Vol 11 no 3 spring 14

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 3 • SPRING 2014

INSIDE

THIS ISSUE 2

BOARD of DIRECTORS, Company Information

3

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

4

NEWS IN BRIEF

5

PROFILING WENDY LA MACCHIA

6

MEET HIS HONOUR TIM CARMODY

7

FAREWELL FROM ANGELA YIN

8

2014 STATE CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FORM

9

REDLANDS READY TO HOST DIRECTORS’ ROAD TRIP

NEW CHIEF JUSTICE BECOMES QJA PATRON Soon after his appointment as Queensland Chief Justice in June, the Honourable Tim Carmody agreed to accept the role as patron of the Queensland Justices Association. QJA is honoured to again have the incumbent Chief Justice as its patron. On page 6 we include a profile of the new Chief Justice. In the photo below, taken in mid-July, His Honour is pictured with QJA director Raymond Young OAM, QJA President Keith Revell and then QJA Registrar Angela Yin.

WENDY LA MACCHIA HEADS QJA TEAM

12 Q&A

As announced in the previous edition of the Journal, former Registrar Angela Yin has departed for an overseas position. The QJABoard is pleased to announce that, following an exhaustive advertising, recruitment and selection process, Wendy La Macchia was appointed to head the QJA office as Business Manager and Registrar.

13 REGIONAL ROUNDUP

A full profile on Wendy, who is very well-qualified and well-suited for this role, is featured in an interview on pages 5-6.

11

ROLL OF HONOUR

16 REGIONAL CONTACTS

2014 STATE CONFERENCE AND AGM

Helpful Phone Numbers

SUPPLEMENTS ANNUAL DIRECTORS’ REPORT ANNUAL AUDITOR’S REPORT INSERTS AGM NOTICE & PROXY FORM MERCHANDISE ORDER FORM

Members are reminded that the 2014 State Conference will be held at the Palms Room, Redlands Sporting Club, Anson Road, Wellington Point on Saturday 18th October. You may register online by visiting the QJA website: http://www.qja.com.au/news_events/state-conference Alternatively, a conference Registration Form is again included with this Journal (page 8) and details of the conference program and key speakers are featured at page 9. If you plan to attend, please get in early as registrations close on Friday 3rd October.

You are also reminded that for the first time, the 2014 Annual General Meeting will be held immediately after the conclusion of the conference (starting at 4:30pm). The Board has scheduled the AGM in this manner so that more members have an opportunity to attend.

The formal AGM notice, Proxy form and details of the matters to be discussed at the AGM are contained later in this Journal.

Please note there is no election of office bearers this year. The next election is in 2015.

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

Our Patron The Hon Tim Carmody, Chief Justice of Queensland

Board of Directors PRESIDENT

Mr Keith Revell JP (Qual)

Telephone: (07) 3803 4337 Mobile: 0411 134 841 Email: keith.revell@qja.com.au

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Mr Ray Burrows JP (Qual)

Telephone: (07) 3822 1366 Mobile: 0409 499 016 Email: ray.burrows@qja.com.au

VICE PRESIDENTS Mr Christopher Porter JP (Qual)

Mobile: 0419 148 189 Email: chris.porter@qja.com.au

Mr David Read JP (Qual)

Telephone: (07) 4152 3318 (AH) Mobile: 0405 252 135 Email: david.read@qja.com.au

DIRECTORS Mr John Carpendale JP (Qual) Telephone: (07) 3353 2927 Mobile: 0419 683 325 Email: john.carpendale@qja.com.au

Mr Doug Hull JP (Qual) Telephone: (07) 4128 0294 Email: doug.hull@qja.com.au

Mrs Marian Vierveyzer JP (Qual) Telephone: (07) 3389 2481 Mobile: 0415 418 320 Email: marian.vierveyzer@qja.com.au

Mr Ron Court JP (Qual) Telephone: (07) 5499 0697 Mobile: 0419 679 619 Email: ron.court@qja.com.au Mr Bob Pilkington JP (Qual) Telephone: (07) 3812 1865 Mobile: 0438 121 865 Email: bob.pilkington@qja.com.au Mr Raymond Young OAM JP (Qual) Telephone: (07) 4927 4155 Mobile: 0405 624 648 Email: ray.young@qja.com.au

QUEENSLAND JUSTICES ASSOCIATION - ACN 009 666 559 – ISSN 1839-2784 The Queensland Justices Association (QJA) is a not-for-prot public company limited by guarantee operating under the Corporations Act 2001 and is governed by a Board of Directors.

Registered Ofce: Postal Address: Ofce Hours: Contact: Email: Website:

751 Stanley Street, Woolloongabba, Qld 4102.

PO Box 8419, Woolloongabba, Qld 4102 Monday – Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm Free call: 1800 061 423 - Telephone: (07) 3392 2455 - Facsimile: (07) 3392 2955 admin@qja.com.au www.qja.com.au

Registrar:

Wendy La Macchia B. Bus (Accounting), AIMM, JP (Qual)

The QJA Journal is compiled by an Editorial Board on behalf of the QJA. | Editor Mr John Carpendale The views expressed in articles & advertisements published in the QJA Journal are not necessarily the views of the Queensland Justices Association or the Board of Directors.© Queensland Justices Association claims copyright to all material published in this Journal. No material may be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the QJA. All enquiries should be addressed to The Editor at editor@qja.com.au Printed by Zink Print. PO Box 236, Kallangur QLD 4503. Phone 0437 777 079 or visit us at www.zinkprint.com.au.

2

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 3 • SPRING 2014

President’s Report Dear Colleagues I am delighted to announce the appointment of Wendy La Macchia who takes over management of the QJA office as the Business Manager/ Registrar. Wendy brings a wealth of experience in financial and office administration and has already developed some ideas for improving efficiencies in our office systems, please join me in extending a warm welcome to Wendy next time you call our office.

It has also been recognised for a while that the demands of the training program, increasing merchandise sales and membership growth have exceeded the time available for the office staff to respond to Members requests in a timely manner. In the past we have received assistance from a number of people on an ad-hoc basis but this was proving to be more regular than ad-hoc. The Board therefore approved the formal recruitment of a casual staff member to assist with peak workload demands (you would have seen the vacancy advert in the last Journal).

More information on this recruitment process later in the Journal.

Following Member feedback and some lengthy discussions with our Lawyers the QJA Board has approved some changes to the company governance documents which are now available to view and download from the website in the “Links and Downloads” section: •

•

By-Laws – containing; Branch Model Rules, Branch Elections, and Registered Trade Mark Use, The key changes to note here are the development of a new ByLaw to assist Branches with their Committee Election process and a clarification of the mandatory and optional committee positions.

Regulations – containing; Corporate Membership Categories, Financial Delegation Rules, Membership Fees, and Training Course Fees, Updates to Financial Delegation

break-even outcome. This result has been achieved through a diligent cost containment process and extra sales of merchandise, plus a slight increase in the uptake of the classroom and online training courses.

QJA, like all households and businesses across Australia, has had to face the harsh realities of our current economic times. Costs for essential services such as electricity and consumables are increasing at a rate greater than inflation. In the same way you manage your budgets, as a business we have to improve efficiencies and devise ways to deliver more with less. Through a rigorous process we have achieved this and full credit must go to our wonderful office staff, Linda Evans and Aaron Dunstan, led by our recently departed Registrar Angela Yin, who have made exceptional efforts to restrain costs and increase sales opportunities for Merchandise and Training.

Delivering a sound financial result which makes us sustainable in the long term is one of our core priorities. I believe we must strive to achieve this outcome by delivering financial results that acknowledge the challenges, provide for the needs and expectations of our Membership and plan for the future. Unfortunately the financial results from the past couple of years have not added to our accumulated capital and therefore restricts our abilities to grow the business and appropriately support you, the Members. So we must look at options to increase our bottom line without placing additional burdens on our Membership. We can do this by additional efficiencies in the office through better computer systems to remove duplication and paperwork, increasing sales of merchandise and courses, and expanding our Membership base.

The QJA Board regularly reviews the strategic direction of the business and determines appropriate goals and actions which enable us to work towards delivering on those strategies. Your Board will be undertaking a review over coming months and more detail will be available in future issues of the Journal.

Codes of Conduct – containing; Director Code of Conduct, Member Code of Conduct, and Employee Code of Conduct, A new Director Code of Conduct and updates to Member Code of Conduct.

I am delighted to announce that the online Justice of the Peace (Qualified) course has now been released and already over 50 Students have enrolled and are working their way through the course and assessment. I would like to acknowledge the contributions of our past-Registrar Greg Cuthbert who has been instrumental in developing the online course structure and to Director Ray Burrows and our Training Program Manager Linda Evans who have managed the coursework and content.

The AGM Notice, AGM Proxy Forms and supporting AGM documentation have also been posted to the website in the “News and Events” section. Please note that there are some proposed changes to the Constitution that need to be considered and voted on at the next AGM. Details have been posted as part of this notice on the website and are described later in this issue of the Journal.

The next step will be to develop an online course for current Commissioner for Declarations who want to upgrade to a Justice of the Peace (Qualified). The pre-requisite will be the achievement of a Statement of Attainment from the accredited Commission for Declarations course. Further information will be available in future editions of this Journal.

NOTE: The changed venue, date and time for this year’s AGM. The 2014 AGM will be at 4.30pm on Saturday 18th October 2014 (immediately following the State conference), at the Redlands Sporting Club, Anson Road, Wellington Point.

Our intrepid Directors from central Queensland Mr Raymond Young OAM and Mr David Read embarked on an epic road-trip to Emerald and Longreach recently in conjunction with Mr Damien Mealey (JP Branch Registrar and Manager) and Ms Lisa Shaw (JP Branch Training) to provide Professional Development to our Members and to discuss the formation of Branches. See pages 9-10 for the full story.

•

I would urge all Members to carefully consider the documents presented and if unable to attend the AGM in person submit a Proxy form to ensure your vote counts.

QJA has recently developed a new promotional video which has now been added to the “home page” of our website, this video has also been posted on our Facebook page and on YouTube. Our thanks to Jackie from JDesigns for her work on this video.

In the last edition of the Journal we flagged a potential deficit this year due to additional and higher expenses than previously forecast.

Through hard work and careful scrutiny we have achieved virtually a

Till next time,

Keith Revell - President

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

3

News in Brief Membership Fee Renewal overdue 2014/15 Membership Renewal documents were included as a loose leaf insert with the previous edition of the Journal mailed in June. The inclusion of the Renewal Notice was also highlighted on the Journal coversheet. However, feedback from members has revealed that quite a few failed to note the inclusion of the renewal documentation in the Journal package.

If you have not renewed your membership for 2014, now is the time to do so! Please either email QJA (admin@qja.com.au) or phone the office (Freecall 1800 061 423).

Membership by honorary justices of a professional body is crucial, now more than ever as changes foreshadowed by the AttorneyGeneral that will ultimately affect every JP and C.dec in Queensland are gradually rolled out.

There are several options for payment, including by credit card.

Please note that we do not charge any fees for using a credit card.

Personal cheques are also accepted, but it is more efficient to pay using one of the electronic methods.

If paying by credit card, please use either the Office phone numbers (1800 061 423 or (07) 3392 2455) or the secure internet site. Sending us a credit card number by fax or post poses an unnecessary security risk for you, the cardholder.

Timely payment of your membership subscriptions is necessary to enable the company to effectively budget and plan its activities for the financial year, so please attend to this matter immediately.

Those members who fail to renew will cease to have member entitlements, including future Journal issues.

Notice of AGM Members are hereby advised that the Annual General Meeting of the QJA will for the first time be held in conjunction with the Annual State Conference at Redland City on Saturday 18th October, 2014, starting at 4:30pm.

The Board decided to change the date and venue this year to open up the AGM to more Members who are already attending the conference. It also moves the AGM away from any potential disruptions caused by the G20 conference in Brisbane in November.

Due to the extended nature of the AGM when Board elections are held it is unlikely next year we will be able to do the same, but we will keep an open mind and take on board all feedback we receive this year.

From • • • • To • • •

President, Senior Vice President, 2 x Vice Presidents, 6 x Board members President, 2 x Vice Presidents, 7 x Board members

3. Allow internal Returning Officers if required - The use of an external Returning Officer could add significant costs to the election process if the Returning Officer were to charge normal market rates. While an independent external Returning Officer provides an additional level of impartiality the risk of a significant cost increase requires alternative options to be available to offset the financial risk. Accordingly the Board has agreed to include the option of appointing a current QJA Member as a Returning Officer or Deputy Returning Officer, with conditions. This also applies to Branch Elections.

To implement the above recommendations the following updates to the Constitution will be presented at the October 2014 AGM for consideration.

Rule 55 Collegiate Electoral System: Deleted as no longer required.

Rule 76 Senior Vice President: Deleted as no longer required.

A number of rules were modified to remove the position of Senior Vice President.

Rule 79 Returning officer: Delete rule 79 (c) (ii) Add new rule 79 (d): In the event the Returning Officer is a current member their privileges in accordance with Rule 24 are only those applicable to Associate members as per Rule 24(b) for the duration of their appointment as the Returning Officer.

Same changes apply to the Rules applicable to the Deputy Returning Officer.

JP Branch news

Business to be discussed at the 2014 AGM will include the proposed changes to the QJA Constitution as outlined in the following notice.

In July 2014, the JP Branch of the Department of Justice and Attorney-General released another edition of the JP Bulletin (distributed electronically to those justices whose current email address is correctly recorded in the Branch’s records).

For those unable to attend the meeting, proxy voting arrangements apply and an AGM Proxy form is included as an insert to this edition of the Journal.

The July 2014 JP Bulletin addressed the following matters:

Constitution Update Notice Members are hereby advised the Board has agreed on, and recommends the following changes to the Constitution: 1. Election of all Directors should be by popular vote of the Members - The current election process requires the Board to use a complicated and expensive internal method to elect the 2 Vice Presidents. The Board believes the election of these positions should be in the hands of the Members.

4

2. Reduce the number of senior Board positions - The additional position of Senior Vice President was implemented at the last AGM with the intent of providing a succession planning process.

The Board has implemented alternate methods to manage succession planning and believes, for the size of the organisation a Senior Vice President position is unwarranted. The total number of Directors on the Board remains unchanged. The organisational change will be:

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

• • • • • • • • • • •

JP Advisory Council update Alerts and information Witnessing Enduring Documents Office of the Public Guardian Professional development News from the North JPs in the Community JPB Mentoring Program Vishwa Gounder under the magnifying glass Long service awards Update your details

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 3 • SPRING 2014 If you did not receive a copy of this Bulletin, your contact details at the JP Branch may not be up to date. It’s easy to update these details. Simply visit the JP Branch website: (http://www.qld.gov.au/ law/legal-mediation-and-justice-of-the-peace/) and click on “update my details”. Please note this is a new website address for the JP Branch.

As mentioned in the last issue of the Journal, if you advise QJA of your email address (or a change of address) we will automatically pass that information on to the JP Branch.

Journal survey - your response Thanks to those readers who responded to our call to have a say about the future of your Journal. Your responses were: By which medium would you prefer to receive the Journal?

• Electronic - by low resolution email attachment - 45% • Electronic - high resolution download link - 35% • Printed and posted - 19% Are you prepared to pay extra for hard copy?

• Yes - 29% • No - 71% How satisfied are you with the Journal content?

• Very Satisfied - 48% • Satisfied - 48% • Not very satisfied - 4% How frequently do you wish to receive the Journal?

• Continue Quarterly - 78% • Bi-monthly - 13% • Other - 9% Rank your most favoured aspect of the Journal (1-10) • Articles about JP duties - #1 • News in Brief - #2 • Q&A - #3 This quantitative feedback, together with the qualitative responses by way of comments and suggestions, is really helpful and will influence the future direction of your QJA Journal. Again, thank you to those who took the time to participate.

Office Assistant appointed One of the first tasks undertaken by incoming Business Manager and Registrar, Wendy La Macchia after taking up duty in late July was to select the successful applicant for the casual Office Assistant position advertised in the last edition of the Journal. The successful candidate is Cindy Revell who now is now on board at State Office.

Congratulations and welcome Cindy.

QJA Online Training takes off Thanks to the efforts of Greg Cuthbert and others, in April this year we commenced the Commissioner for Declarations online training course. Then, in July we added the online version of the Justice of the Peace training course. Both courses have been well received by those students who for various reasons are unable to attend the face-to-face training.

Our online courses mirror the face-to-face courses, in that during the training process the students in both forms of training are required to complete enrichment activities. This assists them to learn how to process the main types of documents they will see in their volunteer positions. This training model is unique to the QJA. Although a number of students have graduated from both online courses, none of these students have at this time been appointed by the Government as honorary justices. This is because the appointment process currently takes a minimum of three months to be completed.

Many of our assessors and trainers have been busy learning new skills to assist and assess our online students. In the case of online students their assessment is entirely online. To assess the documents part of the assessment, students are required to download the documents in the assessment, process them, and then upload them again so that we can be confident that they have achieved competency.

Of course these students will still need on-thejob mentoring (as with our face-to-face students) for them to become effective and competent JPs and C.decs Training in face-to-face courses have been slow over winter months but now, as we approach the warmer months courses are filling up again. Branches need to be proactive in promoting training courses as this helps us to grow membership of the QJA and its Branches.

Linda Evans, Training Program Manager

Important: Possible Search Warrant errors We have recently become aware that Queensland Police Service systems default settings may result in Search Warrant documents submitted to JPs containing an incorrect end date of 21 days after the date of issue.

Under subsection 155(1) of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000, the correct end date for a standard search warrant is 7 days after the date of issue. Only where the warrant is to search for stock (i.e. animals) should the warrant period be 21 days.

Standard warrants may also contain an error in the title of the issuing officer where the term “Justice” is omitted as an option. All justices are urged to be alert to and correct these errors.

Profiling Wendy La Macchia - now heading the QJA Office Not long after taking up duty, the new QJA Business Manager and Registrar sat down with the QJA Journal Editor to reveal for readers, some insights on the real Wendy.

Ed: Wendy, where were you born and where did you spend your youth?

WL: I was born and raised in Doveton, a tough working class suburb of Melbourne. I was the youngest child of migrant parents. My parents came to Australia to seek a better life for the family they were planning to have. My Dad was heavily involved with the Dutch Resistance during WWII and helped many people to escape occupied Europe.

On arrival they were employed as domestics for holocaust survivors in the high end suburbs of Melbourne.

Seeking a more independent life they moved out to Dandenong and secured employment in manufacturing - Dad working for GMH and Mum working for Heinz. Strangely, my parents left the choice of my name to my older brother and sister and Peter Pan was the inspiration. I could just have easily have been called Tinkerbell and that is my nickname. “Tinks” was given to me as I was the IT fairy in my past job. Last year my team gave me a Tinkerbell watch for my birthday, which I treasure.

Ed: Tell us about your education and the qualifications you have attained.

WL: My education ended at Year 11 and I gave birth to my first son a year later. Three more children followed and I have lived in Rockhampton and the Blue Mountains. I’ve lived in Queensland for 20 years now, but realize that Queenslanders are both born and bred.

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

5

I made up my education by first attending TAFE and later enrolling in a Bachelor of Business via distance education through Charles Sturt University. Somehow I graduated, despite having three young children and a full-time job and I thank my husband for his support.

Ed: You have an unusual surname. Tell us about its origins and about your immediate family.

WL: Our surname is French/Italian with ties to Napoleon’s brother.

My husband’s relatives came to Australia via New York as musicians recruited specifically to accompany Dame Nellie Melba arriving in Melbourne in 1906. The musical gift skipped a generation, but all four of our children have played musical instruments. On a different note, it won’t be long before I have three doctors in the family - my husband and second son are both undertaking PhDs and my daughter is a medical doctor [emergency medicine]. My Dad would be proud of them, but sadly he did not live to meet his grandchildren.

Ed: Before QJA, what type of work had you done?

WL: My working life has always been close to the accounts function and I hold a bachelor’s degree in Accounting. Human resources, industrial relations and IT have also featured prominently. Most of those roles have been with medium-sized businesses in hospitality, manufacturing, engineering and distribution. My Dad who generally worked 7 days a week - has been a major influence.

Dad always had time for a good philosophical discussion, a laugh and a joke with his friends. He spent the prime of his life helping persecuted people leave Europe and later performed similar roles in Indonesia. He always believed in equality and the inner goodness of mankind. I remember him saying everyone needs to make a meaningful contribution to society. He always maintained a cheeky irreverence in relation to the status quo and a willingness to hear the other side of every story.

Ed: How about your interests away from work?

WL: In my spare time, I like to put on my Masterchef hat.

Occasionally I play bad golf, I also use a gym on a regular basis in the hope of hedging off the years. I have taught myself to play piano, but my skill level is on a par with my golf (pardon the pun). I also write blogs and have a Wordpress site.

Ed: What do you know about our industry/profession?

WL: I became a JP in 2002, undertaking my training at Yeronga TAFE. I was very much a time-poor working mum and my youngest

was only 12 months old. I wanted to be an active JP and serve my community. Unfortunately, circumstances did not permit me to work on signing centres, go to branch meetings or attend conferences.

Nonetheless, I was available to the public to witness documents. In my view, even that meagre contribution helped people.

People do not realise how much their lives are touched by law. Most of us will need to make a stat dec, an affidavit, transfer property, or acquire a passport. Many will be served a summons, need the help of a JP for declaring an enduring power of attorney or have friends or relatives who will. Some will get divorced, change their names or need the protection of the law in a domestic or other dispute.

These are everyday matters that are often daunting, stressful and inconvenient but necessary. JPs and C.decs play important roles in terms of such everyday legal matters.

Ed: What attracted you most about the QJA role?

WL: I was attracted to the QJA because it is anot-for-profit organisation. I like the fact that the profits go back into the organisation to serve a higher purpose. I became disenchanted with the idea of working for private business where giving back to the community was considered unimportant but luxury travel and the trappings of wealth were highly valued.

Ed: As the business manager, what is your vision for QJA? WL: My vision for QJA as it moves toward its centenary is to see it re-define, embrace and consolidate its mission. Member recruitment, engagement and retention are important challenges. Retaining its status as the key provider of training for new JPs is vital. Yet ongoing development for currently active JPs is equally significant, not to mention refresher training for JPs who want to become active in the community. Changing technology, generational differences and government policy changes may appear threatening, but turning threats into opportunities is a worthwhile approach. Embracing the new while maintaining tradition is something I would like to achieve at QJA. Ed: What message would you like to leave with our readers?

WL: I believe I am blessed to work for the QJA and now have the opportunity to strongly support JPs and C.decs. It is an honour to work with people who voluntarily give their time for no financial reward and play an important role throughout Queensland. It is their integrity and objectivity that I most admire and respect.

Meet His Honour Chief Justice Tim Carmody Judicial Career: • • • • •

Chief Justice of Queensland, Supreme Court of Queensland (2014 -) Judge, Supreme Court of Queensland (2014 -) Chief Magistrate, Magistrates Court (2013-2014) Judge, District Court (2013-2014) Judge, Family Court of Australia (2003-2008)

Biographical Notes: Timothy Francis Carmody was called to the Queensland Bar in 1982.

He was a legal officer assisting the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption from 1987 to 1989 and was responsible for leading a multi-disciplinary forensic team, and managing informants and covert operatives in organized prostitution investigations and related illegal activities. From 1989 to 1991 he was a special prosecutor, conducting prosecutions of official corruption and other offences arising out of Fitzgerald Inquiry investigations.

6

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

In 1996 to 1997 he was Junior Counsel Assisting the Inquiry into the Criminal Justice Commission, a public review and evaluation of the effectiveness and overall operations of Queensland’s original anticorruption body.

He was appointed as a Senior Counsel for the State of Queensland in 1999, and as one of Her Majesty’s Counsel for the State of Queensland in 2013.

From 1998 to 2002 he was the inaugural Queensland Crime Commissioner, investigating major drug and organized crime in the State using special coercive powers including compulsory examination of witnesses.

In 2011, as a then silk practising at the private Bar, Justice Carmody was appointed by the Governor-General as a part-time examiner for the Australian Crime Commission; to undertake and supervise the use of the Commission’s coercive powers for the Commission’s special operations and investigations.

Justice Carmody has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Queensland University of Technology.

Justice Carmody has previously held judicial office. From 2003 until 2008, he was a justice of the Family Court of Australia, where he

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 3 • SPRING 2014 was the Regional Coordinating Judge of that Court’s Queensland Registry. He was a member of the Court’s Law Reform Committee and the Court’s Policy Advisory Committee. He also chaired the Court’s Case Management Process and Procedures Committee.

From 2013 until his current appointment, Justice Carmody was a judge of the District Court of Queensland, and the Chief Magistrate of Queensland.

Prior to his most recent judicial appointments, Justice Carmody was the Chairman of the Queensland Child Protection Commission of

Inquiry. Chief Justice Carmody commenced his appointment as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, and as Chief Justice of Queensland, on 8 July 2014.

The Chief Justice was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2003 for distinguished service to the law.

Since July 2014 Chief Justice Carmody has been patron of the Queensland Justices Association (QJA).

Source; Supreme Court Library website

Farewell message from Angela Yin Being in such a privileged position as the Registrar has afforded me the opportunity to get to know many of our members on both a professional and personal basis.

It has been a truly humbling experience to become acquainted with so many distinguished members of the community.

The decision to resign my position from Queensland Justices Association after four years has not been an easy one, because I have thoroughly enjoyed the role of Registrar and have found everyone on the Board (including both current and past Presidents) and my colleagues in the office to be very kind and supportive of me in this role and a pleasure to work with.

I have learnt and grown a great deal during my time as Registrar and I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences it has afforded me. While I am excited to pursue new opportunities in London, I will never forget QJA and will always have very fond memories of my time with the Association and the contribution the Board allowed me to make. Your willingness to try new ideas and ventures and nurture my entrepreneurial and creative spirit is something I will value for the rest of my professional life. I am also grateful to all the members whose enthusiasm for a vibrant JP community in Queensland and their dedication to helping others and to self-improvement have been a true inspiration to me as a person and as Registrar of QJA.

I also thank all the committee members past and present and all attendees of QJA International Women’s Day, which has become something of a QJA institution since it started in 2011. I am grateful to the Board, in particular Marian Vierveyzer for her continued support and to Immediate Past President Ray Burrows for initiating the dedicated Fund.

As well as the members, I would like to thank other associates of QJA that I have had the privilege of knowing professionally, including JP Branch Registrar Damien Mealey and the lovely staff (past and present) at the JP Branch, the Attorney-General the Hon Jarrod Bleijie MP and his office, especially Nathan Ruhle, QJA’s honorary solicitor John Payne and all at Hall Payne, Jim Messina of Heritage Bank, the Governor of Queensland the Hon Paul de Jersey AC and his former assistant Marie Bergwever for tolerating all my weird and wonderful last minute requests, Alex Petersen and all at Associations Forum, Glenn Maymann and all at the Gabba Business Association, Greg Cuthbert for his contribution as the former Registrar and his continuing involvement at QJA, Judith John of White Lady Funerals and Rotary Club of South Brisbane for supporting QJA International Women’s Day since its inception and all of Queensland’s State MPs and their staff who receive my emails and promote our courses and re-tweet my tweets. And of course, thanks to Zoe McInnes of Zink Print for all she does to help us at QJA and for becoming a close and wise friend.

Lastly, I would also like to wish the very best of success to Wendy La Macchia, my successor. Some might say you have large high heels to fill, but I am sure you will do an excellent job and give something new, fresh and different to QJA. Kindest regards, Angela Yin

Thank you to the many members who have gotten in touch with me to wish me well in the next stage of my life and my career. I have come to know many of you quite well and in fact, I knew a few of you prior to being the Registrar of QJA! I must mention Hans Schotz of the QJA Western Suburbs branch, without whom I would not have become an Australian. After not having seen him since I was a little girl and the daughter of the printing tradesman from Zimbabwe, whom Mr Schotz took a punt on and sponsored as a migrant worker back in 1983, I finally found him again as we both happened to be members of QJA! It was lovely meeting up with my father and his wife Teeni for afternoon tea on a cold May Sunday afternoon in 2011.

I must also mention Des Nolan, who I first met as a teenager volunteering at the Queensland AIDS Council in the early 2000s. Mr Nolan was the Council’s accountant and resident JP. He wrote my character reference when I was 25 when I finally became one myself!

So thank you Des, as becoming a JP would not have been possible without you.

Angela, with farewell gifts from QJA, in the company of Marian Vierveyzer (Director), Wendy La Macchia (incoming Registrar), Ray Burrows (Senior Vice President), Ron Court (Director), John Carpendale (Director) and Keith Revell (President).

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

7

Queensland Justices Association

21st State Conference Registration Form

Saturday 18th October 2014 9.00am to 4:00pm Venue – Redlands Sporting Club Anson Road, Wellington Point.

Cost: $35.00 members, $40 non-members Includes morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea Conference will be followed by the QJA Annual General Meeting Name: (as will appear on name tag)……………………………………………………………………………………..

Address: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Email: …………………………………………………………………QJA Member No: ……………………………….

Contact Phone: ………………………………… Mobile: ………………………………………………………………

Special Dietary Requirements: ………………………………………………………………………………………….

Optional two course informal dinner after conference (at members own cost - $36.00 alternate main, dessert, tea/coffee) to be held in the Redlands Steak House Restaurant. Alcohol not included. [ [

] ]

YES I will attend by myself Partners Welcome YES I will attend with a person who did not attend the conference. No of extra guests………

Total Attending: ………………..

(Please tick one).

Transport from Birkdale Rail Station to Redlands Sporting Club: [ ] Yes Number of persons: [ ] (Courtesy Bus has capacity for 11 persons) Return to station will be on request to QJA Branch members.

Deadline for Registrations – Friday 3rd October 2014 PAYMENT INFORMATION [ ] Registration Payment $.......................... [ ] Dinner + extra guests $..........................

Total $.........................

Payment made by: [ ] Cheque [ ] Visa / Mastercard (Details below) Card No: ________/_________/_________/________ Expiry Date: _________/________ Cardholder’s Name: __________________________ Signature: __________________________ [

]

Date: ___________________

Direct Bank Transfer: Pay to: Heritage Bank BSB: 638-070 Account Number: 11693754 Account Name: Queensland Justices Association [Include your name as reference in ‘Description’]

MAIL TO:

Registrar, QJA, PO Box 8419, WOOLLOONGABBA, Qld 4102

EMAIL TO:

admin@qja.com.au

FACSIMILE:

(07) 3392 2955

NOTE: All receipts/tax invoices will be available at the conference. If a tax invoice is required prior to the conference, please include a stamped self-addressed envelope.

8

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 3 • SPRING 2014

Redlands ready to host 2014 State Conference All Justices of the Peace, Commissioners for Declarations and QJA members are invited to the 21st Annual QJA State Conference to be held in the Palms room, Redlands Sporting Club, Anson Road, Wellington Point on Saturday 18th October 2014.

The focus of the conference is to provide an affordable, professional development experience with the opportunity to meet fellow justices from all over southern Queensland and further afield.

The keynote speaker will be the Hon Jarrod Bleijie, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice. The conference will be opened by the Redlands Mayor Cr Karen Williams.

Other attendees include His Honour Tim Carmody, Chief Justice of Queensland (Patron of the QJA), local State MPs Dr Mark Robinson (MLA Cleveland), Mr Stephen Davies (MLA Capalaba) and Mr Peter Dowling (MLA Redlands). Presentation topics will include Animal Law in relation to RSPCA, Future Directions from the JP Branch, Fraud and Cyber Crime, QCAT and Domestic Violence.

Conference registration will commence at 8.30am and the conference will conclude at 4.30pm. This will then be followed by the QJA Annual General Meeting (all members are entitled to attend). For a chance to mingle with and network fellow Justices and their partners, an optional dinner has been arranged in a section of the Club Steak House Restaurant on Saturday night.

The Redlands Sporting Club has kindly provided transport from the Birkdale Railway Station via their courtesy bus (Capacity 11) at 8.15am and 8.30am. Those requiring transport back to the Birkdale Railway Station should advise one of the Branch helpers for assistance.

Please note that entrance to the State Conference will be via the old club entrance. Please ignore the sign on the door. Entry will be signed and manned on the day.

Registration Information can be located on the special conference page located on the QJA website: www.qja.com.au. Registrations may also be made by phoning State Office via telephone numbers 1800 061 423 or (07) 3392 2455. Closing date for registrations will be Friday 3 October.

QJA Directors Western Roadtrip On a bitterly cold weekend in mid-July, intrepid QJA Directors Dave Read and Ray Young took to the road to spread the QJA word and hopefully establish some extra QJA groups in Central-Western Queensland. What follows is some of their recollections of that adventure.

The Ray Young Chronicle:

Day 1: David & I commenced our trip from Bundaberg, leaving at 3.30am Saturday morning, travelling via the coastal road and coming out at Miriam Vale. After breakfast at Marmor (45k south of Rocky, population 205), we continued our journey along the Bruce Highway, turning off about 40k before Rockhampton onto the Mount Morgan/Gracemere Road and then via Gracemere along the Western Highway.

After a rest stop at Comet where my son David met up with us for about fifteen minutes, we then proceeded on to Emerald. Here we booked into the Route 66 motel and dressed for the meeting which was held at the Rotary Park Venue. Here we greeted the local Justices of the Peace (Qualified) / Commissioners of Declarations at the door as they arrived.

The function commenced with fifty-three honorary justices from the Emerald district in attendance. Damien Mealey, the JP Branch Registrar and Manager first introduced his Community Training and Support Officer, Lisa Shaw and then David & myself. He then explained the reason for our visit. A special mention must be given to Damien for the way he promoted QJA and encouraged those present to join the QJA as we are the largest justices’ organisation in Queensland.

Then Lisa delivered a session on witnessing various documents where lots of questions were asked and answered. At the conclusion of this,

we broke for afternoon tea, giving those present the opportunity to speak with David and myself to seek more information about QJA e.g. what benefit would accrue from having a Branch at Emerald.

At the next session, Damien spoke about having a signing facility at the new Emerald Woolworths and sought expressions of interest from those who would be prepared to participate. Twenty-nine of those present volunteered their details. After answering a few more questions, Damien and Lisa concluded their presentation by thanking all for attending and handing over to QJA for the balance of the session.

I moved a vote of thanks to both Damien & Lisa for giving up their spare time to be with us this weekend and bringing JPs together for some professional development. The meeting showed its appreciation by acclamation.

On behalf of our Queensland Justices Association President Keith Revell and fellow Directors of the QJA, I thanked the meeting for the opportunity to speak with them. To allow us to stay in touch with those present, we circulated a book and asked attendees to provide their contact details.

QJA Vice-President David Read then addressed the group. He explained that QJA previously had an Emerald Contact Group under the leadership of Geoff Bonney who was the local Ambulance Officer.

However, when Geoff transferred to Bundaberg, the group folded.

Dave suggested the meeting consider re-forming a group (preferably a Branch) in Emerald.

Dave explained the reasons for a Branch and answered various questions. Then after about three-quarter of an hour it was time to see if those present wanted to form a Branch. David conducted this session like a true auctioneer. He commenced asking would those present like to form a Branch in Emerald. Everyone present agreed.

To commence a Branch we needed to fill three executive committee positions - Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. After some discussion, local Fire Officer, Tony Yelland agreed to nominate as Chairman, Karen Bray as Secretary and George Thomson as Treasurer. The motion to elect these three as inaugural office bearers for a local QJA branch was passed unanimously by the meeting.

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

9

The group selected the name QJA Central Highlands Branch and arranged their first meeting for 2th August (which I also plan to attend).

Representatives of the local Rotary Club agreed to allow the group to use their premises to hold their meetings.

The contact details volunteered by those present represents the beginnings of a useful email distribution list for the new branch committee. Overall, the visit to Emerald was very successful. We handed out QJA promotional material, including membership brochures to all who attended.

After the meeting I went to the local IGA to get some supplies. When I came out I went to the wrong car. It was white and the driver had his engine running. David’s car is white and he yelled out you are going to the wrong car. Should have gone to Specsavers?

Day 2: Sunday morning, we left Emerald at 6:30am and travelled to Alpha before our first pit stop. There we spoke to visitors going to the Northern Territory. During the conservation they told David that they were JPs so he offered to sell them some QJA merchandise but it must have been too early!

At the same stop, I had an interesting conversation with a couple of Irish backpackers. After refuelling both the vehicle and our bodies, we were on the road again. After a final comfort stop at Barcaldine, we headed on towards Longreach, passing road-kill wallaby and kangaroo carcasses strewn at regular intervals along the roadside.

Finally at 11:20am we arrived, booked into the motel, bought some lunch, dressed and were just in time to commence the program again at Longreach.

The function commenced in a similar fashion to Emerald except we had just twelve JPs in attendance. The rest must have been at church!

Damien and Lisa again led off with their presentations before we broke for afternoon tea, when we did get the opportunity to speak to some JPs informally and discuss with them the benefits associated with have a QJA branch in their region.

Dave Read’s recollections: Emerald: The members have requested their branch be named QJA Central Highlands Branch. Ray and I support this name as it describes the entire region, not just the major township at its centre. Ray and I will follow up with the branch in the very near future and see what we can work for a PD workshop for the branch.

Damien, Lisa, Ray and I had dinner together on the Saturday night in Emerald. We visited the local sports club so we could watch a football game while we ate.

This sounded good in theory but it was only after we settled in that we realised all we could get was a steak burger and a fist full of chips.

I can tell you all now it looked really funny to see dapper Ray putting both feet on the steak so he could chew it. It was really tough!

When we tried to leave, we realised our trousers had frozen to the steel seats - once again it was a bit of a laugh. Back at motel, we couldn’t get the TV to work and the heater didn’t work either. So I found Ray an extra blanket and I put on all the clothes I took with me.

Man, it was freezing! The next morning I woke up with my hair and face frozen to my pillow and Ray then got to have a really good laugh. But I can tell you all I have been cold before but this was the coldest I have ever been and as the BOM stated it was -7 in Emerald that morning with a 40 kilometre per hour wind.

Road to Longreach: We set off early Sunday morning to Longreach which is about 440 kilometres west of Emerald and the roads are loaded with fluffy and furry traffic. We proceeded to go steady and pulled up in Alpha 10

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

When the meeting resumed, David and I did our best to explain the advantages of having a local QJA group and to encourage those present to commit to forming a local QJA branch. After about three-quarter of an hour it was time to see how successful our sales pitch had been.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to get enough volunteers at this meeting to commit to forming a Branch in Longreach at this stage.

Those present were reluctant to commit - they wanted to know more.

They also suggested it was difficult to organise regular meetings in a region where the tyranny of distance is a genuine obstacle.

Theoretically, Longreach is an ideal location for a regional QJA Branch. It is the geographical hub for the region with townships like Ilfracombe, Isisford, Muttaburra, Barcaldine, Aramac, Blackall, Winton, Jericho and Junda all clustered around it.

However, Penny Jakeman did offer to operate as a regional contact person so we provided her with the contact details of those present.

Interestingly, when David was buying fuel at Longreach before we departed, the cashier noted the QJA logo on his shirt and she mentioned that she was a JP who would have liked to attend the meeting but was rostered to work.

Summary: All in all, I believe the trip was very successful. All the honorary justices who attended in Emerald and Longreach were very appreciative that we made an effort to visit them. We handed out QJA promotional material to all and left the balance with Penny to give to the JPs who were unable to attend.

The total kilometres travel was just over 2000. Finally, on behalf of David and myself, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board for giving us the opportunity to visit our country members and to make some new acquaintances.

Raymond Young OAM, Director where we understood we had arranged to meet up with Damien and Lisa for coffee. However there had been some miscommunication and they ended up ahead of us. But the real problem was getting Ray away from the female Irish backpackers. He was right in his element chatting with these young ladies!

We proceeded to move forward towards Longreach with Ray constantly amazed with the number of dead animals on the side of the road. The roads were in excellent condition and we could drive them with ease. We had quite a few stops to stretch the legs. At Barcaldine, Ray wanted to see the Tree of Knowledge. I told him it was just a dead stick so when he got out of the car he was in awe and said “it really is dead?” Just the look on his face said it all! Ray didn’t see much of the road after that as he was “documenting our trip”?

I reckon he was napping as I could see what he was writing and not even a doctor could decipher it.

Longreach: We had twelve JPs in attendance and once again JAG gave QJA an excellent rap and Lisa did her bit which was soaked up well and truly by attendees. What I observed is that the use of log books doesn’t appear to have travelled this way yet.

We got the point across about the benefits of QJA membership and I think we will derive a few new members from our trip. We need to follow up this area very soon. Ray and I will work together to make this happen. At this point we don’t have a branch there but I believe by the end of the year we will and I can see six or so contact groups to follow.

We again agreed to go out to dinner with Damien and Lisa in Longreach and, following the previous experience, I was little bit apprehensive. But it was excellent and the night went really well.

In the west, we came into contact with many JPs who did not know anything about QJA so we will have to work a bit harder to sell our product and services in the region but I believe it is very possible to achieve this goal.

Dave Read, Vice President

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 3 • SPRING 2014

Roll of Honour Members should note that the Roll of Honour recognises the length of Membership of the QJA. Members wishing to receive the official distinguished service certificate as a Justice of the Peace for the State of Queensland should contact their local State Member of Parliament.

The Association wishes to acknowledge the long service given by the following Members.

Gold - 50 Years QJA Membership Alan Fraser

Herbert Morris

Norman Phillips

Gary Smith

Silver - 40 Years QJA Membership Gary Chetter

Brinley Groundwater

Noel Jurgs

Joseph Law

Hazel Thomas

William Cunningham

Bronze - 25 Years QJA Membership Ernest Dawe Robert Fry

Lesley Godfrey Lionel Heydon

Neilia Jeffery Donald Noble

Robyn Shields

Antoinette VandenBan

Noreen Feiersinger

Welcome to New Members The following have joined the QJA since the last Journal: Manzoor Abbas Monika Adam April Adams David Affleck John Allen Nicholas Allen Emma Andreassen Krystle Austin Cornelia Babbage Cameron Bain Clifford Baker Nicola Baker Andrew Bannister Jodie Barber Kathleen Barry Raymond Bax Kaylie-Anne Beasley James Bedogni Roslyn Bell John Bell Lynette Bernes Elizabeth Beven Ashly Beyer Beverly Bickhoff Dominique Bittar Ayesha Black Kitty Blakemore Pamela Blight Donald Bollard Harrison Bolt Timothy Borresen Themore Bourne Holly Brazier Louise Brear Adam Bulloch Tina Burgess Hydie Burness Nichola Burton Wayne Capewell Philip Carr Lynda Carr You Chen Joyce Cho Matthew Clark Joseph Coco David Collins Sandra Colls

Gabriele CollyerWiedner Meredith Connor Carmel Coombe Milena Cooper Angela Coto Keith Courte Lynette Craig Narelle Cramb Sophie Croucher James Dacey Jacinta Dalton Simon Darmanin Bhargav Dave Paul Day Karen Deacon Lesley Dennien Casey Devlin Ottavio Di Genova Robyn Dickinson Catherine Dodemont John Dooley Alannah Down Suzanne Dunkley Leanne Dunn Saralyn Earl Samantha Edwards Lysle Emmitt Debbie Ey Rebecca Farrell Alison Farrington Colin Ferguson Lorraine Filetti Kelly Fletcher Sharyn Flynn Wendy Forwood Wendy Francis Stuart French Sun Fung Maureen Gallagher Lisa Gibb Melinda Gilmour William Glen Cheyenne GoldsmithMastroieni Leonie Goodall Caroline Gralow

Kristie Grasso Dawn Grech Ian Greenall Oluwayomi Gregory Ashleigh Griffin John Griffiths Joshua Guymer Hayley Hamilton Victor Hampson Garth Hannam Trudi Harmsen Le-Anne Harney Christopher Hartley Mark Hayball Heather Henderson Catherine Hennessy Nicholas Hewitt Adam Higginson Bradley Hinds Riley Hinds Natalie Hitchen Lee Holzwart Sandra Hunter Dean Hurst Charles Hwang Amanda Ingram Angela-Marie James Luke James Karen Johnson Ben Johnston-Bradford Rhonda Johnstone Linda Jones Louise Judge Aleisha Kenny Jacqueline King Kathryn King Cameron Kirkwood Ida Knight Gretchen Kuz Lucille Lane Andrew Langton Samantha Lanyon Arieh Laverty Pauline Law Elizabeth le Noble Jack Lenkeith Samantha Leonard

John Lewis Lesley Light Yan Lin Tan Timothy Liu Debby Lo-Dean Vicki Lohrey Tracey Lowry Scott Madsen Tanya Martin Debra Martin Kayla Massimissa Keith Matsen Kelly McCabe Allanda McConnell Patricia McDonald Eileen McGrath Daniel McIntyre Karen McKay Ashleigh McKenzie Helen McLean Vyonne McLelland-Howe Melissa Millar Frances Mills David Mills Terri Mottershead Roberta Movick Amela Mustafic Elizabeth Nankivell Helen Nash Vinayamala Natha Emma Nicholson William Oats Jamie Oliver Bradley O’Neill Sandra Onions Alan Oscar Brian Osland Tamara Pacchiarotta Kerryn Parker Gary Patten Char Payet Aaron Payne Kate Penfold James Penfold Gary Penney Scott Perry Mark Pezaro

Adrian Plath Melanie Porter Cathryn Powell Ellie Prior Jennifer Raines Jai Ram Mitchell Ramsay Kathryn Reed Jingwei Ren Peter Ritchie Gregory Roberts Isobel Robertson Susannah Robinson Christine Rodgers-Falk Kara Romito Stephen Ryan Wendy Saunders Steven Say Selina Schneider Allison Sciani Amanda Scott Awadhesh Sharma Shilpa Sharma Melissa Sharp Lauren Shennan Christine Shepherd Jennifer Shingles Nathan Shingles Benjamin Skewes John Smets Nicole Smith Dewi Smith James Smith Murray Smith Robyn Squire Hannah Stevens Shiralee Stewart Robert Stewart Michael Storrs Alan Stothart Theresa Stothart Jody Swain Ryan Swindells Aryan Tasmim-Hazem Robert Taylor Sonja Taylor Brayden Teeuwsen

Charity Thom Leanne Thompson Jennifer Thompson Raylene Thompson Alexander Toh Leanne Tomlinson Leslie Truswell Ansumana Tunkara Morris Turner Stephanie Unterburger Toni Vaughan Larissa Vessey Tracey Vidler Berenice Wadham Pauline Wakely Linda Walker Wendy Wareing Leonard Warrener Jonathan Watson Anthony Watson Phillip Waugh Alyson Waugh Michelle Waugh Sharon Weise Jane Whelan Komil Whiteley Samuel Whittred Allan Wickland Michael Wilkinson Glenn Wilkinson Nicole Willcox Nicolaas Williams Colin Wilson Paul Wilson Leanne Windsor Owen Wolstenholme John Wood Callum Worthington Kevin Wright Hyeong Yang Chen Yang Leighton York Lucas Zabinski Tracy Zipp Malea Zunker

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

11

Q&A Q1: I have had some conflicting information regarding when the Attorney should sign an Enduring Power of Attorney.

I was taught that attorneys always sign after the principal has signed. However I have been told the attorney can sign at any time.

A1: The copious notes that comprise an integral part of a standard EPA give no guidance on this matter. So, we asked Mark Phillips, Senior investigator with the Office of the Public Guardian to comment on this: Based on this Office’s experiences investigating matters surrounding EPAs and attending QCAT hearings addressing these issues, it can be problematic when an attorney signs the acceptance prior to the execution of the document with the witness. In essence the attorney is accepting appointment to a “non-existent EPA” at that time as the EPA has not been executed at that point.

• • • • • • • • • •

This can create difficulties with the Titles Office and organisations such as banks if the document is used by the attorney in the future. There is also the prospect (albeit limited) of a principal subsequently adding terms/conditions or structural changes which the attorney would have been reticent to accept if they knew when accepting the appointment.

•

Overall, to avoid unnecessary future issues, an attorney should only accept the appointment after the enduring document is executed. The witness in scanning the form during the witnessing process should be on the lookout for this issue due to the potential problems it may cause for the principal and attorney in the future.

•

In summary, the pre-acceptance by an attorney of an unsigned EPA does not invalidate the document but it may cause some difficulties in its eventual execution. If we are consulted in advance of an EPA being completed, we should suggest the attorney acceptance step be undertaken after the principal has signed in the presence of an appropriate witness.

However, it is not the role of the witnessing officer to decline to witness the principal’s signature simply because one or more attorney signatures are already in place. Given what we know, we should draw attention to the possible adverse consequences (outlined above). A simple solution may be for the attorney(s) to resign and redate after the principal has signed off on their appointment.

• • •

their relationship to the person to be examined their reasons for believing a JEO should be issued details of the behaviour or other matters causing concern length of time the problem has been occurring whether other people have the same concerns about the person the reason why they are seeking a JEO at this time any immediate fears or concerns they have about the person’s behaviour whether the person has a history of mental illness details of current or past treatment name of the person’s doctor name of any other person who may be able to assist the person to see a doctor or authorised mental health practitioner other actions which have been taken to get help for the person potential difficulties gaining access to the person any aspects of the person’s behaviour which place the person’s safety or the safety of others at risk any previous aggressive or assaultive behaviour they are aware of any information known about the person’s possession of firearms or other weapons.

The witnessing officer needs to take time to read carefully the application before them. It is acceptable to seek advice from a mental health service or mental health liaison staff at most courthouses to determine whether the description of the person’s behaviour infers a possible mental illness which needs to be assessed.

The witnessing officer should ensure that all information is written on the application. The application cannot be decided on information (even if disclosed under oath to the witnessing officer) but which does not form part of the written application.

For the JP or Magistrate to issue a JEO, they must be reasonably satisfied the subject: • • •

has a mental illness; should be examined to decide whether a recommendation for assessment can be made; and cannot be properly examined unless the JEO is made.

A full explanation of the steps to be taken and issues to be considered in witnessing an EPA is contained in Chapter 9 of the QJA Guide to JP Practice.

Chapter 19 of the QJA Guide to JP Practice explains in even more detail the issues to consider and the steps to perform in processing a JEO.

Q2: I have been a JP for many years now and have never been presented with a JEO to consider. What is the purpose of these documents?

Q3: When customers ask me to certify a copy of the front side only of their Drivers Licence, should I decline to perform this process because its not a copy of the complete document (i.e. both sides)?

A2: Justice Examination Orders (JEOs) are covered by the Mental Health Act 2000 (Qld). The rationale behind the existence of such a document is that those in society who are experiencing mental health problems are often reluctant to admit to such problems and are reluctant to seek medical help. A JEO allows a concerned member of the public to ask for a mental health assessment of such a person.

The applicant will present the request on an approved form and the job of the witnessing officer (JP or Magistrate) is to consider the application and supporting evidence to determine whether the person may need to be assessed. Some of the information the

12

applicant includes might include a combination of the following matters:

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

A3: Although the new Queensland Drivers Licence is a two-sided document containing variable information on both sides, it is not invalid for a customer to seek a certified copy of the front side only.

It is the responsibility of the authority to whom the certified copy is submitted to decide if the full document or just the front side is needed. Often, the front side only will suffice. This is not a decision for the certifying officer to make.

With passports as well, we are often asked to certify copies of only a portion of the complete document.

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 3 • SPRING 2014

Q&A continued Q4: What is the correct way to certify a copy?

and signed) is a true copy of the original [number of pages]- page document that I have sighted. Date, Signature, Title

A 4 :To answer this question, we start with the instructions outlined in the Justice Department Handbooks: Step 1: Ensure you have the original from which the copy was made. The original document must be supplied so you can certify that the copy is an exact copy of the original.

Step 2: Check that the copy is accurate and that no alterations have been made. This can be time-consuming, particularly where the document is in a foreign language or of a technical nature.

Step 3: Endorse the copy in the following fashion: This is to certify that this is a true copy of the original which I have sighted.

Date, Signature, Title Step 4: Multiple-page documents. If the original document has multiple pages, each page must be certified as correct.

Some documents, however, are many pages in length and it would not be possible to certify each page. In such cases, you must sign or initial each page and then amend the certification to read: This is to certify that this [number of pages] -page document (each page of which I have numbered

Each page of the copy should be numbered as page 1 of 40, 2 of 40 and so on.

Certifying copies of an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) or Advanced Health Directive (AHD). Under S.45 of the Powers of Attorney Act 1998, copies of these documents must contain the following specific wording: • •

each page of the document except the last page must be certified as a true and complete copy of the corresponding page of the original, and the last page must show certification that the document is a true and complete copy of the original.

Use of Seal and Title: Section 31 of the Justices of the Peace Act 1991 prescribes that, whenever you sign a document in your capacity as an honorary justice, you should place your seal of office immediately beneath, beside or close to your signature. In respect of your title, Section 31 allows the use of abbreviations like JP (Qual), C.dec and the like.

Chapter 10 of the QJA Guide to JP Practice contains even more detailed information about certifying copies of different types of documents (including electronic).

Regional Roundup Brisbane North

Brisbane South

The guest presenter at the 21st July Branch Meeting and AGM was outgoing QJA Registrar Angela Yin who reflected on the achievements of her four years in the position.

In appreciation for Angela’s presentation and the support she had provided to the branch whist Registrar, the Branch President, Stewart Purdie, presented Angela with a Certificate of Appreciation and a small gift.

The well-attended Branch Meeting on 14th July included a presentation by Leanne Francis and Katrina Craven of Hall Payne Lawyers on the subjects of Family Law and Wills as shown in the photos below.

On 30th August 2014, the Branch conducted a half-day, handson refresher workshop to give participants both the theory and the practice of processing Statutory Declarations and Family Law documents. The photos below show participants and facilitators in action.

Also on Brisbane’s South side, former QJA Registrar Greg Cuthbert and wife Alison were presented with tokens of the QJA’s appreciation for Greg’s contribution to the development of the QJA Online Training program. (see report on page 5).

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

13

Regional Roundup continued Bundaberg

Cairns

Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie made a visit to Bundaberg recently. He took time out to meet and greet JPs who are active in the community, particularly at signing centres. During the visit he recognised long term JP service with the presentation of 25-year certificates to Bundaberg Branch members, Russell Lyons and David Johnston.

The executive of the QJA Cairns Central Branch have been looking for ways to deliver more useful and informative sessions at their monthly meetings and, at their August meeting, they were fortunate enough to receive a visit from the QJA President and Chairman of the Board, Keith Revell.

QJA Bundaberg Branch has identified a need for a signing facility on a Saturday as the current signing facilities in town only operated on week days. A suitable location was identified in the CBD, being the foyer of the local Masonic Temple. The trustees gave their blessing to use the foyer; it helped having three Masons in the Branch.

On Saturday June 14 the signing centre was officially opened by local Federal member, Keith Pitt. The Deputy Registrar, JP Branch, Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Dimitri Glianos, made a special trip to Bundaberg for the opening.

Justices of the Peace from Cairns and the surrounding areas accepted the invitation to attend as did QJA Vice President, Chris Porter and Chair of the QJA Cairns South Branch, Ralph Powell.

Keith’s involvement in the Logan Branch start-up enables him to understand the developmental position of the newer branches and to present motivational suggestions for forward planning, exercises and projects. His JP experience across a range of situations provide him with a wealth of valuable knowledge and interesting anecdotes combined to both educate and entertain. To show our appreciation, the Branch surprised Keith with some birthday celebration festivities.

Margaret Neville, Branch Secretary

Hornibrook The Hornibrook Branch is nearing the end of its second year of serving the JP community in the beautiful Bayside and adjacent suburbs that stretch from Taigum in the south to Deception Bay in the north and inland across to North Lakes. With such a diverse area to embrace, there are many challenges involved in staying connected with as many JPs as possible.

The Branch is using the signing facility as a mentoring exercise, with a less experienced JP being rostered on with an experienced JP. The influence of social media came to the fore when the first ‘client’ for the new signing centre presented just 10 minutes after the opening; he noted the existence of the signing centre and times on facebook.

David Dempsey, Membership Officer

Caboolture At Morayfield East State High School Hall on Saturday August 23rd, a group of about 50 attended a full-day refresher workshop to witness presentations on Roles & Responsibilities (from Joel O’Mara of the JP Branch), JEOs (Lynne Campbell of the Redcliffe Mental Health Unit), Police Warrants (Sgt Adam Robertson of the Moreton Bay Tactical Crime Squad) and a panel session on the processing of various documents. The opportunity was also taken to present QJA Caboolture Branch polo shirts as a reward to several long-serving volunteers.

However, one area of change made by the present executive in an effort to meet that need is to implement a shift to more fluid and flexible meeting arrangements, where different times and venues are scheduled to cater for as many of our members as possible. While a close association with the Redcliffe RSL as a home base remains important, alternative meetings are now held across a range of locations within our region.

As another sign of gaining maturity as a branch, a training session for JPs and C.decs was successfully held in June and planning is underway for another round early in 2015.

Hornibrook Branch encourages members and non-members alike to engage in a friendly and professional community of JPs who can support and mentor each other.

Lisette Dillon, Branch Secretary

Hornibrook Branch Executive members, Andrew Smith (Vice Chair), Beris Slater (Chair) and Lisette Dillon (Secretary) 14

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 3 • SPRING 2014

Logan

Our JPs and C.decs are now providing mentoring to new honorary justices who have recently obtained their qualifications. If any Mackay JPs and C.decs would like to volunteer at the Caneland Mackay JPs in the Community Signing Centre please email mackay@qja.com.au and someone will contact you to make arrangements.

The Logan Branch conducted their AGM on Monday 11 August at the Rec Club in Kingston. Unlike previous years, there were two names missing from the ballot papers this time, one being Keith Revell and the other Brian Daniells. Keith had informed the committee that he did not intend to stand for a committee position this year and will be sadly missed. On behalf of the 2013/14 Committee we thank Keith for all of his efforts and we know that we can call on him for assistance and guidance when needed. Brian had served on the Committee as the Signing Centre Co-ordinator for a number of years and we thank him for all of his time and efforts in ensuring that the centres were attended by volunteers when rostered.

Following a strong attendance from members, the meeting was conducted and the new Committee elected. Congratulations and thanks go to the successful candidates: (back row L to R) Brook Batley (Treasurer), David James (Secretary), Bill Forester (Committee), David Collyer (committee), (front row L to R), Julie Holden (Committee) and Erickaunna Schmidt (Chairperson) as well as Tara Collyer (Committee, not pictured).

Carmelo Pasquale, Chairman, Mackay Branch

South Pine Branch meetings are held on the evening of the second Wednesday of every even-numbered month. At the August 2014 AGM, the existing Executive Committee members of Chairman (Gordon Farmer), Secretary (Phyllis Hall) and Treasurer (John Sheraton) were all reelected unopposed. Roster Convenor Jennifer Sheraton stood down from her position and Michelle Goswell was elected to fill this role.

The Branch is keen to welcome new members to our group. All QJA members residing in the South Pine region (Samford, Draper, Clear Mountain, Bunya, Cashmere, Brendale, Warner, Eatons Hill, Albany Creek, Bridgeman Downs, Bray Park etc.) are cordially invited to attend our meetings or to contact me to find out more about our activities.

Since the AGM the new Committee has met and has set an exciting agenda for its members for the next 12 months with two more workshops being planned for March and September. The dates will be provided to the QJA in due course for inclusion in future journals.

Phyllis Hall, Branch Secretary

David James, Branch Secretary

Mackay Mackay QJA Branch has been coordinating the JPs in the Community program at Caneland Central Shopping Centre for 18 months. We have been tracking our statistics on the number of customers and type of documents we have witnessed.

During the last 12 months the centre has seen 2800 people. 84% of our work has been certifying documents, followed by 8% Statutory Declarations, 1% Land Title Documents, 1% Affidavits and 2% other Documents which was 96% of our work. The remaining 4% was a mix of Wills, Blue Card applications, Finance Documents, Application for Divorce, Power of Attorney, Enduring Power of Attorney, Advanced Health Directives, Register Relationship and Reassignment of Sex. The signing centre provides JPs and C.decs with experience on a variety documents to ensure that their skills are kept up to date. We would like to thank all the JPs and C.decs who have worked at the centre over the past 18 months. They have provided a vital service to the community.

The Branch would like to extend a special thanks to Adriaan Van Moolenbroek and Neil Rogers who spent many weekends mentoring and sharing their experience from years of volunteering at other signing centres with the new volunteers. It was very much appreciated by the other JPs. Adriaan and Neil also shared every Tuesday and Thursday at Caneland Central until early this year when Adriaan took on the 2 days on his own due to Neil’s health.

Great work Adriaan and Neil.

Attendees at the June 2014 South Pine Branch Meeting

Warwick QJA Warwick Branch is organising an Ongoing Professional Development for Justices of the Peace and Commissioners for Declarations. The event will be held at Slade Campus, Warwick on Saturday, the 9th of September 2014 from 10:00am to 2:30pm.

The event will feature guest speakers from the Attorney General’s Department, Warwick Police and CIB and a local solicitor to speak on various topics to update everyone attending on current legislations and refresh us on our basic duties and responsibilities as JPs and C.decs. Also invited are the Honourable Lawrence Springborg, Minister for Health and QJA Directors.

There will be QJA stationery, pens, mugs, T-shirts and more merchandise available for sale on the day.

Posters have been circulated with contact details for bookings and other information. The photo below shows Branch members on duty in Warwick.

Fiori Cruz, Branch Chairperson

This photo shows Adriaan Van Moolenbroek at Caneland Signing Centre.

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

15

REGIONAL CONTACT INFORMATION BEAUDESERT CONTACT GROUP Valmai Macaulay beaudesert@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 5544 6460

FOREST LAKE CONTACT GROUP Reg Connelly forestlake@qja.com.au Telephone: 0403 167 121

BOWEN BRANCH Brian Byrne bowen@qja.com.au Telephone: 0409 445 056

GLADSTONE BRANCH Fred Golder gladstone@qja.com.au Telephone: 0419 796 177

BRISBANE NORTH BRANCH John Carpendale brisbanenorth@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 3353 2927

GOLD COAST BRANCH Pat Taylor goldcoast@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 5519 3020

BRISBANE SOUTH BRANCH Jan Robbins brisbanesouth@qja.com.au Telephone: 0422 117 225

GYMPIE BRANCH Sandra Coates gympie@qja.com.au Telephone: 0410 536 903

BUNDABERG BRANCH Dave Read bundaberg@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 4151 1505

HERVEY BAY BRANCH Glennis Kelly herveybay@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 4124 5722

CABOOLTURE BRANCH John Geary caboolture@qja.com.au Telephone: 0407 579 139

HORNIBROOK BRANCH Lisette Dillon hornibrook@qja.com.au Telephone: 0404 977 057

CAIRNS CENTRAL BRANCH Margaret Neville cairns@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 4045 2333

HOWARD CONTACT GROUP Carrol Bond howard@qja.com.au Telephone: 0411 743 585

CAIRNS SOUTH BRANCH Meredith Gardiner cairnssouth@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 4041 6228

IPSWICH BRANCH Deanna McDonald ipswich@qja.com.au Telephone: 0408 195 277

CALOUNDRA BRANCH Irene White caloundra@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 5491 1146

INGHAM CONTACT GROUP Siobhan Pelleri ingham@qja.com.au Telephone: 0438 102 962

CENTRAL HIGHLANDS BRANCH Tony Yelland centralhighlands@qja.com.au Telephone: 0488 005 918

LOGAN BRANCH David James logan@qja.com.au Telephone: 0421 310 287

LOGANHOLME CONTACT GROUP Pauline Harris loganholme@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 3341 5555 MACKAY BRANCH Maria Valena mackay@qja.com.au Telephone: 0422 636 374 MAREEBA BRANCH Anne Vains mareeba@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 4094 1174 MAROOCHYDORE BRANCH Angela-Marie James maroochydore@qja.com.au Telephone: 0409 471 008 MARYBOROUGH CONTACT GROUP Geoff Parsons maryborough@qja.com.au Telephone:(07) 4129 0809 MT ISA CONTACT GROUP Duncan Cunningham mtisa@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 4743 0303 NOOSA BRANCH Margaret Lewins noosa@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 5471 0617 REDLAND CITY BRANCH Ray Burrows redlandcity@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 3822 1366 ROCKHAMPTON BRANCH Lance Watson rockhampton@qja.com.au Telephone: 0447 021 591 ROSEDALE CONTACT GROUP Jonathan Brown rosedale@qja.com.au

Telephone: 0741569237 ROSEWOOD CONTACT GROUP Alan Broughton rosewood@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 5464 2007 SOUTH PINE BRANCH Phyllis Hall southpine@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 3264 4436 SOUTH BURNETT BRANCH Debbie-Lee Jackson southburnett@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 4162 7977 TIN CAN BAY CONTACT GROUP Rod Ehrke tincanbay@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 5486 2743 TOOWOOMBA BRANCH Peter Boyes toowoomba@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 4638 0709 TOWNSVILLE BRANCH Lesley Richards townsville@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 4779 0617 WARWICK BRANCH Brendan Holland warwick@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 4667 1526 WESTERN SUBURBS BRANCH Noelene Kidd westsubs@qja.com.au Telephone: 0448 780 491 WOODGATE CONTACT GROUP Maxwell Emery woodgate@qja.com.au Telephone: 0408 728 867 WYNNUM MANLY BRANCH Don Hann wynnummanly@qja.com.au Telephone: (07) 3390 4278

Branches conduct regular meetings (at least five per year), conduct training, operate signing facilities, have defined revenue streams and a formalised structure.

Contact groups meet on an “as required basis” and generally exist to operate signing facilities and to deal with other local issues. For details of what is happening in your local area, including professional development opportunities, please feel free to phone any of the numbers above and your local contact will be happy to assist.

INTERSTATE CONTACT INFORMATION NSW

Sydney (Inner West) Jim Elmore sydney.1@qja.com.au 0408 870 721

Goulburn Elizabeth Adam goulburn@qja.com.au 0427 617 589

Sydney (North West) Sharon Atkins sydney.2@qja.com.au 0417 479 412

Lismore Paul Beckey lismore@qja.com.au 0428 560 467

Sydney (Western Subs) Marie McCabe sydney.3@qja.com.au 0434 992 107

Moree Lyn Zillman moree@qja.com.au 0428 274 182 Queanbeyan Beverley Jones queanbeyan@qja.com.au 0418 198 441

Wollongong Peter Pioro wollongong@qja.com.au 0419 638 121

NT

Alice Springs Elizabeth Milton alicesprings@qja.com.au 0428 533 379

Victor Harbor Timothy Barclay victor.harbor@qja.com.au 0403 134 290

Launceston Vanda Stevenson launceston@qja.com.au 0417 707 330

TAS

VIC

Jabiru Karen Beare nt@qja.com.au 0417 891 226

Deloraine Annette Powell deloraine@qja.com.au 0427 158 648

Bendigo Richard Lancaster bendigo@qja.com.au 0407 345 472

SA

Devonport Dennis Wheelton devonport@qja.com.au 0418 334 431

Melbourne (Langwarrin) Robert Bolch melbourne.1@qja.com.au 0412 155 634

Hobart Barrie Bell hobart@qja.com.au 0419 395 796

Melbourne (Glen Waverley) Simon Bullimore melbourne.2@qja.com.au 0419 756 780

Adelaide Noel J. Lindsay adelaide@qja.com.au 0407 507 773 Adelaide Hills Fred Braun adelaide.hls@qja.com.au (08) 8389 9462

INTERNATIONAL CONTACT INFORMATION Hong Kong Luca Ferreiro hong.kong@qja.com.au 16

New Zealand Allana Waldin nz@qja.com.au

Serving Queensland’s Honorary Justices since 1918

Thailand (Bangkok) Heather Clarke thailand@qja.com.au

UK (London) Derek Hill london@qja.com.au

USA (Texas) Tanya Conole usa@qja.com.au