Ministry of Justice - Courting Auckland

Details

Business Transformation

The situation

The Ministry of Justice is responsible for a number of functions across the justice sector, including administration of New Zealand’s various courts and tribunals, the administration of legal aid and the collection of fines.
 
The administration of courts in the Greater Auckland region presented a substantial set of challenges for the Ministry. The Greater Auckland region accounts for over 40% of the courts’ case volumes, reaching over 70% for some jurisdictions. These courts were experiencing a significant growth problem as the current infrastructure was proving insufficient to meet the rising number of cases.
 
The conventional response to an increase in case volumes was to build more brick-and-mortar courthouses. Due to the unique requirements of Ministry locations, construction and fit-out of such buildings is expensive and time-consuming. The Ministry knew there had to be a better, more elegant solution.  Encompass Consulting was asked to provide strategic advice and leadership in order to assist the Ministry face its challenges.

Our approach

Encompass Consulting headed a small team which conducted a wide range of analysis. The team conducted an environmental scan to investigate the drivers of the court’s high caseload, identify whether existing assets could be better utilised, and ascertain the idiosyncrasies of service provision in the Greater Auckland region.
 
In addition to meeting with a variety of Ministry stakeholders across the wider court system, the team commissioned a customer survey of all parties touched by the existing service delivery model. This survey was a first for the courts, and identified the differing expectations of its various customers.
 
The analysis identified specific opportunities relating to jury trials, recognition of the different requirements of civil and criminal matters, and acknowledgement of the challenges presented by the geography of the Greater Auckland Region. An alternate model, referred to as the Courts Precinct Model, was developed and formed the basis of a Stage One Indicative Business Case which sought funding to further develop and implement an updated service delivery model.

The result

The improved service delivery model was approved by Ministry stakeholders and Cabinet. Cabinet agreed to set aside funding to conduct the further analysis required to develop and implement the model. The Ministry was better equipped to deal with the challenges they faced, with a variety of innovative, forward-looking solutions backed by sound and thorough analysis.