Court Reporter
REF: HC-528
Act
Reports to
Team Manager, Court Reporting
Group
National Service Delivery
Unit/Team
National Transcription Service
Location
Direct Reports 0
Our ministry
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Justice is the foundation of any democratic society and New Zealand has one of the most trusted public
services in the world. At the Ministry of Justice, we work as one team to provide a great service to the
public every day. Our team of over 4,000 people is working together for a fair and safe Aotearoa.
We lead the justice sector administering the courts and tribunals, the legal aid system and the Public
Defence Service, ensuring their integrity. We provide policy advice to the government on legislation
relating to the justice system and New Zealand’s constitution. We help the Crown to honour its
responsibilities to Māori.
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It is an exciting time to join us. We are leading the transformation of our criminal justice system, helping
to tackle New Zealand’s high levels of family violence and sexual violence, and improving New
Zealanders’ access to justice. We want to provide better justice for Māori and we are working closely
with the tangata whenua.
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We listen to and work with our communities so we can improve our services for the people who need
them most and increase our support for the most vulnerable. We want people to have the same high
quality of service regardless of who they are, where they are, or how they interact with us.
The Ministry is a great place to be, where you can be yourself and succeed. We value diversity. We
respect our people, practice integrity, deliver great service and our team always aims for excellence.
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Our group
Operational Services Delivery OSD
The Operations and Service Delivery Group is responsible for the Ministry's operational services,
including the courts, tribunals, Legal Aid, centralised national services and provider and community
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services.
The services we deliver support access to the Court of Appeal, High Court, 58 District Courts, Coroner’s
Court, Environment Court, Employment Court and Māori Land Court. We want the judiciary to receive
quality, effective support, wherever they are.
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
We also operate 29 tribunals, authorities and committees that help New Zealanders resolve disputes
and we collect court-ordered fines.
We support the Ministry’s strategic goal of providing people centred justice services so there is access
to justice for all New Zealanders by delivering high quality, consistent services to participants wherever,
or however, they interact with the Ministry.
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People expect services to be simple, online, quick and consistent. We are working to
modernise our courts and tribunals to improve New Zealanders’ access to justice. Together
with the judiciary, we are focusing on improving court processes.
OSD is the biggest part of the Ministry of Justice comprising more than 3,000 staff. It is led by a Chief
Operating Officer, supported by the Office of the Chief Operating Officer, and organised into four
business groups that are each led by a Group Manager but operate as one skil ed workforce across
multiple jurisdictions and services.
Our four business groups are:
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Commissioning and Service Improvement aims to continually improve customer services and
commissioning services from providers and determines how best to deliver them to achieve
national consistency.
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Courts and Tribunals Regional Service Delivery supports face-to-face service delivery through
four regions. This team includes services provided to al national courts and tribunals, with the
exception of the senior courts.
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The Senior Courts Unit supports the senior courts. This recognises their role in reviewing
decisions made by the Executive branch of Government, which may include decisions made
by the Ministry of Justice while delivering consistent customer-focussed court services.
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National Service Delivery delivers services national y, where the services do not need to be
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delivered to the customer face-to-face. This includes; transcription services, judicial libraries,
collections, cal centres and centralised services and central processing.
Our values: RISE
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Respect:
We value others and their contributions
Integrity:
We are honest and open
Service:
We deliver results
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Excellence:
We focus on quality
Te Kokenga is under-pinned by four tikanga Māori principles:
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Manaakitanga - caring for and supporting the mana of each other and those we serve, by
showing kindness, hospitality, and respect.
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Kotahitanga - coming together as one in collective action. Mā tō rourou, mā tōku rourou, ka
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ora te iwi – with your bounty and mine the people shall prosper.
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Māramatanga - enlightenment, insight, a deeper sense of knowing, and to understand.
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Whanaungatanga - working together to create a sense of belonging and a relationship through
shared experiences, to become one whānau.
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
Your role
As a Court Reporter, your role supports access to the effective delivery of justice in New Zealand by
providing high quality transcripts and other related services quickly to the judiciary and other court
participants. This directly impacts both the speed and the quality of the delivery of justice due to the
reliance ready access to information generated through judicial proceedings has on the effectiveness
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of the judicial process.
You are responsible for ensuring the accurate and timely transcription for a wide range of customers
including al Courts and Tribunals as well as other public sector agencies. You wil transcribe audio
from a large number of event types that include highly confidential and sensitive matters that need to
be responded to within tight timeframes and involve a wide range of transcription styles. You need the
ability to effectively problem solve and balance competing demands in a pressured environment to
provide the best outcome to the customer based on the requirements of any particular fixture.
National Transcription Service; Ngā Kaipato Kōrero o te Motu
The National Transcription Service comprises Court Reporters based at 17 courts at various locations
across the country operating as a networked virtual community meaning a court reporter can work from
any site to transcribe fixtures from any court across the country.
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The National Transcription Service provides transcription and related services to:
• Higher and District Courts.
• Specialist Courts including Waitangi Tribunal and Māori Land Court.
• Other public sector agencies.
The National Transcription Service works to a set of variable responsiveness and quality requirements.
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Transcription work often involves subject matter that is varied, complex and involves diverse technical
or specialist jargon. The content can also be emotive and difficult to listen to including transcription of
highly graphic, violent and sexual matters.
NTS uses specialised systems and technology to undertake audio recording, archive, retrieval, transfer,
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transcription and workflow management, including:
• For The Record (FTR); digital evidence recording and replay platform that is widely used in Courts.
• Other recording and replay systems as required.
• Transcription User Interface (TUI) a workflow and workforce management system.
• WINDOWS suite; particularly Word.
• Ministry specific applications (CMS, eLibs, JAX).
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Scope of Role
Direct reports :
Nil
Total reports:
Nil
Delegations:
HR Delegations – Nil
Release Finance Delegations – Nil
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
Your responsibilities
Transcription
• Assist the effective application of the judicial process by providing timely and accurate transcription
services to the court that:
o Forms the legal record of the hearing;
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o Supports effective judicial decision making;
o Supports the expediency of court processes through the timely provision of transcription for
current and future hearings;
o Contains highly sensitive and confidential matters;
o Ensures hearings can progress expediently by providing judiciary and other parties with
transcription at a time and in a form that supports counsel and judicial consideration and
response; and
o Provides additional services that augment the transcript and improves a party’s ability to
reference and use relevant hearing related information (inclusion of briefs of evidence,
imbedding hyperlinks in the transcript to other core documents, indexing transcripts and
associated documents for easy access).
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• Understand and accurately apply the correct protocols required to support the over 90 transcription
types relevant to the fol owing areas:
o High Court / District Court Criminal.
o High Court / District Court Civil.
o Family Court.
o Youth Court.
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o Environment Court.
o Employment Court.
o Coroner’s Court.
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o Maori Land Court.
o Supreme Court.
o Waitangi Tribunals.
o Other Sector Agencies (e.g. Parole Board).
o Other Specialist Transcription (e.g. Royal Commissions).
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• Identify potential hearing challenges and risks, assess the impact and apply the best resolution in
an ever-changing environment.
• Maintain transcription accuracy and quality by effectively compensating for difficult source audio to
minimise the level of “inaudibles” reflected in the final transcript where reasons for difficulty in
transcription includes:
o Poor quality audio;
o Disruptive background noise;
o Speaker incoherence or distance from the microphone;
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o Speakers talking over each other;
o English as a second language;
o Complex / technical language.
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
• Ability to operate within a bilingual framework, being proficient in both English and
Te Reo Māori.
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• Know how to research, access, navigate, interpret and apply various information sources to ensure
the completeness and accuracy of the transcript (e.g. Google, Elibs, CMS, NTS knowledge base
etc).
• Be able to maintain high levels of concentration while transcribing hearings with emotive and/or
highly distressing content.
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• Effectively utilise NTS technology including being able to move between multiple applications and
operate them confidently - both generic (e.g. Word, Excel, Outlook) and Ministry specific (e.g. TUI,
CMS, JAX, eLibs, Jabber, FTR player / log notes).
• Ability to apply technical aspects of Microsoft Word (auto-texts, auto-corrects, styles, hyperlinks) to
ensure quality and consistency of transcription.
• Able to effectively work around technology restrictions to get the best result with the resources
available.
• Access Ministry applications to complete Transcript Requests that have been entered by third
parties. This requires identifying and resolving issues and errors including working with Judges’
Personal Assistants, Judges’ Associates, Judicial Assistants, Court Takers and Court Registry
Officers as required.
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• Use the workflow management system to record activities that have occurred or affected
transcription production and that has an impact on your availability, utilisation and productivity or
ability to deliver to agreed service levels.
• Alert the customer to relevant information about the end product e.g. audio issues/ hyperlinks
included.
• Research and incorporate relevant information (e.g. citations, relevant portions of legislation) into
the transcript on the request of the judge. Official
• Work cohesively as part of a NTS fixture sub-team (both local and remote) to produce high quality
documents seamlessly and within required responsiveness service levels.
Customer Service
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• Provides a high quality and responsive service to the judiciary and other court stakeholders.
• Elicits, assesses and provides for the specific transcription requests of individual judicial officers to
ensure their particular requirements are met.
• Appropriately apply the NTS standards and processes required to best meet the particular
requirements of the customer. This requires the ability to assess and balance competing demands
(e.g. expediency vs quality), problem solve and work with Judges’ Personal Assistants, Judges’
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Associates, Judicial Assistants, Court Takers and Court Registry Officers together with others in
your transcription team to identify and deliver to the requirements of the Judge.
• As the transcription lead for a proceeding, act as the primary point of contact for court staff and
judiciary for issues, enquiries or requirements related to transcription service provision.
• Responds quickly to problems and issues with transcription provision, resolves expediently and
keeps the judiciary and other stakeholders updated.
• Use customer (judicial) feedback to improve the service provided and use this information to feed
into broader improvement initiatives as relevant.
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• Provide prompt advice and feedback to court registry staff and court takers prior to and during court
proceedings to either pre-empt or resolve issues that would compromise the quality and/or
completeness of the transcript or require proceeding to be adjourned (e.g. how to use the audio
recording system appropriately, nature and quality of log notes, audio quality and required
resolution steps etc).
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
Quality • Understand and correctly apply the comprehensive range of transcript standards and requirements
to provide high quality documents consistently. Additionally, assess individual situations to ensure
the correct document templates are used and incorporate additional requirements as necessary to
ensure:
o Intituling’s are completed accurately and meet legislative requirements (includes suppression
orders, anonymisation of parties, final warning/three strikes warning);
o The correct level of readability and consistency is applied i.e. minor ‘tidy-up’ of transcription,
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sentence structure, appropriate flow of document, comprehension, expansion of contractions,
correct usage of grammar /punctuation /correct homonyms and insertion of citations and/ or
portions of legislation.
• Ensure the transcript’s relevancy and accuracy is reflected in the end product through a thorough
understanding of the context of the fixture and the requirements of the Judge.
• Effectively manage the achievement of quality service levels in balance with other performance
requirements to deliver to judicial expectations.
• Understands the NTS Quality Framework and actively works with your manager and seeks
assistance from your Senior Court Reporter to continually improve transcript quality.
Team Effectiveness
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• Contribute to a positive team culture that enables the high performance of the immediate team and
organisation (particularly registry colleagues).
• Provide mentoring and support to new Court Reporters.
• Work collaboratively with other members of your fixture sub-team at the time, recognising and
working to each member’s strengths and chal enges to ensure an effective operational rhythm that
delivers a quality transcript within agreed timeframes.
• Share knowledge, time and expertise to assist other members of the NTS team (both on-site and
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national y) and organisation (particularly registry col eagues) to ensure a high level of individual and
team capability.
• Provide constructive feedback to team members and be receptive to receiving feedback.
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Health and Safety in Employment
• Comply with the Ministry and NTS health and safety policy and procedures.
• Self-manage personal workday to maintain health and safety (including physical, mental and
emotional well-being).
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• Work within NTS health and safety expectations in relation to the management of workplace,
appropriate breaks and other relevant forms of self-care.
• Actively contribute to the NTS’s health and safety initiative – Fit for Transcription to ensure
transcription specific health and safety risks and issues are identified and mitigated. Participate in
relevant health and safety initiatives.
• Attend the professional supervision service available when transcription subject matter or other
stressors is having an impact on you and/or the ability to do your role.
• Encourage those around you to meet H&S guidelines or escalate as required.
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• Communicate honestly with manager regarding personal stressors and/or health issues that could
impact ability to undertake the Court Reporter role.
• Take all practicable steps to ensure own safety and the safety of others.
• Report all incidents and help to identify and manage hazards.
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National Service Delivery
December 2019
• Support the site health and safety committees.
Relationship Management
• Build relationships and work collaboratively with others across both NTS (local and remote) and the
Ministry (particularly registry colleagues).
• Interact and work collaboratively with the judiciary and/or their agents to clarify requirements,
resolve issues, manage expectations so as to provide a high level of service to the judiciary and
other court participants.
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• Contribute to optimal effectiveness levels for the team and NTS by identifying, developing and
maintaining an appropriate network of contacts – particularly across the registries.
• Engage and work in partnership with key stakeholders where appropriate.
• Develop and maintain a current understanding of the relevant priorities, objectives and work
programmes of both your and other business groups.
Service Delivery and Innovation • Understand the NTS business service standards and, where necessary, communicate effectively
using a variety of methods to ensure effective resource, standards and customer expectation
management.
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• Successful y self-manage workflow and prioritise effectively to ensure timely transcription that
meets responsiveness requirements.
• Provide backup support to other parts of the Ministry e.g. Judges’ Personal Assistants, Judges’
Associates, Court Takers.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and innovation and offer suggestions for
improving current standards, processes and procedures. Use the NTS’s Operational Improvement
Group (OIG) to contribute to initiatives that improve transcription efficiency and service provision.
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• Contribute to the ongoing development of the NTS Knowledgebase to ensure a high quality and
timely support to the judiciary and court staff is maintained in an ever-evolving environment.
• Share and adopt best practice service delivery initiatives.
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• Meet service delivery standards agreed with your manager.
• Adhere to the Ministry’s policies, processes, and guidelines.
Performance and Development
• Agree clear, measurable, challenging and achievable performance goals with your manager and
achieve agreed outcomes.
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• Develop and maintain a current knowledge of the Ministry’s priorities.
• Make the connection between organisational, business unit and team goals when planning and
setting performance goals.
• Welcome constructive feedback, acknowledge where change is needed and deal with it
constructively.
• Develop and maintain an in-depth understanding of the Ministry, the justice sector and other areas
relevant to your work.
• Build breadth and depth of experience by actively seeking learning opportunities.
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• Actively participate in development activities and programmes agreed with your manager.
• Develop and maintain a working knowledge and understanding of the machinery of government
and separation of powers.
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
• Build and maintain up to date technical knowledge and expertise and adapt practices accordingly.
• Maintain knowledge of relevant legislation.
Personal Leadership
• Actively promote the Ministry’s purpose, strategy, vision and values.
• Role model the Ministry’s desired values and behaviours.
• Support Ministry and group decisions and initiatives.
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• Gain the cooperation of others by treating people with respect and dignity.
• Recognise and celebrate others’ successes.
• Know when to seek advice or guidance.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and innovation.
Your working relationships
Internal
NTS staff and managers in multiple locations
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Registry staff within the wider Ministry (particularly Judges’ Personal Assistants,
Judges’ Associates, Judicial Assistants, Court Takers and Court Registry Officers).
Judicial Officers
External
Waitangi Tribunal Staff and Māori Land Court Staff.
Independent Police Conduct Authority Administrators.
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Administrators from Royal Commissions etc.
Your education & experience
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SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
• An accurate audio-typing speed of 70 words per minute (reaching 100 WPM within six months).
• Ability to demonstrate a high standard of aural, oral and written te reo Māori capability.
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• Ability to demonstrate a high standard of written English (comprehension, vocabulary, punctuation,
spelling and grammar).
• Strong skil s developing and managing relationships with staff and managers at all levels.
• Able to work effectively and confidently with judicial officers.
• Fully competent in a Windows based environment with the ability to learn new systems and
programmes.
• Demonstrated ability as a fast and accurate transcriber. Experience in audio-typing or transcription-
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based environment an advantage.
• Working knowledge of common/col oquial te reo Maori preferred.
• Experience of working in a fast-changing environment with the ability to handle competing priorities
under pressure.
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
• A wide vocabulary is an advantage (including familiarity with legal, medical, business, technical and
other specialty terms and language).
• Experience of legal protocols and an understanding of court procedures is an advantage.
• Experience in customer service and relationship management.
• Experience in a detail focused and quality driven environment.
• Experience and /or qualifications in editing/proof-reading an advantage.
• The ability to work autonomously as wel as in a geographical y spread team. A high level of
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empowerment, responsibility and accountability is expected.
• Experience in coaching and mentoring others an advantage.
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
• High levels of maturity and resilience.
• Well-developed critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to operate wel under pressure in a busy and varied environment.
• High personal flexibility, adaptability and responsiveness to change.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
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• Can concentrate for extended periods and remain focussed on every aspect of the court
proceedings.
• Demonstrates tenacity in delivering a quality product - often in difficult circumstances.
• Able to pick up new concepts and nomenclature quickly.
• Excellent attention to detail, time management and planning skil s.
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EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
• Completion of secondary school studies to NCEA level 2 (sixth form certificate) or equivalent work
experience.
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• Certification or experience in relevant technology (e.g. Microsoft Word, Internet, Windows Explorer,
Microsoft Outlook, document file creation and storage, use of templates, workflow management
and audio transcription).
Public Service
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Mahi tōpū ai ngā Kaimahi Tūmatanui e whai tikanga ai te noho a ngā tāngata o Aotearoa.
Hei tā te Public Service Act ko te pūtake o ngā Kaimahi Kāwanatanga, ko te tautoko i te
kāwanatanga whai ture me te kāwanatanga manapori; ko te āwhina i te Kāwanatanga o te
wā nei me ō anamata ki te whakawhanake, ki te whakatinana hoki i ā rātou kaupapa here;
ko te tuku i ngā ratonga tūmatanui e nui ana te kounga, e nahanaha ana anō hoki; ko te
tautoko i te Kāwanatanga e tūroa ai te whai oranga o te marea; ko te huawaere i te whai
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wāhitanga o te kirirarau ki te ao tūmatanui me te whakatutuki i ngā mahi i runga i tā te ture i
whakahau ai. E hiranga ana te wāhi ki a mātou ki te tautoko i te Karauna i ana hononga ki
ngā iwi Māori i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ahakoa he nui ngā momo tūranga mahi, e tapatahi
ana ngā kaimahi tūmatanui i roto i te whakaaro nui ki te hāpai i ngā hapori, ka mutu, e
arahina ana ā mātou mahi e ngā mātāpono matua me ngā uara o ngā Kaimahi Tūmatanui.
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
The public service works collectively to make a meaningful difference for New
Zealanders. The Public Service Act states that the purpose of the public service is to
support constitutional and democratic government, enable both the current Government and
successive governments to develop and implement their policies, deliver high-quality and
efficient public services, support the Government to pursue the long-term public interest,
facilitate active citizenship and act in accordance with the law. We have an important role in
supporting the Crown in its relationships with Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi and
te Tiriti o Waitangi. Whilst there are many diverse roles, all public servants are unified by a
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spirit of service to the community, and guided by the core principles and values of the public
service in our work.
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Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
v2.0
November 2021
Act
Court Taker Process
Information
Using FTR Reporter
National Transcription Service
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Act
Information
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Document owner: National Transcription Service Knowledge Base
Last updated: November 2021
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link to page 14 link to page 14 link to page 15 link to page 15 link to page 15 link to page 16 link to page 16 link to page 17 link to page 17 link to page 17 link to page 17 link to page 17 link to page 17 link to page 18 link to page 18 link to page 19 link to page 19 link to page 20 link to page 20 link to page 21 link to page 21 link to page 21 link to page 21 link to page 22 link to page 22
Table of Contents
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Introduction
4
Changing Time on PC to Show 24-hour Clock Format
4
FTR Log Notes
5
Log Note Annotations
5
Record of Proceedings
5
FTR Reporter and FTR Player
6
Before Court
6
FTR Log Notes
7
Date and Location Fields
7
Information
Description Field
7
Multiple Day Hearings
7
Courtroom Sound Test
7
Placement of Microphones
7
Creating the Log Notes
8
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Recording the Sound Test
8
Listening Back to the Sound Test
9
Option 1
9
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Option 2
10
Contact Lead Court Reporter
10
During Court
11
Entering Log Notes
11
Rapid Method
11
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Moving Between Fields
11
Common Log Note Abbreviations
12
End of Day Tasks
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iii
Introduction
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his document is a quick guide that will take you through the processes that a Court Taker needs
to do when taking Court, focusing on using the For The Record (FTR) Reporter application.
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FTR is the Ministry's digital evidence recording and playback software used widely across the
Ministry in all Courts, Special Jurisdictions and Tribunals, as well as by the National Transcription
Service.
FTR allows witnesses, judges, counsel and other court participants in the courtroom to speak at a
natural pace. This provides a better experience for all court users as the proceedings are not paused,
and the evidence flows naturally.
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Changing Time on PC to Show
24-hour Clock Format
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For FTR to work optimally, the clock needs to display in 24-hour format. Follow the steps below to
change the time to 24-hour clock format:
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• In the
Type here to search box on the task bar, type
Control Panel • Select
Control Panel app • Select
• In the
Long Time field, choose the format
HH:mm:ss from the
Format drop-down list:
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• Click
Apply >
OK
Note:
You may need to change this more than once for it to become permanent.
For information about FTR Reporter, FTR Player, FTR 6.5 views and detailed examples of
FTR Log Notes go to:
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•
https://jet.justice.govt.nz/how-do-i/ftr-for-the-record-log-notes-faqs-user-guides-and-quick-
reference-guides/
Important Note:
Before using FTR, ensure you are part of the FTR Global User Group (to have access to these
applications).
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FTR Log Notes
Court Takers use FTR Log Notes to provide a summary of proceedings. Log notes form part of the
formal Court record. These log notes, which are attached to the FTR recording, are an essential tool
for remote transcription for Court Reporters. Log notes identify when significant changes in events
or actions occur during the proceedings.
A new log sheet is created for each day/part day of a hearing and provides a description of
proceedings and identifies the location, date, speakers and events (eg, who is speaking, exhibits
being produced et cetera). Each event is allocated a time stamp that is linked to the audio.
Log Note Annotations
All registrars are responsible for this task and are not aware of the requirements surrounding
accurate and standardised log notes as there is little training given in this field. The current NTS
training resources will remedy this situation with training on log note requirements and their
replacement of the ‘Crown Book’. Whilst the Crown Book was kept mainly for Criminal proceedings,
for consistency standards, these requirements now form part of the NTS standards.
The requirement to keep the Crown Book is from the Crimes Act 1961. Prior to FTR the Crown Book
was a large bound book where events from all Criminal proceedings were handwritten into. With
the advent of FTR it was deemed that the log notes could be used as the official "Crown Book".
Below is the relevant extract from the Crimes Act 1961
Record of Proceedings
(1)
It shall not in any case be necessary to draw up any formal record of the proceedings
on a trial for crime;
but the Registrar of the Court before which the trial takes place
shall cause to be preserved all indictments and all depositions transmitted to him.
He shall keep a book to be called the Crown Book, which shall be the property of
the Court and shall be deemed a record thereof, and its contents shall be provable
under the Official Information Act
by a certified copy or extract without production of the original.
(2)
The Registrar shall cause to be entered in the Crown Book a statement of the
following particulars:
(a)
The name or names of the committing
[District Court Judge
] or
Justices
[or Community Magistrate or Community Magistrates
], and the
charge on which the accused was committed, or, if the accused was not
committed, the name of the prosecutor:
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[filed
] by leave, the name of the Court or other
authority granting such leave:
Provided that the absence of such a statement, or any mistake therein, shall not be a
ground of objection to the proceedings; but the Court to which the Crown Book
belongs may, and shall on the application at any time of either the prosecutor or the
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accused, order a statement of those particulars to be entered, or amend the
statement where it is erroneous or defective.
(3)
In the Crown Book there shall also be entered the name of the Judge of the Court,
and a memorandum of the substance of all proceedings at every trial and of the result of
every trial.
(4)
Such entries, or a certified copy thereof or of so much thereof as is material, may be
referred to in any proceeding by way of appeal.
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(5)
A certificate of any indictment, trial, conviction, or acquittal, or of the substance
thereof, made up from the memorandum in the Crown Book, shall be received in evidence
for the same purpose and to the same extent as certificates of records, or the substantial
parts thereof, are receivable.
(6)
Any erroneous or defective entry in the Crown Book may at any time be amended by
the Judge who presided at the trial or, if that Judge is not available, by any Judge.
(7)
If the trial takes place before any Court other than that to which the accused was
committed for trial, or before which the indictment was
[filed
], a statement shall be made in
the Crown Book of the order under which the trial is held, and by whom or where it was
made.
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(8)
Nothing in this section shall dispense with the taking of notes by the Judge presiding
at the trial.
Important Note:
Court Reporters rely on Court Taker’s to be their eyes in an FTR courtroom, as
Court Reporters are no longer located in the courtroom and may also be transcribing from
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another site.
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FTR Reporter and FTR Player
Before Court
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At least one hour before the hearing starts prepare the courtroom, including logging on and testing
all computer systems and audio technology.
The following three key tasks must be completed:
1. Creating log notes using FTR Reporter and FTR Player.
2. Completing a courtroom sound test.
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3. Contacting the Lead Court Reporter (when real time evidence is being recorded).
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FTR Log Notes
Note the following when creating log notes using FTR Reporter.
Date and Location Fields
The
Date and
Location fields will auto-populate when you select the “New” button to create new
log notes.
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Important Note:
Check that the date and location are correct.
If the
Location field is blank, select the correct courtroom from the drop-down list.
This is extremely important as the National Transcription Service will
not be able to locate the
audio if the
incorrect courtroom is entered.
Description Field
New log notes are created for each day or part day of a hearing. Information is recorded in the
Description field which forms the header of the log notes. Each piece of information is entered on a
new line.
Information
Pressing
Shift+Enter will take you to a new line.
Important Note:
All spelling needs to be correct so that errors are not brought forward into the transcript.
Multiple Day Hearings
For multiple days of the same fixture, the previous day’s header can be copied and pasted into the
Official
new log notes.
Tip:
When dealing with multiple days, ensure you change the day number after pasting into the
the
new header (eg, Day 1 will become Day 2, et cetera).
Note:
That the Lead Court Reporter
may also change from day-to-day.
under
Courtroom Sound Test
Placement of Microphones
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Prior to proceedings beginning, the Court Taker ensures that the microphones are placed correctly
and positioned appropriately. FTR courtrooms have microphones that are fixed to the desks but the
angle of the microphones still need to be checked.
7
Creating the Log Notes
Note:
Check that the sound system is turned on. The control for this will often be on or near the
Court Taker’s desk.
1. From the Desktop, double click on the
FTR Reporter icon.
Act
2. Select the
New button from the menu bar:
Note:
The Date and Location will automatically auto-populate.
3. The
Description field forms part of the header for the log notes, fill in the
Description field with
the following information:
• Date of hearing
• Case Title (eg, Queen v Jack Timothy Geller)
•
Information
Type of hearing (eg, Judge-Alone Trial)
• Day number of the hearing (eg, Day 1 et cetera)
• File reference number (eg, CRI-2017-085-123456)
• Court Taker/registrar’s name
• Crown Counsel’s name
• Defence Counsel’s name
• Court Crier’s name (if required)
• Lead Court Reporter’s name (if required)
Official
Tip:
Use
Shift+Enter to add a new line in the Description field.
the
Refer to th
e FTR (For The Record) Log Notes, FAQs, User Guides and Quick Reference Guides
JET page for further log note examples.
4. Press
Enter to accept the entries.
Recording the So
under und Test
1. Click the
Record button (brown circle) in the menu:
Result:
The Record button changes to a red circle with two lines to indicate it is recording:
Release
Note:
FTR Player will
also automatically open at this point when you press the Record button.
8
2. Make a new entry in the log notes under the “Note” column advising
Sound and System Test.
Leave the first “Speaker” column
blank.
3. Go to each microphone and using a clear voice, announce the sound test (eg, “Judge’s mic”,
“Witness mic”, “Counsel’s mic”, et cetera).
Tip:
Stand up and back slightly from the microphone to ensure the sound is being picked up from a
slight distance. Listen for your voice in the courtroom speakers when announcing the test, to
Act
ensure they are working.
4.
Repeat Step 3 above for each microphone in the courtroom.
5. Click the round red
Record button to pause the recording. The following dialogue box will
appear:
Information
6. Select the
Yes button to pause the recording.
Important Note:
Remember that the recording is only paused and has not been fully stopped. The recording
will not be fully stopped until you press the brown Square button.
Official
7. To
Stop the recording, select the
brown
Square button:
the
8. The following dialogue box will appear:
under
9. Select the
Yes button to stop the recording.
Listening Back to the Sound Test
Release
There are two options for listening to the sound and system test:
Option 1
1. Select the
Audio icon on the taskbar. Ensure the volume is turned up on the computer:
9
Option 2
2. Using
FTR Player, plug in headphones.
3. Click
Play and listen to the sound and system test, ensuring that each microphone provides
sound:
Act
Note:
Green microphone lights should appear on the
FTR Player playback
panel for each channel.
4. Click
Play
again to stop the audio.
Important Note:
You must ensure the recording of court proceedings is of a quality that allows accurate
transcription by Court Reporters. Poor sound quality impedes the timeliness and production
of quality transcripts.
Information
Be sure to report faulty equipment immediately.
Contact Lead Court Reporter
Official
Find out which
Lead Court Reporter has been allocated to the job by looking up the job’s details in
TSM:
the
under
Send the Lead Court Reporter a Jabber message:
• Confirming that the log notes have been set up and the sound test has been completed;
and • Requesting a test print if required.
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10
During Court
Entering Log Notes
Act
To enter a log note entry, follow the steps below:
• Click into either the
Speaker field or
Note field of the log note row and begin typing.
Result:
A blue time stamp will appear in the
Time field of that row according to the current computer
system time.
Note:
The
Record button on the
Recording Panel must be clicked for the time stamp to be linked to
the
Current Play Time of the audio.
Information
• Press
Tab to move to the
Note field or
Enter for a new log note row.
Tips:
Use the
Scroll bar to see a previous log note or resize the window to show more rows.
Use
Ctrl+Enter to create a new line from anywhere on the log notes.
Use
Glossary shortcuts to enter often repeated names or phrases.
Official
Rapid Method the
• Press
Ctrl+
Enter from anywhere in the log notes. This method immediately generates an empty
time stamped log note. The details of the event or action can then be added later.
Moving Between Fields
under
Use the mouse or the following keyboard shortcuts to move between fields.
Keyboard Shortcut
Action (Edit Mode)
Action (Read Only Mode)
Tab
Move to next field
Move to next field
Shift+Tab
Move to previous field
Move to previous field
Enter
Move to next blank speaker field
None
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11
Common Log Note Abbreviations
Abbreviation / Wording
Meaning
XN
Examination-in-chief
XXN
Cross-examination
RXN
Re-examination
Act
Questions from the Court
Questions from the Court
XN continues
Examination continues
XXN continues
Cross-examination continues
RXN continues
Re-examination continues
Witness Excused
Witness excused
(Sworn) or (Affirmed)
New witness called and sworn or affirmed
Court Adjourns
Adjournments
Court Resumes
Information
Objection
Objection
BOE Read
Brief of evidence read
Ruling 1 et cetera
Ruling made during hearing
Legal Discussion
Legal discussion
Legal Discussion in-Chambers
Legal discussion in-chambers
Official
Exhibit 1 / A et cetera
Exhibit (always followed by a number or a letter)
Her Honour / His Honour
her/his Honour
the
End of Day Tasks
under
• Distribute the copies of the transcript.
• Send a Jabber message to the Lead Court Reporter to advise what time the amendments will be
read out, if required, especially if required before 10 am the next morning.
• Email copies of transcript to parties if requested.
Release
12
Act
Information
Official
the
under
Release
Act
Information
Official
the
under
Release
1
Senior Court Reporter
REF:
Act
Reports to
Team Manager
Group
Operations and Service Delivery
Unit/Team
National Transcription Service, Location
Various
National Service Delivery
Direct reports
Nil
Our ministry
Information
Justice is the foundation of any democratic society and New Zealand has one of the most trusted
public services in the world. At the Ministry of Justice, we work as one team to provide a great
service to the public every day. Our team of over 4,000 people is working together for a fair and safe
Aotearoa.
We lead the justice sector administering the courts and tribunals, the legal aid system and the Public
Official
Defence Service, ensuring their integrity. We provide policy advice to the government on legislation
relating to the justice system and New Zealand’s constitution. We help the Crown to honour its
responsibilities to Māori.
the
It is an exciting time to join us. We are leading the transformation of our criminal justice system,
helping to tackle New Zealand’s high levels of family violence and sexual violence, and improving
New Zealanders’ access to justice. We want to provide better justice for Māori and we are working
closely with the tangata whenua.
We listen to and work with our communities so we can improve our services for the people who need
them most and increase our support for the most vulnerable. We want people to have the same high
quality of service regardless of who they are, where they are, or how they interact with us.
under
The Ministry is a great place to be, where you can be yourself and succeed. We value diversity. We
respect our people, practice integrity, deliver great service and our team always aims for excellence.
Our values: RISE
Release
Respect:
We value others and their contributions
Integrity:
We are honest and open
Service:
We deliver results
Excellence:
We focus on quality
Senior Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
March 2018
2
Operations and Service Delivery
Operations and Service Delivery (OSD) is responsible for delivering services to the Ministry’s
customers and supporting service delivery through the Courts and Tribunals. The group works
Act
collaboratively, harnessing our collective strength to deliver, modern, accessible, people-centred
justice services in a consistent manner for customers, regardless of where or how they interact with
us.
OSD contains four groups that operate as one:
• Commissioning and Service Improvement oversees improvements to customer services and
commissioning (contracting services from providers) and determines how best to deliver them
to achieve national consistency.
• Courts and Tribunals Regional Service Delivery supports face-to-face service delivery through
four regions. This team includes services provided to al national courts and tribunals, except
for the senior courts.
• National Service Delivery delivers services national y, where the services do not need to be
delivered to the customer face-to-face. This includes; transcription services, judicial libraries,
collections, cal centres and centralised services and central processing.
Information
• The Senior Courts unit (formerly known as the Higher Courts unit) supports the senior courts.
This recognises their role in reviewing decisions made by the Executive branch of
Government, which may include decisions made by the Ministry of Justice while delivering
consistent customer-focussed court services.
Between them, these groups deliver services and provide support to enable their delivery. To ensure
consistent and excellent services are delivered to all our customers, OSD has adopted five specific
ways of working:
Official
1.
We wil manage, deliver and measure our business consistently throughout NZ.
2.
We wil work col ectively, recognising that our customers’ experience is the sum of our
whole organisation.
the
3.
We wil be systematic about how we deliver improvements.
4.
We wil use our combined talent to design and deliver improvements.
5.
We wil work as one skilled workforce across multiple jurisdictions and services.
under
Your role
The primary purpose of the senior court reporter is to provide technical support and expertise to
operational managers and staff to ensure quality and consistency in the delivery of transcription
services. This includes providing and supporting technical training and development for court
reporters. Working with the team manager they wil establish and maintain an environment of
consistent practices and procedures through quality assurance systems and operational support
necessary for the effective operation of the transcription service. The role includes an ongoing
Release
requirement to undertake high quality transcription activities as required.
Senior Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
March 2018
3
Your responsibilities
Service Delivery
• Promote and help maintain a customer-focussed service culture across all transcription delivery
activities by supporting court reporters and team managers with the technical advice/support
required.
• Provide (in conjunction with the other senior court reporters) a national technical advice helpdesk
Act
service to a high degree of timeliness, quality, consistency and professional excellence.
• Help establish and maintain an environment of consistent practices and procedures through the
provision of technical support, updating relevant NTS knowledgebase information and delivery of
training for new and existing court reporters.
• Coach individual staff on where to find technical information, how to apply processes and make
effective decisions.
• Maintain a register/database of queries, issues and responses which are reviewed collectively as a
team to maintain the NTS knowledge base and identify capability gaps.
• Support employees to establish and maintain an environment of consistent practices and
procedures.
• Collaborate with managers and other senior court reporters to ensure advice is consistent and fit
for purpose.
• Communicate effectively within NTS and across the courts to ensure customers receive consistent
information and a quality transcription service in every interaction with NTS.
Information
• Proactively respond to customer issues, ensure effective analysis is used to determine the cause
of an issue and work with NTS team managers, senior business advisers and other relevant
parties to improve technical issues affecting transcription production.
• Encourage and support the use of Te Reo and the inclusion of Tikanga practices and protocols.
• Work collaboratively to allocate transcription work with available court reporter resources across
sites to ensure the successful delivery of the overall service experience.
• Effectively manage operational relationships and ensure the early identification and resolution/
escalation of operational issues.
Official
• Effectively manage relationships and work col aboratively with the judiciary and their
representatives.
• Develop an in depth understanding of NTS technology, systems and processes.
• Effectively retrieve audio, create, save and transfer transcripts using NTS business protocols.
• Work efficiently as an individual or as part of a broader transcription team, as required, ensuring
the
transcribed documents meet the expected service levels of a competent court reporter.
Technical Leadership
Support for People Management
• Be a role model for national consistency and the five ways of working that underpin the operating
under
model.
• Engage in and support a culture that drives a high level of performance; focussing on the
customer, accountability, continuous improvement, standardisation and employee engagement.
• Help measure and evaluate individual and team performance against agreed goals by: -
• Assisting with quality assurance checking that monitors individual staff performance for
transcription fit for purpose;
• Review and provide constructive feedback on transcription quality process material, as
requested;
• Ensure new staff are provided with access to relevant transcription and quality standards and
Release
are aware of expectations around quality transcripts as part of their induction;
• Be the ‘technical knowledge’ expert for the team, and ‘champion’ of transcription quality.
• Support change initiatives by assisting staff and managers with the interpretation and application
of updated technical and process requirements.
• Contribute to and actively role model the Ministry’s purpose, strategy, vision and values.
Senior Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
March 2018
4
Support for Operational management
• Identify issues or risks and escalate where appropriate.
• Support NTS team managers and the national scheduler to ensure key operational deadlines and
targets are met by providing and interpreting business information and reporting as required.
• Deputise for your manager in a range of circumstances e.g. receiving notification of absence from
team members.
• Support strategic organisational and ministerial initiatives, supporting the direction and planning
from both a risk management and effective outcomes perspective.
• Contribute to the establishment and maintenance of a consistent operating rhythm.
Act
Relationship Management
External
• Assist the team manager build and maintain effective and robust relationships with the judiciary
and key stakeholders as appropriate.
• Help maintain the reputation of the NTS service delivery team among key stakeholders and initiate
actions required to address any issues.
Internal
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with other senior court reporters to ensure the basis of a
consistent and effective virtual team.
• Foster and maintain effective and robust working relationships with key individuals and groups
Information
across the regional courts and tribunals teams to build a consistent and col aborative approach to
engagement and a high performing organisational culture.
Capability Development
Build Others’ Capability
• Assist with the recruitment and operational training of new court reporters.
• Identify and assist in the development of essential skil s, knowledge and operational behaviours
(competencies) required for court reporters to be effective.
Official
• Identify functional and technical standards required within the team.
• Help create and maintain a high level of functional and technical expertise within the team.
• Using the NTS Quality and Reporting Framework, help assess and address gaps between desired
and actual capability and help identify areas for individual and team development.
the
• Provide operational coaching and support to build performance and capability as required.
Build Own Capability
• Develop and maintain an in-depth understanding of the Ministry, its systems, structures and
interfaces across the justice sector.
• Build breadth and depth of experience by actively seeking learning opportunities.
• Actively participate in development activities and coaching.
under
• Build and maintain up-to-date technical knowledge and expertise and adapt practices accordingly.
Health and Safety at Work
• Provide support in the management of health and safety issues.
• Understand and meet your health and safety responsibilities, including in relation to hazard
management.
Release
Senior Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
March 2018
5
Your working relationships
Internal
The senior court reporter virtual team
NTS managers and operations support staff
Court reporters
Ministry managers and employees
Judiciary
Judicial officers and their support staff
Act
External
Ministry customers
Your education & experience
Education/Professional Qualifications and Technical Skills
• Has transcription technical and system knowledge and is recognised as a transcription technical
expert.
• Well-developed verbal and written communication skills.
• Can effectively provide supportive and constructive feedback on technical matters to others.
• Is recognised to be a champion for, and encourages a culture of, continuous improvement.
Information
• Is experienced in ‘coaching’ staff to learn new skil s, techniques and information.
• Can build and manage effective relationships within the team.
• Demonstrates a strong customer focus.
• Can communicate effectively and professional y with judiciary and registry staff, especial y in
matters that may affect the timely delivery of transcription services.
• Has demonstrated the ability to make timely and quality decisions.
• Is flexible, adaptable and pragmatic.
• Certification in Microsoft Word packages or the equivalent experience.
Official
Work Experience
• Proven experience as a highly effective NTS court reporter.
the
• Previous experience providing advice to audiences at different levels of understanding.
• Good understanding and knowledge of court, tribunal and registry services and processes.
• Good track record in supporting changes to business and work processes.
• Experience in interpreting and applying quality standards and the expectations around quality
transcripts.
under
Release
Senior Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
March 2018
Senior Court Reporter (Te Reo
Māori)
Act
REF:
Reports to
Team Manager
Group
National Service Delivery
Unit/Team
National Transcription Service
Location Christchurch
Direct Reports 0
Information
Our ministry
Justice is the foundation of any democratic society and New Zealand has one of the most trusted
public services in the world. At the Ministry of Justice, we work as one team to provide a great
service to the public every day. Our team of over 4,000 people is working together for a fair and safe
Aotearoa.
Official
We lead the justice sector administering the courts and tribunals, the legal aid system and the Public
Defence Service, ensuring their integrity. We provide policy advice to the government on legislation
relating to the justice system and New Zealand’s constitution. We help the Crown to honour its
responsibilities to Māori.
the
It is an exciting time to join us. We are leading the transformation of our criminal justice system,
helping to tackle New Zealand’s high levels of family violence and sexual violence, and improving
New Zealanders’ access to justice. We want to provide better justice for Māori and we are working
closely with the tangata whenua.
We listen to and work with our communities so we can improve our services for the people who need
them most and increase our support for the most vulnerable. We want people to have the same high
under
quality of service regardless of who they are, where they are, or how they interact with us.
The Ministry is a great place to be, where you can be yourself and succeed. We value diversity. We
respect our people, practice integrity, deliver great service and our team always aims for excellence.
Our values: RISE
Respect:
We value others and their contributions
Release
Integrity:
We are honest and open
Service:
We deliver results
Excellence:
We focus on quality
Operations and Service Delivery
Operations and Service Delivery (OSD) is responsible for delivering services to the Ministry’s
customers and supporting service delivery through the Courts and Tribunals. The group works
collaboratively, harnessing our col ective strength to deliver, modern, accessible, people-centred
justice services in a consistent manner for customers, regardless of where or how they interact with
Act
us.
OSD contains four groups that operate as one:
• Commissioning and Service Improvement oversees improvements to customer services and
commissioning (contracting services from providers) and determines how best to deliver them
to achieve national consistency.
• Courts and Tribunals Regional Service Delivery supports face-to-face service delivery through
four regions. This team includes services provided to all national courts and tribunals, except
for the senior courts.
• National Service Delivery delivers services national y, where the services do not need to be
delivered to the customer face-to-face. This includes; transcription services, judicial libraries,
collections, cal centres and centralised services and central processing.
• The Senior Courts unit (formerly known as the Higher Courts unit) supports the senior courts.
This recognises their role in reviewing decisions made by the Executive branch of
Information
Government, which may include decisions made by the Ministry of Justice while delivering
consistent customer-focussed court services.
Between them, these groups deliver services and provide support to enable their delivery. To ensure
consistent and excellent services are delivered to all our customers, OSD has adopted five specific
ways of working:
1. We wil manage, deliver and measure our business consistently throughout NZ.
Official
2. We wil work collectively, recognising that our customers’ experience is the sum of our whole
organisation.
3. We wil be systematic about how we deliver improvements.
the
4. We wil use our combined talent to design and deliver improvements.
5. We wil work as one skil ed workforce across multiple jurisdictions and services.
Your role
under
The Court Reporter plays a vital role in providing accurate and timely transcription on behalf of the
National Transcription Service (NTS). This principally focuses on transcribing audio events to support
the delivery of justice in Higher Courts, District Courts, and Special Jurisdictions (including Māori
Land Court and Waitangi Tribunal) but also includes other transcription customers.
The role of a Senior Court Reporter (Te Reo Māori) fulfils transcription requirements in English, but
also undertakes the transcribing of events significantly featuring or conducted in te reo Māori. The role
also provides operational support for the continued development of te reo capability for NTS. This
Release
may include quality control functions, technical te reo advice, support for the implementation of a te
reo Māori strategy, active membership of a broader te reo team and contribution to efficient workflow
management.
This role wil be part of the Ngā Kaipato Kōrero o te Motu team.
Your responsibilities
Transcription
• Develop a solid working understanding of NTS technology, systems and processes.
• Effectively retrieve audio, create, save and transfer transcripts using NTS business protocols.
• Work efficiently as an individual or as part of a broader transcription team, as required.
• Be able to accurately represent spoken te reo Māori in the written form
Act
• Ensure personally transcribed documents are accurate and meet quality expectations in English
and/ or te reo Māori.
• Support the training of new Court Reporters/Senior Court Reporters te reo Māori as required.
• Proactively contribute to the competent workflow management and productivity goals of the
broader team or unit.
• Successfully self manage workflow and prioritise effectively to ensure timely transcription that
meets responsiveness requirements wherever possible.
• Work within NTS health and safety expectations in relation to the management of work pace and
breaks.
• Be comfortable in deciphering wording through audio systems of varying quality and transcribe
them as accurately as possible, often without the opportunity for clarification.
• Work calmly and flexibly under pressure to ensure the most appropriate outcomes are achieved.
• Ability to move comfortably through work from a variety of sources.
Information
• Communicate effectively using a variety of methods to ensure effective resource, standards and
customer expectation management.
• Ability to problem solve.
Quality
• Adheres to National Standards and processes.
• Provide quality control on work that involves te reo language, process of protocol expertise
• Ensure documents submitted for quality control are accurate and meet te reo Māori quality
Official
expectations.
• Support the business in helping to identify and articulate skil s/knowledge gaps and assist in
recommending solutions
• Demonstrates openness to, and acting upon, quality feedback.
the
• Demonstrates ability to use initiative to improve standards and processes local y and/or nationally.
Organisational Support
• Actively support the ongoing refinement and implementation of the NTS te reo strategy
• Work collaboratively and proactively to assist others in achieving a greater awareness and
capability in the transcription of te reo Māori across the NTS network;
• Develop and maintain effective and professional relationships with the judiciary and court staff of
under
the MLC, WT and other relevant units in a way that acknowledges, reflects and supports the
culture, protocols, language and history of Maori, as well as advances NTS goals;
• Build strong relationships with organisations and individuals that support the development of te
reo skil s and increase the te reo capability of NTS as a whole.
Relationship Management
• Positively contributes to team environment (both local and remote staff).
• Proactively follow ups with audio supplements with al seven Māori Land Courts and Waitangi
Tribunal
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• Fosters relationships with managers, court support team and claims team in Māori Land Court
and Waitangi Tribunal
• Keeping the Judiciary and registry staff fully informed of all emerging issues that might impact on
the team’s ability to deliver as expected
• Contributing to higher effectiveness levels for the team and unit by identifying, developing, and
maintaining an appropriate network of justice sector contacts
• Participating in appropriate stakeholder meetings where required
• Provides professional, courteous and accurate service to al NTS customers.
• Demonstrated ability to accept feedback from peers and Team Leader and act positively on it.
• Communicates honestly with Team Leader regarding personal stressors and/or health issues that
could impact ability to undertake the Court Reporter role
Your working relationships
Act
Internal
NTS staff and managers in multiple locations
Registry staff within the wider Ministry, particularly units requiring te reo transcription
Judicial Officers
Organisations that support the development of personal and NTS te reo capability.
External
NTS customers
Information
Your education & experience
EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS AND TECHNICAL SKILLS
• Ability to demonstrate a high standard of aural, oral and written te reo Māori capability;
• An accurate audio-typing speed of a minimum 70 words per minute.
Official
• Completion of secondary school studies to NCEA level 2 (sixth form certificate) or equivalent work
experience.
• Certification or experience in relevant technology (e.g. Microsoft Word, Internet, Windows
Explorer, Microsoft Outlook, document file creation and storage, use of templates, workflow
management and audio transcription).
the
• Experience in a detailed focused and quality driven environment is an advantage.
WORK EXPERIENCE
• Demonstrated ability to operate within a bilingual framework, being proficient in both English and
te reo Māori under
• Fully competent in a Windows based environment with the ability to learn new systems and
programmes.
• Demonstrated ability as a fast and accurate transcriber. Experience in audio-typing or
transcription based environment an advantage.
• Exceptional knowledge of vocabulary, spel ing and grammar.
• Experience of working in a fast-changing environment with the ability to handle competing
priorities under pressure.
• Experience of legal protocols and an understanding of court procedures is an advantage.
• Experience in a quality driven environment an advantage.
Note: The appointee wil be required to participate in ongoing training and personal development.
Release
Court Reporter
REF: HC-528
Act
Reports to
Team Manager, Court Reporting
Group
National Service Delivery
Unit/Team
National Transcription Service
Location
Direct Reports 0
Our ministry
Information
Justice is the foundation of any democratic society and New Zealand has one of the most trusted public
services in the world. At the Ministry of Justice, we work as one team to provide a great service to the
public every day. Our team of over 4,000 people is working together for a fair and safe Aotearoa.
We lead the justice sector administering the courts and tribunals, the legal aid system and the Public
Defence Service, ensuring their integrity. We provide policy advice to the government on legislation
relating to the justice system and New Zealand’s constitution. We help the Crown to honour its
responsibilities to Māori.
Official
It is an exciting time to join us. We are leading the transformation of our criminal justice system, helping
to tackle New Zealand’s high levels of family violence and sexual violence, and improving New
Zealanders’ access to justice. We want to provide better justice for Māori and we are working closely
with the tangata whenua.
the
We listen to and work with our communities so we can improve our services for the people who need
them most and increase our support for the most vulnerable. We want people to have the same high
quality of service regardless of who they are, where they are, or how they interact with us.
The Ministry is a great place to be, where you can be yourself and succeed. We value diversity. We
respect our people, practice integrity, deliver great service and our team always aims for excellence.
under
Our group
Operational Services Delivery OSD
The Operations and Service Delivery Group is responsible for the Ministry's operational services,
including the courts, tribunals, Legal Aid, centralised national services and provider and community
Release
services.
The services we deliver support access to the Court of Appeal, High Court, 58 District Courts, Coroner’s
Court, Environment Court, Employment Court and Māori Land Court. We want the judiciary to receive
quality, effective support, wherever they are.
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
We also operate 29 tribunals, authorities and committees that help New Zealanders resolve disputes
and we collect court-ordered fines.
We support the Ministry’s strategic goal of providing people centred justice services so there is access
to justice for all New Zealanders by delivering high quality, consistent services to participants wherever,
or however, they interact with the Ministry.
Act
People expect services to be simple, online, quick and consistent. We are working to
modernise our courts and tribunals to improve New Zealanders’ access to justice. Together
with the judiciary, we are focusing on improving court processes.
OSD is the biggest part of the Ministry of Justice comprising more than 3,000 staff. It is led by a Chief
Operating Officer, supported by the Office of the Chief Operating Officer, and organised into four
business groups that are each led by a Group Manager but operate as one skil ed workforce across
multiple jurisdictions and services.
Our four business groups are:
•
Commissioning and Service Improvement aims to continually improve customer services and
commissioning services from providers and determines how best to deliver them to achieve
national consistency.
Information
•
Courts and Tribunals Regional Service Delivery supports face-to-face service delivery through
four regions. This team includes services provided to al national courts and tribunals, with the
exception of the senior courts.
•
The Senior Courts Unit supports the senior courts. This recognises their role in reviewing
decisions made by the Executive branch of Government, which may include decisions made
by the Ministry of Justice while delivering consistent customer-focussed court services.
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National Service Delivery delivers services national y, where the services do not need to be
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delivered to the customer face-to-face. This includes; transcription services, judicial libraries,
collections, cal centres and centralised services and central processing.
Our values: RISE
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Respect:
We value others and their contributions
Integrity:
We are honest and open
Service:
We deliver results
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Excellence:
We focus on quality
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Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
Your role
As a Court Reporter, your role supports access to the effective delivery of justice in New Zealand by
providing high quality transcripts and other related services quickly to the judiciary and other court
participants. This directly impacts both the speed and the quality of the delivery of justice due to the
reliance ready access to information generated through judicial proceedings has on the effectiveness
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of the judicial process.
You are responsible for ensuring the accurate and timely transcription for a wide range of customers
including all Courts and Tribunals as well as other public sector agencies. You wil transcribe audio
from a large number of event types that include highly confidential and sensitive matters that need to
be responded to within tight timeframes and involve a wide range of transcription styles. You need the
ability to effectively problem solve and balance competing demands in a pressured environment to
provide the best outcome to the customer based on the requirements of any particular fixture.
National Transcription Service; Ngā Kaipato Kōrero o te Motu
The National Transcription Service comprises Court Reporters based at 17 courts at various locations
across the country operating as a networked virtual community meaning a court reporter can work from
any site to transcribe fixtures from any court across the country.
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The National Transcription Service provides transcription and related services to:
• Higher and District Courts.
• Specialist Courts and tribunals.
• Other public sector agencies.
The National Transcription Service works to a set of variable responsiveness and quality requirements.
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Transcription work often involves subject matter that is varied, complex and involves diverse technical
or specialist jargon. The content can also be emotive and difficult to listen to including transcription of
highly graphic, violent and sexual matters.
NTS uses specialised systems and technology to undertake audio recording, archive, retrieval, transfer,
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transcription and workflow management, including:
• For The Record (FTR); digital evidence recording and replay platform that is widely used in Courts.
• Other recording and replay systems as required.
• Transcription User Interface (TUI) a workflow and workforce management system.
• WINDOWS suite; particularly Word.
• Ministry specific applications (CMS, eLibs, JAX).
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Scope of Role
Direct reports :
Nil
Total reports:
Nil
Delegations:
HR Delegations – Nil
Release Finance Delegations – Nil
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
Your responsibilities
Transcription
• Assist the effective application of the judicial process by providing timely and accurate transcription
services to the court that:
o Forms the legal record of the hearing;
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o Supports effective judicial decision making;
o Supports the expediency of court processes through the timely provision of transcription for
current and future hearings;
o Contains highly sensitive and confidential matters;
o Ensures hearings can progress expediently by providing judiciary and other parties with
transcription at a time and in a form that supports counsel and judicial consideration and
response; and
o Provides additional services that augment the transcript and improves a party’s ability to
reference and use relevant hearing related information (inclusion of briefs of evidence,
imbedding hyperlinks in the transcript to other core documents, indexing transcripts and
associated documents for easy access).
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• Understand and accurately apply the correct protocols required to support the over 90 transcription
types relevant to the fol owing areas:
o High Court / District Court Criminal.
o High Court / District Court Civil.
o Family Court.
o Youth Court.
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o Environment Court.
o Employment Court.
o Coroner’s Court.
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o Maori Land Court.
o Supreme Court.
o Tribunals.
o Other Sector Agencies (e.g. Parole Board).
o Other Specialist Transcription (e.g. Royal Commissions).
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• Identify potential hearing challenges and risks, assess the impact and apply the best resolution in
an ever-changing environment.
• Maintain transcription accuracy and quality by effectively compensating for difficult source audio to
minimise the level of “inaudibles” reflected in the final transcript where reasons for difficulty in
transcription includes:
o Poor quality audio;
o Disruptive background noise;
o Speaker incoherence or distance from the microphone;
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o Speakers talking over each other;
o English as a second language;
o Complex / technical language.
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
• Reflect a working knowledge of common or colloquial te reo Māori
in transcripts produced and
continue to develop competency in te reo Māori to recognise its increasing use in a wide range of
court fixtures and hearings.
• Know how to research, access, navigate, interpret and apply various information sources to ensure
the completeness and accuracy of the transcript (e.g. Google, Elibs, CMS, NTS knowledge base
etc).
• Be able to maintain high levels of concentration while transcribing hearings with emotive and/or
highly distressing content.
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• Effectively utilise NTS technology including being able to move between multiple applications and
operate them confidently - both generic (e.g. Word, Excel, Outlook) and Ministry specific (e.g. TUI,
CMS, JAX, eLibs, Jabber, FTR player / log notes).
• Ability to apply technical aspects of Microsoft Word (auto-texts, auto-corrects, styles, hyperlinks) to
ensure quality and consistency of transcription.
• Able to effectively work around technology restrictions to get the best result with the resources
available.
• Access Ministry applications to complete Transcript Requests that have been entered by third
parties. This requires identifying and resolving issues and errors including working with Judges’
Personal Assistants, Judges’ Associates, Judicial Assistants, Court Takers and Court Registry
Officers as required.
• Use the workflow management system to record activities that have occurred or affected
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transcription production and that has an impact on your availability, utilisation and productivity or
ability to deliver to agreed service levels.
• Alert the customer to relevant information about the end product e.g. audio issues/ hyperlinks
included.
• Research and incorporate relevant information (e.g. citations, relevant portions of legislation) into
the transcript on the request of the judge.
• Work cohesively as part of a NTS fixture sub-team (both local and remote) to produce high quality
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documents seamlessly and within required responsiveness service levels.
Customer Service
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• Provides a high quality and responsive service to the judiciary and other court stakeholders.
• Elicits, assesses and provides for the specific transcription requests of individual judicial officers to
ensure their particular requirements are met.
• Appropriately apply the NTS standards and processes required to best meet the particular
requirements of the customer. This requires the ability to assess and balance competing demands
(e.g. expediency vs quality), problem solve and work with Judges’ Personal Assistants, Judges’
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Associates, Judicial Assistants, Court Takers and Court Registry Officers together with others in
your transcription team to identify and deliver to the requirements of the Judge.
• As the transcription lead for a proceeding, act as the primary point of contact for court staff and
judiciary for issues, enquiries or requirements related to transcription service provision.
• Responds quickly to problems and issues with transcription provision, resolves expediently and
keeps the judiciary and other stakeholders updated.
• Use customer (judicial) feedback to improve the service provided and use this information to feed
into broader improvement initiatives as relevant.
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• Provide prompt advice and feedback to court registry staff and court takers prior to and during court
proceedings to either pre-empt or resolve issues that would compromise the quality and/or
completeness of the transcript or require proceeding to be adjourned (e.g. how to use the audio
recording system appropriately, nature and quality of log notes, audio quality and required
resolution steps etc).
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
Quality • Understand and correctly apply the comprehensive range of transcript standards and requirements
to provide high quality documents consistently. Additionally, assess individual situations to ensure
the correct document templates are used and incorporate additional requirements as necessary to
ensure:
o Intitulings are completed accurately and meet legislative requirements (includes suppression
orders, anonymisation of parties, final warning/three strikes warning);
o The correct level of readability and consistency is applied i.e. minor ‘tidy-up’ of transcription,
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sentence structure, appropriate flow of document, comprehension, expansion of contractions,
correct usage of grammar /punctuation /correct homonyms and insertion of citations and/ or
portions of legislation.
• Ensure the transcript’s relevancy and accuracy is reflected in the end product through a thorough
understanding of the context of the fixture and the requirements of the Judge.
• Effectively manage the achievement of quality service levels in balance with other performance
requirements to deliver to judicial expectations.
• Understands the NTS Quality Framework and actively works with your manager and seeks
assistance from your Senior Court Reporter to continually improve transcript quality.
Team Effectiveness
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• Contribute to a positive team culture that enables the high performance of the immediate team and
organisation (particularly registry colleagues).
• Provide mentoring and support to new Court Reporters.
• Work collaboratively with other members of your fixture sub-team at the time, recognising and
working to each member’s strengths and chal enges to ensure an effective operational rhythm that
delivers a quality transcript within agreed timeframes.
• Share knowledge, time and expertise to assist other members of the NTS team (both on-site and
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national y) and organisation (particularly registry col eagues) to ensure a high level of individual and
team capability.
• Provide constructive feedback to team members and be receptive to receiving feedback.
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Health and Safety in Employment
• Comply with the Ministry and NTS health and safety policy and procedures.
• Self-manage personal workday to maintain health and safety (including physical, mental and
emotional well-being).
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• Work within NTS health and safety expectations in relation to the management of workplace,
appropriate breaks and other relevant forms of self-care.
• Actively contribute to the NTS’s health and safety initiative – Fit for Transcription to ensure
transcription specific health and safety risks and issues are identified and mitigated. Participate in
relevant health and safety initiatives.
• Attend the professional supervision service available when transcription subject matter or other
stressors is having an impact on you and/or the ability to do your role.
• Encourage those around you to meet H&S guidelines or escalate as required.
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• Communicate honestly with manager regarding personal stressors and/or health issues that could
impact ability to undertake the Court Reporter role.
• Take all practicable steps to ensure own safety and the safety of others.
• Report all incidents and help to identify and manage hazards.
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
• Support the site health and safety committees.
Relationship Management
• Build relationships and work collaboratively with others across both NTS (local and remote) and the
Ministry (particularly registry colleagues).
• Interact and work collaboratively with the judiciary and/or their agents to clarify requirements,
resolve issues, manage expectations so as to provide a high level of service to the judiciary and
other court participants.
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• Contribute to optimal effectiveness levels for the team and NTS by identifying, developing and
maintaining an appropriate network of contacts – particularly across the registries.
• Engage and work in partnership with key stakeholders where appropriate.
• Develop and maintain a current understanding of the relevant priorities, objectives and work
programmes of both your and other business groups.
Service Delivery and Innovation • Understand the NTS business service standards and, where necessary, communicate effectively
using a variety of methods to ensure effective resource, standards and customer expectation
management.
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• Successful y self-manage workflow and prioritise effectively to ensure timely transcription that
meets responsiveness requirements.
• Provide backup support to other parts of the Ministry e.g. Judges’ Personal Assistants, Judges’
Associates, Court Takers.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and innovation and offer suggestions for
improving current standards, processes and procedures. Use the NTS’s Operational Improvement
Group (OIG) to contribute to initiatives that improve transcription efficiency and service provision.
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• Contribute to the ongoing development of the NTS Knowledgebase to ensure a high quality and
timely support to the judiciary and court staff is maintained in an ever-evolving environment.
• Share and adopt best practice service delivery initiatives.
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• Meet service delivery standards agreed with your manager.
• Adhere to the Ministry’s policies, processes, and guidelines.
Performance and Development
• Agree clear, measurable, challenging and achievable performance goals with your manager and
achieve agreed outcomes.
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• Develop and maintain a current knowledge of the Ministry’s priorities.
• Make the connection between organisational, business unit and team goals when planning and
setting performance goals.
• Welcome constructive feedback, acknowledge where change is needed and deal with it
constructively.
• Develop and maintain an in-depth understanding of the Ministry, the justice sector and other areas
relevant to your work.
• Build breadth and depth of experience by actively seeking learning opportunities.
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• Actively participate in development activities and programmes agreed with your manager.
• Develop and maintain a working knowledge and understanding of the machinery of government
and separation of powers.
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
• Build and maintain up to date technical knowledge and expertise and adapt practices accordingly.
• Maintain knowledge of relevant legislation.
Personal Leadership
• Actively promote the Ministry’s purpose, strategy, vision and values.
• Role model the Ministry’s desired values and behaviours.
• Support Ministry and group decisions and initiatives.
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• Gain the cooperation of others by treating people with respect and dignity.
• Recognise and celebrate others’ successes.
• Know when to seek advice or guidance.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement and innovation.
Your working relationships
Internal
NTS staff and managers in multiple locations
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Registry staff within the wider Ministry (particularly Judges’ Personal Assistants,
Judges’ Associates, Judicial Assistants, Court Takers and Court Registry Officers).
Judicial Officers
External
Parole Board Administrators.
Independent Police Conduct Authority Administrators.
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Administrators from Royal Commissions etc.
Your education & experience
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SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
• An accurate audio-typing speed of 70 words per minute (reaching 100 WPM within six months).
• Ability to demonstrate a high standard of written English (comprehension, vocabulary, punctuation,
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spelling and grammar).
• Strong skil s developing and managing relationships with staff and managers at all levels.
• Able to work effectively and confidently with judicial officers.
• Fully competent in a Windows based environment with the ability to learn new systems and
programmes.
• Demonstrated ability as a fast and accurate transcriber. Experience in audio-typing or transcription-
based environment an advantage.
• Working knowledge of common/col oquial te reo Maori preferred.
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• Experience of working in a fast-changing environment with the ability to handle competing priorities
under pressure.
• A wide vocabulary is an advantage (including familiarity with legal, medical, business, technical and
other specialty terms and language).
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
• Experience of legal protocols and an understanding of court procedures is an advantage.
• Experience in customer service and relationship management.
• Experience in a detail focused and quality driven environment.
• Experience and /or qualifications in editing/proof-reading an advantage.
• The ability to work autonomously as wel as in a geographical y spread team. A high level of
empowerment, responsibility and accountability is expected.
• Experience in coaching and mentoring others an advantage.
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PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
• High levels of maturity and resilience.
• Well-developed critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to operate wel under pressure in a busy and varied environment.
• High personal flexibility, adaptability and responsiveness to change.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Can concentrate for extended periods and remain focussed on every aspect of the court
proceedings.
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• Demonstrates tenacity in delivering a quality product - often in difficult circumstances.
• Able to pick up new concepts and nomenclature quickly.
• Excellent attention to detail, time management and planning skil s.
EDUCATION/PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
• Completion of secondary school studies to NCEA level 2 (sixth form certificate) or equivalent work
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experience.
• Certification or experience in relevant technology (e.g. Microsoft Word, Internet, Windows Explorer,
Microsoft Outlook, document file creation and storage, use of templates, workflow management
and audio transcription).
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Public Service
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Mahi tōpū ai ngā Kaimahi Tūmatanui e whai tikanga ai te noho a ngā tāngata o Aotearoa.
Hei tā te Public Service Act ko te pūtake o ngā Kaimahi Kāwanatanga, ko te tautoko i te
kāwanatanga whai ture me te kāwanatanga manapori; ko te āwhina i te Kāwanatanga o te
wā nei me ō anamata ki te whakawhanake, ki te whakatinana hoki i ā rātou kaupapa here;
ko te tuku i ngā ratonga tūmatanui e nui ana te kounga, e nahanaha ana anō hoki; ko te
tautoko i te Kāwanatanga e tūroa ai te whai oranga o te marea; ko te huawaere i te whai
wāhitanga o te kirirarau ki te ao tūmatanui me te whakatutuki i ngā mahi i runga i tā te ture i
whakahau ai. E hiranga ana te wāhi ki a mātou ki te tautoko i te Karauna i ana hononga ki
ngā iwi Māori i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi. Ahakoa he nui ngā momo tūranga mahi, e tapatahi
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ana ngā kaimahi tūmatanui i roto i te whakaaro nui ki te hāpai i ngā hapori, ka mutu, e
arahina ana ā mātou mahi e ngā mātāpono matua me ngā uara o ngā Kaimahi Tūmatanui.
Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
The public service works collectively to make a meaningful difference for New
Zealanders. The Public Service Act states that the purpose of the public service is to
support constitutional and democratic government, enable both the current Government and
successive governments to develop and implement their policies, deliver high-quality and
efficient public services, support the Government to pursue the long-term public interest,
facilitate active citizenship and act in accordance with the law. We have an important role in
supporting the Crown in its relationships with Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi and
te Tiriti o Waitangi. Whilst there are many diverse roles, all public servants are unified by a
spirit of service to the community, and guided by the core principles and values of the public
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service in our work.
Information
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Court Reporter
National Service Delivery
December 2019
February 2023
Act
Orientation Guide
Information
National Transcription Service
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Act
Information
Official
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Document owner: National Transcription Service
Last updated: February 2023
link to page 48 link to page 48 link to page 49 link to page 50 link to page 51 link to page 51 link to page 51 link to page 51 link to page 52 link to page 52 link to page 53 link to page 53 link to page 53 link to page 54 link to page 54 link to page 54 link to page 55 link to page 55 link to page 55 link to page 56 link to page 56 link to page 56 link to page 57
Table of Contents
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Overview
5
Your role
5
Environment
6
HR Requirements and forms
7
Health & Safety
8
Court Reporter Specific Health & Safety
8
Workplace assessment
8
Supervision
8
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
9
Information
Workstation and technology
9
Workstation
10
Computer systems
10
Welcome to the Ministry e-Module
10
Court Reporter Training Programme
11
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Your training
11
Training programme and schedule
11
Training Resources
12
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Assessments
12
Expectations
12
MoJ values
13
Performance
13
Behaviour
13
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Appendix 1 - Roles within NTS
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Information
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iv
Overview
his guide contains information that will assist you in your first days at NTS, and directs you to
where to access the information you may need. It is designed to introduce you to your new
T working environments, key roles, technology and expectations.
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Use your Arataki book from the Ministry Induction to jot down any notes or questions you may
have along the way.
This guide contains information about:
• Your role
• Environment – your building and wider community
• Staff and their positions in NTS and the registry
• HR forms and other MoJ requirements
• Workstation and technology introduction
• Online induction links
• Training – what to expect over the next few weeks
•
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Expectations of NTS
Your role
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A Court Reporter plays a vital role in Court
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proceedings. The role of a Court Reporter
is to provide a high quality verbatim
evidence recording service and other word
processing services within and outside of
the courtroom.
When transcribing any court proceedings,
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a Court Reporter needs to be
knowledgeable about the relevant
technical and legal jargon and rulings used
in court proceedings to ensure that all
matters are recorded properly. The Court
Reporter must also have an extensive
knowledge of vocabulary and punctuation
and must be a fast and accurate
transcriber. Your journey to become a
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highly skilled, productive Court Reporter
begins today 😊
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Environment
NTS office
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Each NTS unit is a different shape and size and houses varying numbers of Court Reporters. Some
have specially designed floor space within the Court buildings and others are fitted in where it works
best for the Court. You may work in a Service Centre or in a courthouse.
Have a chat with your buddy or Trainer about your new environment and colleagues, and make notes
in your Arataki book.
NTS Staff
Information
Your relationships with the people you work with can make a huge difference to the enjoyment of
your job. It is important to meet and begin building relationships as soon as possible. This section
covers:
• Your NTS colleagues
• NTS performance staff and management team
Each NTS unit has a different shape and size. Masterton has one Court Reporter, while Hamilton has
fifteen. Most have an on-site Team Manager while some share their Team Manager with other sites.
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NTS site profiles can be found at:
https://jet.justice.govt.nz/who-we-are/operations-and-service-delivery/national-service-
delivery/national-transcription-service/nts-site-profiles/
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Who are the people in the NTS management team? Get the answers from the NTS Staff pages of JET.
Role
Name/s
National Manager
Manager, Transcription Service (Northern)
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Manager, Transcription Service (Southern)
Senior Advisors
Advisor
Who are the people involved with the performance of NTS? How do their roles interact with Court
Reporters? You can find all these people in the NTS Staff pages of JET.
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Role
Name/s
Interaction
Senior Analyst
Empowers NTS management to make decisions by
turning raw data into meaningful information (eg,
running reports on performance and quality data)
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Role
Name/s
Interaction
National Workflow
Scheduler
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HR Requirements and forms
In this section you will find forms and requirements for
•
Information
Ministry of Justice
• Your local unit
Ministry of Justice
Now that you have signed your contract, there are more statutory and organisation requirements of
the Ministry that need to be signed. A pre-start pack contains the following forms to be signed and
returned:
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Form
Signed (if applicable)
Returned
Bank deposit slip
Code of Conduct
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Ethnicity and disability form
IT agreement
Kiwi Saver
Union membership information
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Request for a copy of Personal Information Form
Tax form (IR 330)
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Health & Safety
Your personal Health & Safety is very important as a Court Reporter. This section covers:
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• Court Reporter Specific Health & Safety
• Workplace Assessment
• Supervision / Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
Court Reporter Specific Health & Safety
The National Transcription Service is committed to providing a safe workplace for all staff. The Court
Reporting role can be physically and mentally demanding.
NTS has a national group called Fit for Transcription. This group looks at wellbeing specifically in
relation to Court Reporters and the work they undertake. Information on this group can be found
here:
Information
https://jet.justice.govt.nz/who-we-are/operations-and-service-delivery/national-service-
delivery/national-transcription-service/groups/fit-for-transcription/
It is important to talk to your Team Manager if you experience any issues – both physical and in
relation to content et cetera, of what you are transcribing.
There is a specific NTS Health & Safety page containing relevant NTS and MoJ information. Please
read through this now. It includes information such as headset policy, flexi-time guidelines, hearing
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and eye test policy, et cetera. In particular, ensure that you read the Court Reporter H&S Guidelines.
This document talks about breaks, working under pressure et cetera:
https://jet.justice.govt.nz/who-we-are/operations-and-service-delivery/national-service-
the
delivery/national-transcription-service/nts-health-and-safety/
Workplace assessment
A workstation assessment will be arranged in your first two weeks to ensure that you are working in
a position that promotes comfort and safety. This will ensure that the following are correct:
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• your desk height
• your screen height
• your chair position
The workplace assessor will advise if you require any specialised equipment as a result of the
workstation assessment. Talk to your Team Manager to organise the equipment.
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Supervision
Part of the wellbeing approach is to make professional supervision available to staff who are in roles
where they are exposed to distressing content or work of a difficult nature. The excerpt from the
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policy in relation to professional supervision is at the end of this. The following two points
summarise the purpose of supervision:
• Professional supervision will assist individuals to reflect on their work, the way in which their
work and personal lives interact, and proactively monitor and maintain health and wellbeing
• Supervision also provides ongoing support to guide individuals towards continually
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delivering competent practice, a forum to discuss their work and anything that may impact
on their ability to do their job safely
Supervision is not compulsory, but we strongly encourage you to attend. It will be one session per
quarter. Please talk to your Team Manager if you would like to arrange a session.
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a nationwide counselling service with a qualified and
registered counselling professional.
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You do not need to seek approval or advice from your manager or the Ministry before requesting
counselling.
More information can be found here:
https://jet.justice.govt.nz/how-do-i/access-free-counselling/
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Workstation and technology
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You need tools to enable you to be a Court Reporter. This section covers:
• Your Workstation
• Computer systems
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Workstation
You will be provided with:
Item
Received
Desk
Chair
Computer
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Headphones/headset*
Foot pedal
Stationery
Access to phone
MoJ survival backpack and water container
* NTS has guidelines on personal choice for headsets. Read about it on the NTS Health & Safety
JET page here:
Information
https://jet.justice.govt.nz/who-we-are/operations-and-service-delivery/national-service-
delivery/national-transcription-service/nts-health-and-safety/
Computer systems
Your Trainer will introduce you to Ministry-wide systems on JET and NTS-specific systems you will be
using as a Court Reporter.
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There’s space in your Arataki book to make any notes or jot down questions you may have about the
Ministry computer systems.
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Welcome to the Ministry
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e-Module
This interactive e-module contains useful information for a new starter covering everything from our
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structure to our history to the jargon we all use every day.
Click on the following link to access this e-module:
https://thrive.justice.govt.nz/course/view.php?id=803
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Note:
You should already have access to Thrive. However, if for whatever reason you
do not have
access to Thrive, talk to your Team Manager or Senior Court Reporter and they should be able
to assist you.
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Court Reporter Training
Programme
Information
Your training
There will be an initial comprehensive eight to 10 week training period. The majority of this training
will be delivered by three remote trainers via video using MS Teams. You will be trained with other
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new Court Reporters based around the country.
To become a fully competent Court Reporter takes a minimum of 12 months.
Following the initial training, you will receive further training and support from your on-site
the
buddy/Senior Court Reporter (SCR).
There is a large amount to learn. NTS has a prescriptive set of standards that need to be followed
and these differ depending on what type of hearing you are transcribing. There are 13 different
jurisdictions we transcribe and a large number of different hearing types within those jurisdictions.
There are also a large number of Ministry specific applications to learn. There is a lot of reading and
theory at the start, but this is required to set a good foundation to then build from.
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Following your initial training, you will be supported by your local Senior Court Reporter and/or
buddy and Team Manager to continue your training.
Training programme and schedule
The entire training programme consists of:
1. The beginning: Orientation to MoJ and NTS
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1A. Criminal non-evidence transcription
1B. Criminal evidence transcription
2. Quality and Peer checking
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3. Advanced transcription skills – your Team Manager will take you through this as ongoing
training.
Your training begins today. Over the next eight to 10 weeks your trainer will assist you to develop
the basic essential skills of Court Reporting. There will be no expectation that you produce fast,
quality transcripts until you have had sufficient opportunity to learn and practice your new skills.
After a period of productive transcribing, you will gradually be introduced to further skills. These will
allow you to work in more specialised areas of transcription (eg, split trials, Lead Court Reporter,
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High Court and Special Jurisdictions).
Training Resources
NTS has specific training resources for Court Reporters and your induction can be found on the NTS
Knowledge Base at:
Arataki Roadmap (Induction)
They consist of:
• Online e-learning modules
• Quick reference guides
•
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Application user guides
• Examples of transcription work to reference
Assessments
Formative assessments (quizzes) along the way will let you and your trainers know what learning has
been achieved and what areas need more time and practice.
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Monthly assessments will be an ongoing feature of your life as a Court Reporter. NTS is committed
to providing quality transcripts within agreed timeframes. The Team Manager evaluates
Court Reporters work with the aim of continually developing and improving output.
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Expectations
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As an NTS Court Reporter, you will be expected to meet objectives around:
• Ministry of Justice (MoJ) values
• Performance
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• Behaviour
Your trainer will discuss these areas with you.
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MoJ values
•
Respect
− We value others and their contributions
•
Integrity
− We are honest and open
•
Service
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− We deliver results
•
Excellence
− We focus on quality
Performance
The Ministry has a performance management system to enable you to gain agreement and a common
understanding with your manager about what is expected throughout the performance year. This means
agreeing
what you will achieve and
how you will achieve it (ie, “the what” (performance and
development goals) as well as “the how” (behaviour)).
Your
Performance and Development Plan (PDP) ensures that you and your manager have a common
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understanding of what is expected throughout the performance year, and a plan for your
development. Your Team Manager will discuss your plan with you and for more details about the
process, visit:
https://jet.justice.govt.nz/how-do-i/managing-performance/
Behaviour
Refer to your local office expectations from your Senior Court Reporter and/or Team Manager.
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Appendix 1 - Roles within NTS
People have a variety of roles and responsibilities within NTS. Some you will deal with on a daily
basis, others less frequently. The following four tables briefly explain the roles within:
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• Court Reporting team
• Health and safety team
• Performance team
• Management team
Court Reporting team
Role
Description
Court Reporter
The role of a Court Reporter is to provide high quality transcription
service to the Courts and Tribunals of New Zealand. There are over
13 jurisdictions and involves a wide variety of subject matters.
There are two types of transcription; evidence (transcribed at the
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time of the hearing) and non-evidence (transcribed after the
hearing). Court Reporters will work alongside others in their own
team, as well as Court Reporters based at other sites throughout
New Zealand. Court Reporters report to a Team Manager.
Senior Court Reporter
The Senior Court Reporter provides day-to-day operational support
in the form of allocating work and resources, liaising with court
registry staff, dealing with matters as they crop up and undertaking
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quality reviews. They are also technical experts and will provide
training to Court Reporters. They assist the Team Manager with
recruitment and other matters. They will also transcribe from time
the
to time. Each Team Manager has a Senior Court Reporter as part of
their team. The Senior Court Reporter is usually the first port of call
for Court Reporters for any technical issues and advice on
transcription.
Senior Court Reporter Te Reo The Senior Court Reporters Te Reo transcribe in both Māori and
English. They assist with implementing NTS' Te Reo Māori Strategy
under and Te Paparahi, Māori language quality assurance and the
promotion of te reo and tikanga within NTS.
Team Manager
The Team Manager is responsible for the support and development
of the Court Reporters within their team, and have oversight of the
day-to-day work of the team to ensure that the transcription
service provided is timely and accurate. They create and maintain
stakeholder relationships and are involved with national NTS
initiatives. Team Managers promote health and wellbeing for their
teams. They are responsible for ensuring consistency of delivery of
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transcription services through monitoring of service levels and
quality, accuracy and efficiency.
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Health and safety team
Role
Description
Certified First Aiders
Training for first aid involves attending a course at a certified first
aid supplier such as the two-day course and ‘top up’ one day
refresher course run by St Johns.
Floor Warden
The Floor Warden assists in evacuation of a building in an
emergency. They report to the Building Warden and may be
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assisted by a Deputy Fire Warden.
Health and Safety
Health and Safety Reps participate in the local health and safety
Representatives
committee which works to improve and foster health and safety in
the workplace.
Performance team
Role
Description
Senior Analyst
The Analyst role is to provide reporting and document the business
requirements which provides the foundation for the NTS to
effectively utilise the massive amount of data that is stored in its
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systems. The Analyst provides maintenance and data extraction
within the workflow system and assists with technical issues.
National Workflow Scheduler The Scheduler is responsible for balancing the demand for
transcription from the Courts between various sites nationally and
identifying gaps in resourcing. Things change at very short notice in
the courts’ environment, so there is a lot of juggling going on
behind the scenes. The Scheduler also provides forecasting for
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upcoming work.
Management team
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Role
Description
National Manager
The National Manager is responsible for the overall operation of
the NTS. The National Manager is the key point of contact for
senior Ministry managers and Judiciary and reports to the
Group Manager, National Delivery Service.
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Manager, Transcription
The Managers, Transcription Service manage the Team Managers
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and maintain key relationships with the Registry, the Judiciary and
the National Transcription Service. A key element of this role is
current and future strategy of the Service, ensuring that the focus
for current and future stages of development and growth are
sustainable. There are two Managers, Transcription Service,
Northern and Southern, based at North Shore District Court and the
NTS Timaru office.
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Role
Description
Senior Advisors
The Senior Advisors are responsible for the development of
transcription business processes and the business systems that
support these. The role also involves managing the standardisation
of transcription processes, templates, formats and business
systems across transcription units. The Senior Advisor also takes
the lead role in ensuring a smooth transition for all new business
integrating with the NTS. The role ensures that each new business
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is recognised for its individual characteristics and traits. The Senior
Advisor works closely with the new business pre- and
post-integration and is the key contact in the integration process.
There are four Senior Advisors based at North Shore and
Christchurch.
Advisor
The Advisor is responsible for maintaining the NTS Knowledge Base
on the Ministry’s intranet. The Knowledge Base is continually
evolving with changes to legislation et cetera. The Advisor is
involved in various NTS projects focussed on assisting
Court Reporters in their role.
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Document Outline
