The Authority was established pursuant to the Courts Administration Act 1993.
The Authority is independent of the legislative and executive arms of government. It is the means by which the judiciary of this State, acting independently of the Executive Government, controls the provision of the administrative services and facilities that the courts of the State require to discharge their judicial functions.
The State Courts Administrator is responsible to the State Courts Administration Council (the Council) for the management of the Authority’s assets and staff. The Council, Administrator and staff are collectively referred to as the ‘Courts Administration Authority’.
The judiciary are not regarded as being part of the Authority. However, their salaries and some salary related payments are included under Administered Items.
The structure of the Authority is shown in the following diagram:
* Environment Resources and Development Court
Section 27 of the Courts Administration Act 1993 provides for the Auditor-General to audit the accounts of the Council in respect of each financial year.
The audit program covered all major financial systems and was directed primarily towards obtaining sufficient evidence to enable an audit opinion to be formed with respect to the financial statements and internal control.
During 2001-02, Head Office functions that were the subject of audit attention included:
budgetary control and management reporting
general ledger and journals
capital works
assets
payroll
expenditure
revenue
accounts receivable.
The audit also incorporated a review of the:
Court Case Management System (CCMS), the CRIMCASE/FATE System and the Fines Payment Unit at Port Adelaide Magistrates and Berri Court;
Suitor’s Fund operations at the Supreme, Magistrates and District Courts and the Sheriff’s Office trust account;
management and operation of the Courts Circuits;
Jury Election and Management Financial System.
In addition, in the latter part of the year Audit commenced a review of key security and control aspects of the Authority’s CRIMCASE and FATE systems and use of the Justice Information System. The status of this review is referred to later under the heading ‘Commentary on Computer Information Systems (CIS) Environment’.
A management letter communicating issues arising from the audit was forwarded to the Acting State Courts Administrator and a satisfactory response was received. The main issues raised by Audit are detailed in ‘Audit Findings and Comments’ hereunder.
The audit reviews undertaken involved an assessment of the adequacy of accounting, record keeping and control, and the test verification of financial transactions processed and recorded during the year. The review identified a number of instances where internal control procedures either required improvement or were not applied consistently over the year.
While there were a number of control issues raised by Audit, substantive testing of transactions processed by the Authority did not reveal any material errors in the sample of transactions tested.
The main issues identified by Audit relate to:
The audit review highlighted that information contained in the Authority’s Fixed Asset Register was not up to date in relation to the location of computer and office equipment.
The Authority has responded that a stocktake undertaken by the Authority has assisted in addressing the location of equipment.
Bank Reconciliations
The audit review highlighted that bank reconciliations were not being performed on a timely basis and that the investigation and correction of variances remained outstanding for some time.
The Authority has advised that reconciliations are to be performed on a timely basis.
In the latter part of the year Audit commenced a review of key security and control aspects of the Authority’s CRIMCASE and FATE systems and use of the Justice Information System. The review forms part of the 2001-02 Audit program of Information Technology review activities identified as part of this Department’s increased focus on agency computer processing environments and key system security controls.
Regarding the above systems, Audit’s review processes essentially considers security policies and user access arrangements and is complementary to audit review work being undertaken at the EDS processing bureau at Glenside with respect to a number of Justice agencies.
At the time of preparation of this Report, the review was at a stage of finalisation. The outcome from the review will be communicated to the Authority and included in a subsequent Report to Parliament, along with outcomes relating to other agency reviews presently in progress.
As required by subsection 36(1)(a)(iii) of the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987, the audit of the Courts Administration Authority included an assessment of the controls exercised in relation to the receipt, expenditure and investment of money, the acquisition and disposal of property and the incurring of liabilities. The assessment also considered whether those controls were consistent with the prescribed elements of the Financial Management Framework as required by Treasurer’s Instruction 2 ‘Financial Management Policies’.
Audit formed the opinion that the controls exercised by the Courts Administration Authority in relation to the receipt, expenditure and investment of money; the acquisition and disposal of property; and the incurring of liabilities, were sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that the financial transactions of the organisation were conducted properly and in accordance with law.
Government appropriation of $52.6 million ($53.7 million) to the Authority in 2001-02 was 83.2 percent of the Authority’s total funding sources as compared with 87.7 percent in the previous year.
The Authority’s expenses from ordinary activities include the costs incurred to collect significant revenue on behalf of the Government with respect to Court fines and fees, $27.6 million in 2001-02, which is directly credited to the Consolidated Account. This revenue is reported under Administered Revenues.
The decrease in Cash by $4.3 million is due mainly to payments in relation to the refurbishment of the Supreme Court ($2.5 million), the majority of funding for which was provided in 2001-02.
The Authority in cooperation with other Justice agencies established the Fines Enforcement System, the legislation for which was proclaimed on 6 March 2000, to improve the collection of outstanding fees and fines which at 30 June 2002 totalled $72.2 million ($68.9 million). Refer Note 1.17.
The Authority received $2.4 million ($2.4 million) from the Attorney-General’s Department Administered Account towards the cost of operating the Fines Enforcement System. This amount is reflected in the Authority’s Revenues from Ordinary Activities.