VCAT Strategic Priorities: Improving Justice Access in Victoria

This essay examines how the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) is meeting its strategic priorities to enhance access to justice for all Victorians. It highlights VCAT's role in providing fair, efficient, and affordable justice, focusing on dispute resolution and decision-making in areas like unlawful discrimination and human rights. VCAT's strategic priorities include contemporary and customer-centric services through digital innovation, inclusive accessibility via expanded mediation services, responsive relationships with stakeholders, united leadership and culture, and a skilled workforce for the future. The essay also addresses the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and concludes that VCAT's strategic focus is on improving justice services, enhancing community inclusion, and fostering collaborative relationships to ensure timely and productive decision-making.

Essay
Table of Contents
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INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAINBODY....................................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
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INTRODUCTION
The Victorian Civil and Administration Tribunal (VCAT) provides fair as well as
efficient affordable justice for the Victorian community. It focuses on making decision about a
wide range of cases as well as by helping people resolve disputes. In addition to this in a VCAT
hearing and decision cases are based on unlawful discrimination, sexual harassment along with
victimisation or vilification. It also grants and revokes exceptions that allow them to conduct that
would otherwise be prohibited discrimination. The following essay will focus on how VCAT is
meeting its strategic priorities of making it easier for all Victorians to participate and access
justice.
MAINBODY
VCAT serves Victories by providing the community wit effective access to a forum from
resolving disputes as well as making decisions that require law in its administration, Civil as
well as human rights and planning and environment. The law that established VCAT and
governs its operations is the Victorian Civil and Administration Tribunal Act 1998. it is the part
of Victoria's Justice systems and operates independently of direction from executive government.
In addition to this, to support the independence of Victoria's court and the tribunal the
administration service and facilities that are provided by the statutory body corporate (The VCAT
process).
VCAT is the part of the Victoria's justice system and serves the community if pays
emphasis on on making decision related to disputes. Moreover, VCAT is less formal than a
court and in most cases the parties do not need a lawyer or a professional representatives and
usually have to ask to have someone represent them. The VCAT has established various strategic
priorities in order to better provide support to the community and solve disputes in a structured
and systematic manner. In addition to this, the strategic plans are focuses on increasing the
overall productivity of the process which will help in providing essential support in taking
critical decision (Annual Report 2019-2020).
The vision of VCAT is based on serving the community by effectively solving disputes in
a timely as well as cost efficient manner. In addition to this, it holds the values of fairness,
professionalism along with integrity, impartiality and independence. VCAT has develop the
goals to be a tribunal that is able to meet the needs of all Victorians. The strategic priority of
contemporary and customer centric service is based on providing innovation and digital
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technology to meet the contemporary service expectations of the community. This will be
implemented by the launch of online application for consumer support and will result in
improving effectiveness of the overall process and improving the participation of Victorians. In
addition to this, VCAT has developed a strategy priority that is based on Inclusive and
accessibility which focuses on making it easier for all Victorians to participate and access justice
by expanding the fast tract mediation and hearing services. The VCAT has based another one of
its strategic priority on Responsive and collaborative relationship that will allow in
strengthening the relationship with stakeholders as well as the community it serves. It will be
achieved by hosting a round table discussion with representative from key Aboriginal legal,
housing and consumer groups in order to improve participation. Although the challenge of
COVID-19 pandemic is hindering this strategic plan (Annual Report and Strategic Plan).
The strategic priority of United leadership and culture is also developed by VCAT in
order to embed the leadership capabilities and culture that is required to drive the change. This
will be implemented by the new governance structure across VCAT as it will provide clear lines
of accountability for executive leadership and channels for advice to the President and CEO. In
addition to this, a complete series of leadership as coach workshop in order to help senior VPS
staff build their coaching and leadership skills. Moreover, it will focus on establishing a
management group forum in order to regulate the engagement and connection to the mid-level
managers. Although there are challenges that can hinder this strategic priority that includes
covering operational needs while staff and members attend training along with finding effective
way to build leadership and culture after most of the workforce transition to working from home
as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic. VCAT has also develop strategic priority that is based
on Skilled for the future that focuses upon developing a modern and dynamic workforce fort the
future by establishing a dedicated in-house team to support members as well as staff with the
transition to virtual hearing and included developing guides that provide training and general
techniques. It will allow VCAT to ensure that it is able to provide effective support to the
community in better offering its services. Although it can faces the challenge of developing
training to use workforce that is largely working from home due to the pandemic (Legal help and
advice service).
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CONCLUSION
From the above essay it can be concluded that, that VCAT has focused on development
of strategic priorities that will help it provide essential support to the community. In addition to
this, the strategic priorities are based on improving the justice service to all Victorians.
Moreover, it is focused on included digital innovation is its process in order to provide better and
effective service in solving disputes as well as overcome the challenges related to the COVID -
19 pandemic. Furthermore, the essay was able to highlight, that the strategies developed by
VCAT are oriented towards enhancing the overall inclusion and accessibility to the community
in order to enhance their participation as well. Moreover, VCAT is focused on improving its
responsive and collaborative relations with both the community as well as it workforce in order
to improve their justice service and ensure decision are made in a timely and productive manner.
Its strategic priority are also based on improving its leadership as well as culture in order to
better cater the needs of the community and develop a structure that will be optimal in its
operations.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals:
Online:
Annual Report 2019-2020.[Online]Available
through<https://www.vcat.vic.gov.au/media/394/download>
Annual Report and Strategic Plan.,2020.[Online]Available
through<https://www.vcat.vic.gov.au/about-vcat/annual-reports-and-strategic-plan>
Legal help and advice service.,[Online]Available through<https://www.vcat.vic.gov.au/what-
vcat-does/legal-help-and-advice-services>
The VCAT process.,[Online]Available through<https://www.vcat.vic.gov.au/the-vcat-process>
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