Part-time staff members in the ACT’s emergency services and schools are to be exempt from jury duty under new rules put to the Legislative Assembly last week.
Attorney-General, Gordon Ramsay said the changes in the Justice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 would ensure that part-time teaching and emergency services professionals were treated the same as their full-time colleagues.
“Currently the exemptions from jury duty for these professions only apply to full- time workers,” Mr Ramsay said.
“This amendment will help to support gender equality by removing the distinction between full-time and part-time work, which disproportionally affects women and particularly those women with young children who are working part-time.”
He said the Australian Bureau of Statistics found in its 2016-17 analysis that 45 per cent of women in the nation worked part-time.
It found a total of 61 per cent of women with children under five worked part-time compared to 8.4 per cent of men with children under five.
“While this is a minor amendment to the Juries Regulation Act it demonstrates the commitment of the Government to achieving gender equality in our community,” Mr Ramsay said.
In other amendments introduced in the Bill, family disputes can now be resolved through Legal Aid ACT without a grant of legal assistance from the Legal Aid Commission.
Mr Ramsay said these amendments would benefit those who were ineligible for legal assistance at the Legal Aid Commission, and unable to afford private legal representation.
“These amendments will assist in preventing people in this gap from the crippling legal costs of litigation and unnecessary legal action, which in turn reduces reliance on other social services,” he said.
He noted that the Legal Aid Commission’s 2016-17 annual report found 76 per cent of family dispute resolution conferences had a successful outcome.
“Alternative dispute resolution is generally more timely, amicable and cost efficient than proceeding to trial,” Mr Ramsay said.
