Annual Report 2020 - 2021
Information technology
Information technology (IT) service management
With the introduction of new flexible working arrangements, many of our staff will continue to work from home or another location as the norm. Consequently, we have adjusted our IT service management processes to ensure staff are fully supported.
We engaged an external organisation to conduct a review of our IT environment to ensure that our underlying technologies, processes, and resourcing meet the changing demands of the organisation. A prioritised program of IT service improvement initiatives was identified, along with additional temporary roles to help manage the sustained increased workload, while project teams worked on service improvement initiatives.
Focus areas included:
- enhancing the reliability and experience of remote workers
- standardising telephone call flows into our frontline offices, and
- piloting more efficient ways for deploying laptops directly to staff at home.
This year we commenced the refresh of the laptop fleet and provided laptops and associated equipment to all staff working from home.
Uplifting our cyber security
This year our cyber security team engaged and collaborated with teams across Legal Aid NSW to embed cyber security requirements into projects and operational activities.
We made steady progress in uplifting our maturity against the mandatory requirements of the NSW cyber security policy. We implemented the principle of plan-do-check-act to ensure effective cyber security policies and procedures were in place and aligned with business objectives.
We developed a three-year roadmap to further uplift our cyber security capabilities. A program of initiatives is underway to ensure we continue to meet our cyber security objectives, including maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information stored and processed within in-scope systems.
This year we launched mandatory cyber security training for all staff. A new cyber security awareness training policy was also introduced.
Launch of our new business intelligence platform
We modernised our business intelligence and reporting solution through implementation of a cloud-based solution that draws data from several systems. The launch of the new solution enables data-driven, informed decision-making to improve the services we deliver to our clients. Development of dashboards and reports are available via the platform, and integration of new data sources such as LawAccess NSW, is planned for the coming year.
Making improvements to our Client and Case Management System (CCMS)
Following the introduction of our new Client and Case Management System (CCMS) in early 2020, this year we focused on a range of enhancements to the system. We improved the speed, usability, and efficiency of CCMS for administrative staff, and we made improvements to the handling of documents.
Subject matter experts provided a range of ongoing CCMS training to our legal practice and administrative staff. Next year we will be working on embedding this training within the broader training given to staff.
We enhanced CCMS to digitise and automate processes for booking mediations to resolve family disputes. The solution ensures seamless, timely, and safe interactions for our clients, legal representatives, mediators, and venue booking staff.
A new digital solution for distribution of back up duty work was also implemented to ensure accountability and transparency in the duty and urgent case allocation process. This solution provides private lawyers and internal stakeholders with seamless communication and ensures we automate offers for back up duty work fairly.
New ways to manage documents
We undertook a detailed discovery project to create a plan for transforming the way staff work with documents.
The exchange of documents between stakeholders in the justice system is still by paper in many situations, which is time-consuming and inefficient. This year we made improvements to document handling in our CCMS and tools were provided to staff to work with documents digitally. Additional improvements to transform the way staff work with documents will be progressed over the coming year.
The year ahead
- We will continue to enhance our Client and Case Management System (CCMS) and integrate our client appointment booking system functions into the system.
- We will transform the way our staff work with documents across the organisation.
- We will implement a range of process and system changes to improve our internal IT service management.