El 1 - National Registrar - Migration

$120,025 - $145,107 per annum, plus 15.4% superannuation
- Ongoing, Full-time
- Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

**Position Overview**
The Federal Court has a current need for a EL 1 National Registrar in the Court’s migration team. Registrars support Judges in facilitating the just resolution of migration proceedings according to law in a fair, but also efficient way. Keeping costs of proceedings as reasonable as possible is also an objective. In providing support, Registrars exercise delegated judicial functions; and performing case management functions and responsibilities as a senior member in the Court’s migration team.

**Major Activities - National Registrars**
Migration Registrars undertake a diverse range of work, including the following:

- performing delegated judicial functions pursuant to the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) and other legislative instruments, such as:

- the determination of costs estimates and taxation of costs.
- the determination of compliance with practice and procedure under the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth); and
- duty registrar practice, including occasional after-hours on-call duty on a rostered basis.
- performing other statutory duties, powers and functions pursuant to the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) and other legislative instruments, as required.
- analysing migration filings, understanding emerging trends, and identifying matters that raise similar legal and/or factual issues.
- providing high-level legal advice and legal support to Judges and other internal staff in the area of migration law.
- supporting the development of migration resources, policy and practice by monitoring developments in migration law.
- liaising with Judges, court staff, court users and other internal and external stakeholders in relation to the migration workload.
- working closely with legal and other staff who undertake work in the area of migration law.
- undertaking case management support and analysis and directing a substantial proportion of the case management steps.
- issuing case management directions and orders.
- conducting in-depth analysis and assessment of judicial workload; and providing recommendations regarding the management and allocation of Judge-related work, having regard to judicial workload and availability considerations.
- supervising and coordinating the allocation of migration matters to Judges on a national basis.
- directing and coordinating statistics, reporting and record-keeping in relation to migration workload.
- leading a team of lawyers responsible for reviewing and summarising all migration matters to assess their nature, urgency and complexity, including any anomalies, competency issues, procedural history, potential cohorts or specific case management requests.
- supervising the court’s pro bono referral, cultural liaison and interpreter liaison programs.

**Competencies & Attributes - National Registrar**
To undertake the EL 1 role, successful applicants must have:

- demonstrated experience in migration law.
- a sound understanding of case management principles.
- an understanding of the migration jurisdiction and practices and procedures of the Federal Court.
- the ability to undertake analytical and legal work and critically evaluate a large volume of information in a high-pressure environment.
- the ability to coordinate caseload and workflow through delegation of work to support staff and allocation of work to senior staff.
- the ability to work autonomously to manage work but also work collaboratively as part of a small team.
- the ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities.
- the ability to build and sustain positive relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.

**Formal Qualifications**
Registrars are required to perform statutory legal functions, as necessary. Therefore, legal qualifications and admission as a practitioner of the High Court and/or the Supreme Court of a State or Territory of Australia is essential.

**Selection Criteria**
- Experience in migration law, and a sound knowledge of the available avenues of review in relation to migration decisions.
- Experience in case management and understanding of case management principles.
- An understanding, or ability to acquire such knowledge quickly, of the jurisdiction and practices and procedures of migration and other general federal law work in the Federal Court.
- Demonstrated ability to critically evaluate large volumes of information and demonstrate sound judgment in decision-making.
- Well-developed communication skills, including the ability to work collaboratively, build and maintain positive professional relationships, and deal appropriately with sensitive and confidential information.
- Excellent analytical and conceptual skills.

**Eligibility**
- Australian citizenship - the successful applicant must hold Australian citizenship.
- Security and character clearance - the successful applicant must satisfy a Police Records