Leading judicial education for an Australian judiciary

The role of the judicial registrar is now a fundamental part of the Australian justice system. Judicial registrars are essential in upholding justice and facilitating the effective and efficient operation of the courts. For instance, without judicial registrars, the justice system would face challenging in preserving accurate records or conducting fair hearings. To that end, the NJCA is delighted to announce this new, national orientation program for judicial registrars (NJROP).

Designed, developed and delivered by an experienced committee of senior judicial registrars from jurisdictions and courts across the country, NJROP provides practical skills and facilitator-led practice strategies in optimising the challenges and opportunities of the judicial registrar role. Sessions will provide a wealth of knowledge, court-craft skills and social context training for judicial registrars from across Australia.

From impactful management of the courtroom, to implicit bias training, to optimising communication skills, participants will have an opportunity to engage in small group experiential judicial learning workshops, designed to hone expertise and reflection of the role, consolidated through cross-jurisdictional discourse, discussion and dialogue.

Judicial registrars play a vital role in the court system. As well as performing various judicial functions, the work of registrars contributes to the efficient and effective functioning of courts around Australia. As well as exercising delegated judicial functions, judicial registrars manage key internal and external relationships within the ecosystem of their respective courts.

NJROP will provide judicial registrars with the invaluable opportunity to learn from senior judicial registrars officers, to further enhance knowledge and court-craft skills, and to develop connections with others in the same role.

The judicial learning outcomes of NJROP are skills focused. The series and sequencing of sessions is specifically designed to provide judicial registrar participants with skills and strategies necessary to facilitate and enhance their important role in the court system. 

As with other NJCA national orientation programs, sessions will be judicial officer led and will harnessing the four core dimensions of judicial learning and the core judicial qualities. Sessions will include managing judicial officers, chambers and staff, managing high volume caseloads, mediations, dealing with interpreters for court trials, handling challenging situations and ethical considerations that may impact decision making. Participants will also be armed with strategies for maintaining psychological and physical health, and using technology in what can be challenging work environments.

The two day program will be a mixture of lecture style, small group workshops and experiential learning workshop sessions, designed to maximise skill retention and promote increased productivity and efficiency.

This sharing of experience and practice, led by experienced senior registrars and expert facilitators, will enable registrars to return to their respective courts with practical, readily useable information and instantly applicable skills.

All catering during program hours, and program dinner on Thursday evening

Accommodation and Travel are NOT included.

Meet your Program Planning Committee