25 September 2023

Courts to merge for simpler service

Start the conversation

Proposed new laws to merge the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia have been introduced into Parliament by the Attorney-General, Christian Porter.

Mr Porter said the current system was letting people down.

“Having two separate family law courts with different sets of rules, practice management styles, forms, procedures and listing entry points dealing with the same body of family law matters, simply does not work,” Mr Porter said.

“It leads to confusion, delays, additional costs and unequal experiences for many applicants.”

He said structural reform of the family courts had been on the agenda for at least a decade and it was now time for action.

“We need to ensure our courts have the structure, systems and processes in place that allow people to move through the system as quickly as possible so they can move on with their lives,” Mr Porter said.

“This is most important for children of relationships which have broken down. We cannot allow the court system’s broken structures to exacerbate delays.”

He said the new legislation would bring together the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court in one structure to be known as the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFC), which would operate from 1 January 2019.

“The FCFC will comprise two divisions: Division One will be a continuation of the Family Court, whilst Division Two will be a continuation of the Federal Circuit Court,” the Attorney-General said.

“A new Family Law Appeal Division will be established in the Federal Court of Australia to hear all appeals in family law matters from the FCFC and appeals in federal family law matters from the Family Court of Western Australia.”

Mr Porter said the reforms were the result of careful consideration of numerous reports looking into the user-experience and overall efficiency of the family law system.

“The legislation introduced will create a more efficient system that increases access to justice,” he said.

“From 1 January 2019, all new family law matters will be filed in the new FCFC. Further reform will then be implemented to ensure applications will follow a common case-management pathway.”

He said the estimates of efficiencies the structural reforms would have on the family law system were that they would add up to a third to its operations with the potential over time to allow around an extra 8,000 cases to be resolved each year.

A two-page fact sheet setting out the reforms to the courts can be accessed at this PS News link.

Start the conversation

Be among the first to get all the Public Sector and Defence news and views that matter.

Subscribe now and receive the latest news, delivered free to your inbox.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.