Client Service Officer

Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia; Townsville City; On-site; AUD 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia in Townsville is seeking a Client Services Officer to join the Townsville Registry. You will support local clients face-to-face and contribute to a dispersed national team, handling inquiries and case-related tasks.

You will rotate across streams, learn procedures, and assist in docketing, payments, and reporting while maintaining high standards of client service and professionalism.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated successful client service experience.
• Ability to quickly learn court procedures and policies.
• Strong organisational skills with ability to manage priorities.
• Capable of clear oral and written communication under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Provide information and advice on court services, procedures and forms.
• Progress cases with administrative support and fee reconciliation.
• Assist in managing complex cases in the case management system.
• Work independently within rules applying legislation and procedures.
• Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders to resolve cases.
• Support Registrars and staff and contribute to quality assurance.

Skills

Client service

Communication skills

Teamwork

Organisational skills

Conflict resolution

Initiative

Tools

Court information systems

Job description

Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia – Townsville QLD

This position is being advertised for Client Services Officer (CSO) roles in the Townsville Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Family Law Registry.

This role operates within a small registry location-based team at the Townsville Registry. All staff are expected to be flexible and adaptable to a variety of tasks that arise in response to work demands, staff leave and other operational reasons.

The Registry provides service to all court clients both locally (face to face) and/or nationally (as part of a dispersed national team) as well as providing high level docket and/or case management support to Judges, Registrars and their staff.

The successful applicant must be flexible in their approach to work and be willing to learn and adapt to new procedures. The position involves work in Location Based Support across any of the streams of work managed by the respective teams. There is an expectation that regular role rotation and cross skilling will take place to ensure all staff maintain a broad range of skills.

Position Overview

This position is being advertised for Client Services Officer (CSO) roles in the Townsville Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Family Law Registry.

This role operates within a small registry location-based team at the Townsville Registry. All staff are expected to be flexible and adaptable to a variety of tasks that arise in response to work demands, staff leave and other operational reasons.

The Registry provides service to all court clients both locally (face to face) and/or nationally (as part of a dispersed national team) as well as providing high level docket and/or case management support to Judges, Registrars and their staff.

The successful applicant must be flexible in their approach to work and be willing to learn and adapt to new procedures. The position involves work in Location Based Support across any of the streams of work managed by the respective teams. There is an expectation that regular role rotation and cross skilling will take place to ensure all staff maintain a broad range of skills.

The key duties of the position include:

Key Responsibilities and Duties

The responsibilities of the position are to:

• provide information and advice relating to court services, procedures, processes, and forms as well as external options to clients to assist them to resolve their enquiries and issues.
• progress cases by providing administrative services in accordance with court processes, including document lodgement, enquiries management, Registrar support and receiving and reconciling court fees and charges.
• assist in the management of complex cases through the case management system.
• work independently within defined rules to apply legislation, guidelines and court processes.
• identify issues and contribute to the resolution of problems.
• schedule and prioritise matters for hearing and other interventions to achieve the earliest possible resolution.
• liaise with a range of internal and external stakeholders including Judge’s chambers, Registrars and their support staff, managers, legal practitioners, community organisations and other service providers to assist the resolution of cases.
• coach employees, identify training needs and provide quality assurance.
• collate, analyse, and produce reports as required, and
• assist Registrars as required.

Selection Criteria

• A demonstrated record of success in the provision of service to clients involving working directly with the general public and including a demonstrated understanding of and commitment to providing client focused services.
• Demonstrated working knowledge or clearly demonstrated capability to quickly acquire a sound working knowledge of court procedures, guidelines, policies and practice, including the computerised information systems used by the courts.
• Demonstrated effective organisational skills with the ability to work under pressure, achieve objectives and manage competing priorities.
• A demonstrated ability to work well in a team, to act with integrity, use initiative and work unsupervised as required.
• Demonstrated capacity to communicate effectively both orally and in writing with strong interpersonal skills, including a proven ability to manage stressful and/or conflict situations in a professional manner, on a continual basis.

Eligibility

Employment with the Court is subject to the conditions prescribed in the Public Service Act 1999, and the following:

• Australian citizenship – the successful applicant must hold Australian citizenship.
• Security and character clearance – the successful applicant must satisfy a Police Records Check and may also be required to complete security clearances during the course of their employment.
• Successful applicants engaged into the APS will be subject to a probation period.

Interested candidates who have received a redundancy benefit from an APS agency are welcome to apply but note that they cannot be engaged until their redundancy benefit period has expired.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recruitment

Candidates may use AI tools to assist with their participation in this recruitment process unless otherwise advised. Where AI tools are used, candidates are responsible for ensuring that all information submitted is transparent, accurate, and genuinely reflects their own skills, capabilities, and experience.

Notes

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are strongly encouraged to apply.

Getting to know the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021 (FCFCOA Act), which came into effect on 1 September 2021, merged the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia into a unified court system known as the FCFCOA.The FCFCOA (Division 1) is a superior court that handles the most complex family law cases and serves as the appellate court for family law matters. It operates nationwide, except in Western Australia.The FCFCOA (Division 2), a federal court, shares jurisdiction over family law and child support with Division 1, but also handles general federal law matters, such as administrative law, bankruptcy, intellectual property, and migration law.The Federal Court of Australia entity engages employees under the Public Service Act 1999 to support the Federal Court, the FCFCOA (Divisions 1 and 2), and the National Native Title Tribunal. Established by the 2016 Courts Administration Legislation Amendment Act, each court retains its own identity and judicial independence. FCFCOA employees are covered by the Federal Court Enterprise Agreement 2024–2027.