00:00Transcripts are one of the core foundations of Australia's family court system,
00:08but legal practitioners say inaccurate transcripts are leaving families and justice teetering on the edge.
00:14There have been times when I've read transcripts of a case that I've run
00:19and I've looked at them and what is in the transcript doesn't line up with what I recall and what my notes had said.
00:28What I was looking for was just omitted, it wasn't there.
00:32The ABC cited transcripts that attributed dialogue to the wrong person, named the wrong legal practitioners,
00:40contained numerous typographical errors and one transcript that was missing more than two hours of court proceedings.
00:48The family court told us court staff don't edit transcripts.
00:53That's the job of VIQ Solutions.
00:55The company contracted by the court to manage their audio and transcription files.
01:01All equipment used to record hearings is owned and managed by VIQ Solutions
01:06and no court staff member has access to the equipment,
01:09nor do staff members or judicial officers directly edit or alter transcripts.
01:14But that's not what the contract between the court and VIQ Solutions revealed
01:19when it was released to the ABC under freedom of information laws.
01:23Transcripts can be edited to correct typographical errors, to make the transcript more readable,
01:30to remove things of no substance to the case, to remove administrative matters
01:35and to remove scandalous or objectionable remarks.
01:41VIQ Solutions are used around the world, including by the family courts in the UK,
01:47where similar concerns have been raised.
01:49It's very difficult to prove that transcripts have been edited
01:53and even when they have, quite often it will be said,
01:56well, it's open to the judge.
01:58The judge is exercising their discretion, their case management powers.
02:01They're entitled to edit transcripts.
02:05The risk that erroneous and costly court transcripts could derail court cases
02:09has raised serious concerns about maintaining the integrity of the court.
02:14Anthony Wheelie Casey is a former New South Wales appeals court judge
02:18and currently chair of the Centre for Public Integrity.
02:21He says better oversight is needed.
02:24I think as everybody knows, there's been a call for many years now
02:28for there to be a federal judicial commission.
02:30We don't have one.
02:31It defies description or any rational explanation as to why that should be so.
02:37Of course we need a judicial commission.
02:40This is a reform the Greens have been supporting for many years now.
02:44We have the Australian Law Reform Commission saying it's essential
02:47that there be a Commonwealth Judicial Commission
02:49and yet we get no action from the Albanese government.
02:53The Attorney-General's department said the federal courts
02:56were responsible for their own management.
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