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SHORTHAND REPORTERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

BUSINESS PLAN

1.  HISTORY

                     

1.1  It was proposed at the SRAA Annual General Meeting at Perth held on Saturday 26 February 2000 that a business plan should be developed for the

Association.

                     

2  PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS

                     

2.1  The business plan must reflect the objects as defined in the Constitution and Rules.

                     

2.2  The business plan must be achievable in terms of the limited human and financial resources of a small organisation.

                     

3  IMPLEMENTATION

                     

3.1  Although paragraph 34 of the Constitution and Rules refers to "Alteration of Objects and Rules" nowhere are Objects and Rules defined.  Therefore the most immediate requirement is drafting and adopting in the Constitution objects which, pursuant to paragraph 34, can be "added to only by a special resolution of the association".

                     

3.2  Cognisant of the need for an achievable business plan, it is therefore recommended that by way of special resolution at the February AGM, which requires pursuant to 23(2) notice in writing "at least 21 days before the date fixed for the holding of the general meeting", the following changes to the Constitution and Rules be considered:

                     

 (a)  that "PRELIMINARY" under "PART I" be amended to read:

                     

"OBJECTS

                          

1.  (1)  The objects of the Shorthand Reporters Association of Australia Inc (SRAA) are to advance and promote the professions of court reporting, parliamentary reporting and

stenocaptioning.

                     

 (b)  that under "INTERPRETATION" the current paragraphs 1(1) to 1(3) be renumbered 1(2) to 1(4).

                      

3.3  The proposed objects and the attached "Draft Business Plan" be advised in writing to all members prior to the AGM to be discussed and adopted as amended.

 

DRAFT BUSINESS PLAN

 

 1  THE OBJECTS OF THE PLAN ARE:

                     

1.1.  To advance, market and promote our profession in the changing world of court and Hansard reporting and stenocaptioning;

                     

                     

1.2.  To recognise and identify areas of concern such as recruitment and education, professional development, competing technologies and financial viability;

                     

                     

1.3.  To recognise and define where possible the changes that are likely to occur to the roles of court reporters, Hansard reporters and stenocaptioners given the introduction of new technologies; and

                     

1.4.  To recommend appropriate remedial action and/or policies and to formulate time frames for their implementation. 

                     

2.  MARKETING, PROMOTION AND ADVERTISING.

                     

2.1  The promotion, marketing and advertising of the reporting profession to students, reporters and managers, (particularly the decision and/or policy makers who employ reporters), clients, be they the courts, the legal profession, parliaments, the television industry, corporations or the public, by:-

 

(a)  further development and enhancement of the SRAA website, including having its own strategy plan, eg, a court reporters forum; continuation of present policies of free listing of job vacancies; the introduction of advertising where advertisers have a link to their own home page; and a page for goods for sale such as used steno machines, etc;

                          

 (b)  further development and enhancement of the SRAA's magazine with greater distribution to judges, parliamentarians, the legal profession, decision and policy makers, et cetera; and increased revenue through advertising;

                          

 (c)  greater distribution of the SRAA brochure to schools and clients;

 

 (d)  continuation and increased promotion of SRAA conferences to other industry

organisations and bodies; and

                          

 (e)  pro bono or CART services for the hearing impaired.

                     

3.  RECOGNITION OF AREAS OF CONCERN

                     

3.1  In terms of identifying areas of concern there should be an initial (and then perhaps biennial) census of:-

                          

CURRENT COURT REPORTERS, HANSARD REPORTERS AND STENOCAPTIONERS 

                          

 (a)  reporters - the number of court reporters, Hansard reporters, stenocaptioners and trainees in each State and Territory, including an age profile;

                          

 (b) reporting organisations - the number of reporters, typists and monitors within court reporting and sound recording agencies, both public and private, and similarly Hansards and stenocaptioning entities.

                          

JOB VACANCIES PROFILE:

                          

Vacancies and associated job descriptions and any information on proposed changes within organisations which will impact on reporter staffing levels.  

                          

PROFILE OF COURT REPORTING SCHOOLS:

                          

A profile of every private school of court reporting, Sydney TAFE and the National

College of Court Reporting in Adelaide, detailing:

                          

- courses offered, whether full time, part time or correspondence;

                          

- qualifications awarded;

                          

- qualification of teachers;

                          

- number of students presently enrolled;

 

- a student results profile detailing the percentage drop-out rate in each classification of part time, full time and correspondence, together with the number

of successful graduates in 1999, 2000 and 2001 and the total since commencement of

the school to date;

                          

- theory taught, together with details of other subjects or modules such as English,

parliamentary procedures, court reporting, et cetera;

                          

- general considerations such as whether the school has a classroom or office configuration, the number and type of shorthand machines and computers, the CAT software used, class capacities, estimated 2002 year-end graduates; and,

                          

- finally, advertising expenditure for 1999, 2000, 2001 and to date.

                     

3.2  A committee member in each State should identify through discussion with clients, reporters and management changes which have resulted from or will result from the introduction of new technologies or other factors likely to impact on the role of reporters, in order for the committee to recommend action.

                     

 (Members have already suggested the following:

                          

Competition from sound recording.

                          

 (a) public sector.

                          

Is it a threat or simply a necessity to enable management flexibility in order to provide coverage to a wide range of courts and tribunals; for Hansard management, is it a necessary tool, for example, to enable reporters to have meal breaks or indeed allow them to go home during lengthy sittings?

                          

Does it make sense for a reporter to provide transcript services in a jurisdiction where a transcript is not required? 

                          

 (b) private sector.

                          

Is it only a threat when it is used to provide daily transcripts or again are there simply insufficient court reporters?

                          

Voice recognition - claimed to be three to five years away (FTR) from providing multivoice realtime applications in courts and parliaments.

                          

Although perceived as a threat, voice recognition is used successfully by Hansard staffs in Western Australia, NSW and Victoria, and has been trialled by Canberra Hansard and the Reporting Services Branch in New South Wales.

                          

What is our best educated guess as to when multivoice realtime applications will succeed?

                          

Digital sound recording - because of the current conversion to digital television and digital mobile telephones, it is perceived by decision makers as being more flexible and efficient as it has a "buzz word" status and as such is self-promoting.  There is a lack of argument countering any increased efficiency of digital sound recording and, for example, no promotion of the fact that Case CATalyst itself has digital sound recording.

                          

Are reporters too slow to adopt technologies?  For example, it is now 15 years since the introduction of realtime.

                          

Do reporters offer enough value-added services?

                          

Is there insufficient knowledge of technological trends and new technologies and how they can be adopted by reporters to provide additional services?

                     

4.  Once defined, areas of concern can be addressed, but some that have already been suggested are:

                     

- the successful continuance, however changed, of reporting as a profession;

                          

- the identification of technologies and value-added services that aid reporters to promote their profession;

                          

- a more timely recognition and analysis of technologies that both assist and threaten reporters;

 

- the identification and development of career opportunities;

                          

- the improved education and training of current and future reporters and managers;

                          

- the need for a continual review of SRAA's objects and operations, particularly ongoing financial reviews with the aim of identifying any scope for increased revenue, not necessarily increased conference fees and membership fees but perhaps sponsorship and advertising revenue (the web site and SRAA magazine);

                          

- the need to identify and liaise with other organisations such as NCRA, CRPSA, ALSM, Council of Chief Justices, the Australian Judicial Review Committee, national transcript committees and E-law international transcript committees, et cetera; and

                          

- the need to review any requirement for a code of ethics for reporters, private or public, such as exists in the NCRA or even the Court Reporters (Private Sector) Association (CRPSA) in Australia.