PSA members Sadie Jack and Stephanie Bentley have nearly 90 years’ combined experience in the judicial system as Court Reporters.

“I started working as a Court Reporter in 1980,” said Ms Jack. Two years later, Ms Bentley began working in the same role.

“We’ve seen huge changes in that time,” said Ms Bentley. “There has been retraining for our whole way of reporting, from pen to machine.

“The stenograph is a little machine you take into court. It can record all the proceedings then you come back and edit it.”

Ms Jack said the changes require new skills.

“There have been big changes in technology,” she said. “Because of the technology, Pitman shorthand, that I do, is no longer taught in TAFE, so there aren’t many court reporters who use pen and paper.”

Despite the changes in the tools they use, both women said Court Reporting remains a challenging profession.

“It is very fast and difficult, because people talk over the top of each other all the time,” said Ms Bentley. “You are controlling everything so you can get a good note.”

Ms Jack said the varied, interesting events they report on means “you learn something new every day”.

The two women work in the Supreme Court, where the subject matter, such as violent death, can sometimes be confronting.

“It can be a little traumatic if you are doing criminal work, working on a trial that is quite horrendous,” said Ms Jack.

Ms Bentley said confronting material “goes with the territory, and you have to regard it as water off a duck’s back and close your mind to it”.

Both members joined the PSA when they commenced work in the 1980s and have called on union support when required.

“The PSA has always been there to support me as a Delegate through issues such as management bullying,” said Ms Jack.

Ms Bentley said the union helped her with an injury issue earlier in her career.

“We’ve always had strong membership and a very high density, and I think that is because we as Delegates work hard for their interests and the PSA has been there for us,” said Ms Jack.