2024 SAET User Satisfaction Survey
09 December 2024
The South Australian Employment Tribunal (SAET) conducted its first User Satisfaction Survey between August and October 2024 through an anonymous online survey directed to both represented and self-represented parties.
The survey was designed to measure and understand the satisfaction of SAET users, and their overall experience based on the key values of timeliness, fair treatment, accessibility, understanding and respect. The survey forms part of SAET’s implementation of the Tribunals Excellence Framework a quality management tool developed for courts and tribunals advocated by the Council of Australian Tribunals (COAT).
Legal practitioners and advocates were excluded from the survey as they are represented on various SAET Stakeholder groups that regularly meet with the His Honour President Justice Steven Dolphin and the Registrar.
Survey Results
Overall, survey participants had a positive experience in SAET, and self-represented participants were more satisfied than the represented cohort.
Overall Participant Results
| 84% | Agreed that SAET’s hearings and conferences take place on time and in an efficient manner |
| 81% | Agreed that SAET correspondence and orders are easy to understand and contained all the information needed |
| 80% | Agreed that staff and members listened to them and treated them with respect and courtesy |
| 69% | Agreed that the SAET website was easy to use and understand |
| 68% | Agreed that SAET forms were easy to understand and complete |
| 64% | Agreed that the way SAET handled their case was fair |
In the lowest scoring areas overall (fair handling of case, accessible website, and accessible forms), self-represented participants were at least 10% more satisfied with SAET than the represented group.
Self-Represented versus Represented Participant Results
| Survey Question | Self-represented | Represented |
| The way SAET handled my case was fair | 73% | 59% |
| SAET forms were easy to understand and complete | 75% | 65% |
| The SAET website was easy to understand and use | 76% | 64% |
Participants comments
Selected comments on what participants liked about their experience with SAET:
- SAET staff were great. Understanding and very helpful.
- My case was very quickly finalised, and I was surprised with this quick turnaround. To me the Tribunal looks at the cases very carefully and do not unnecessarily delay the outcome of the cases. I am very satisfied how my case was dealt with very quickly.
- It was much friendlier than I had anticipated.
- Excellent process.
Selected comments on what SAET could have done to improve their experience:
- The online forms are very limiting, and they are difficult to use, and often refuse lodgement if optional sections are not completed.
- Don’t understand why things get deferred over and over again. It adds to the anxiety and stress of the person involved.
- It would be more beneficial that SAET uses video conference such as Teams rather than phones for conferences.
- Commissioners and judiciary members of the SAET need to be impartial and their decisions be based on facts presented to them. Unfortunately, there are some members that are one sided and their decisions normally support the Employees/Unions
Future surveys
SAET plans to conduct the survey on an annual basis and intends to use the data from the survey in its professional development of staff and members; in reviewing practices and procedures; and to improve information provided to users.