Maria Scenario

Cultural awareness and Self-reflection:

Recognises and is open to cultural differences
Self-reflection
Continuous learning

Equity and inclusion

Identify barriers
Identifying & addressing disparities
Creating inclusive environments
Advocacy

Adaptability and Flexibility

Adjusting practices: no one size fits all approach
Innovation
Learning from others

Building relationships

Establishing trust
Creating cultural and psychological safety
Communication
Collaboration

Empowerment and Agency

Voice and participation
Supporting leadership
Building capacity

Background

Maria is a 39-year-old woman from the Philippines who has lived in Australia for six years on a temporary partner visa. After experiencing family violence, she applied for a visa under the family violence provisions of the Migration Act 1958. When her application was unsuccessful at the Tribunal, she was advised to seek judicial review in the FCFCOA.

Maria has come to the court registry to seek help and later attended a directions hearing online. She was self-represented and had never been to court before.

At Court Security

At the court entrance there was a long line as people waited to go through security. A security officer noticed Maria in the line. She was shifting from foot to foot and frequently looking around. When she got to the front of the line she hesitated and didn’t move forward to the security screening.

The security officer asked her to step forward and when she didn’t, they repeated the instructions again loudly and asked if she “understood English.” She stepped forward and nodded and looked around the room as the security officer moved her through the screening process.

At the Registry Counter

Maria then approached the registry counter. The Client Service Officer (CSO) greeted her with a smile and said, “How can I help?” Maria explained in broken English that she wanted to know what she needed to do for the upcoming hearing. The CSO encouragingly said “your English is very good” and then started to explain what Maria needed to do. Maria listened and nodded and thanked the CSO for their help and left.

In the Directions Hearing (Online)

Maria attended the hearing via video link, supported by a Tagalog interpreter.

When it emerged that documents hadn’t been filed on time, the Judicial Registrar remarked that Maria had “been in Australia long enough to understand how things work.”

Maria’s responses were short, and she was hesitant, She was asked if she was “intentionally withholding information” and then instructed to “just say yes or no”.

Maria has submitted a complaint to the Court describing how the whole experience had left her feeling unsupported and alone and unable to fully participate in the process.

When she came to the registry to try and understand what she needed to do to engage with the court she felt immediately intimidated and nervous because as she came to the security checkpoint there were people in uniform, and they were making everyone stand in a line. It reminded her of the times the army in her home country would do this to people. When the security staff started loudly ask her questions at her and ask questions this made her more nervous and frightened. She could feel everyone staring at her and she felt very embarrassed and humiliated.

She was still feeling nervous when she came to the registry counter but asked her question anyway. The Client Service Officer was friendly but spoke quickly making it difficult for Maria to understand. Maria wanted to ask for an interpreter but was worried about the expense and she also felt embarrassed because the CSO had said her English was good, so she didn’t want to be a problem or inconvenience for them. Maria left without the information she needed which led to problems for her further into the process.

Maria has since discovered she could have had an interpreter, and her complaint outlines she should have been provided with one. One of the problems created was that documents that needed to be submitted for the Directions Hearing were not submitted. She felt ashamed when the Judicial Registrar blamed her for not knowing this. It felt unfair because she knew she had tried to learn what was needed but didn’t have the interpreter she needed.

In the Directions Hearing, Maria had an interpreter but was struggling to keep up with the process of interpreting and the legal language making it hard to respond in full. She felt judged because the Judicial Registrar asked if she was being evasive and withholding information and then told her to just answer yes or no. This meant she left the hearing concerned that they had misunderstood her situation and that she had no power to change that. She did not know where to seek help or clarify the process and was left very worried.

When she found out about the complaints process Maria decided she would complain because she hoped that by speaking up, future court users from similar backgrounds would receive more culturally responsive and inclusive treatment.

Cultural awareness
and Self-Reflection

Equity and inclusion

Adaptabillity and Flexibility

Building relationships

Empowerment
and Agency

Where could more adaptability and flexibility have been useful in this scenario?
What innovative solutions can you suggest to improve some of the barriers in this scenario?
Where were the opportunities for learning from others in the scenario?
What can leaders put in place to create more opportunities for learning from others (court users, colleagues and external partners)?

How can we engage with complaints like Maria's to ensure continuous improvement?
How do we as leaders support culturally diverse staff voices for continuous improvement?
How can leaders support career progression into leadership for culturally diverse staff?
How can leaders build the capacity of court users to navigate the Courts and have agency?

How could trust be built with court users like Maria?
What could have created a more culturally and psychological safe experience for Maria?
What would have enhanced the communication with Maria?
What opportunities are there for collaboration across the Courts and externally to address the barriers experienced by Maria?

SSI Group acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work. SSI Group remains committed to reconciliation and to working with First Nations peoples to realise “Makarrata” – a Yulngu word meaning the coming together after a struggle.

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Workshop activities

Principles for Culturally Responsive Leadership

Mobile users:

Scenario PART 1: Maria

Reflection Questions

Scenario PART 2: Maria's Complaint

Group Work

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