, diminishing resources, increasing workloads, greater accountability and transparency, and turf battles.

34. Stress: Volume of Work 3/4 find volume of work unrelenting 1/2 judicial functions increased 1/3 judicial functions stayed the same 1/2 non-judicial functions increased 1/3 non-judicial functions stayed the same

35. Nature of Work: Making Decisions �Making decisions is very stressful.�

36. Stress: Emotions, Sleep, Health My work is emotionally draining 1/2 sometimes 1/3 always/often Difficult decisions keep me awake 1/2 rarely/never 1/3 sometimes I am concerned about my health 1/2 rarely/never 1/3 sometimes

37. Out of Hours Work Every day more than 6/10 A few times week more than 2/10

38. Stress and Satisfaction It can be extremely demanding work which can interfere with one�s health and social well being in a number of ways. However, the positives of the job outweigh the negatives.

39. Compatibility with Family Responsibilities Reason for becoming a judge 1/2 important/very important >1/4 not very important/unimportant Current satisfaction 3/4 satisfied/very satisfied Male judges >3/4 Female judges 2/3

40. Time of Domestic Work

41. Feeling Rushed Always 2/10 male judges 4/10 female judges

42. Job Interferes with Family Life Often/always About 4/10 of all judges A higher proportion of women Sometimes 1/2 of all judges A higher proportion of men Hardly ever or never Just over 1/10

43. Family Life Interferes with Job Often/always Less than 1/10 of all judges Sometimes Just under 1/2 of all judges A higher proportion of women Hardly ever or never About 4/10 of all judges Greater proportion (nearly half) of men

44. Work Life Balance As noted, my present job is much more compatible with family responsibilities + much less rushed than previously � the hours are as long, but the stress and pressure no longer apply, and I consider the remuneration/pension entitlements very good by reference to community standards.

45. Work Life Balance The work/life balance is seriously out of kilter with reasonable expectations. It takes a great toll on family life.

46. Analysis of the National Survey of Australian Magistrates 2007 Creating a national picture of the entire Australian judiciary in 2007, combining magistrates and judges Comparisons between magistrates and judges in 2007 Comparisons between magistrates in 2002 and magistrates in 2007 Future Research

47. National Survey of Australian Judges: Preliminary Findings Professor Kathy Mack Professor Sharyn Roach Anleu Law School Sociology Department Flinders University Adelaide, Australia JUDICIAL CONFERENCE OF AUSTRALIA 5-7 October 2007 Sydney

48. Magistrates Research ProjectJudicial Research Project This research was funded by a University-Industry Research Collaborative Grant in 2001 with Flinders University and the Association of Australian Magistrates (AAM) as the partners and also received financial support from the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration. It was funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage Project Grant (LP210306) with AAM and all Chief Magistrates and their courts as industry partners with support from Flinders University as the host institution. We are grateful to Leigh Kennedy, Lisa Kennedy, Ruth Harris, Julie Henderson, Mary McKenna, Russell Brewer, Elizabeth Edwards, Rose Polkinghorne, Wendy Reimens, Carolyn Corkingdale and Mavis Sansom for research and administrative assistance.