As of 1 September 2021, the Family Court of Australia (FC) and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia (FCC) will merge and become the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA).
The FCFCOA will have two (2) divisions:
- Division 1 will include Judges of the prior Family Court and they will deal with the most complex matters; and
- Division 2 will include Judges of the prior Federal Circuit Court and this will be the single point of entry for family law and child support cases.
All Appeals will be filed in Division 1 and Initiating Applications will be filed in Division 2. Division 2 will continue to hear other jurisdictions such as bankruptcy, copyright, and migration law.
If you are currently involved in Court litigation, it is highly likely your matter is being dealt with in the Federal Circuit Court, soon to become Division 2 of the FCFCOA. The Federal Circuit Court currently hears approximately 90% of all family law cases.
The main structural changes of the Court will include:-
- A single point of entry for all family law matters;
- A new case management pathway (the final version of which has yet to be released);
- Specialist lists (the details of which have not yet been released);
- Harmonised family law rules (the final version of which has yet to be released);
- New family law practice directions (the final version of which has yet to be released);
- Additional focus on dispute resolution including increased internal dispute resolution services in both parenting and financial matters;
- Additional resourcing for reports in parenting matters;
- Changes to the Appellate jurisdiction exercised in Division 1 (all Judges in Division 1 will be able to hear appeals from Division 2 and the Chief Justice will determine which matters will be heard by a Full Bench); and
- A new website.
There will also be a change to the name of Court Registrars. If you are in the Court, it is likely at one stage or another you have had to deal with the Registrar of the Court. The Registrar will have heard your Divorce Hearing, simple mentions and they are the people who conduct the Conciliation Conference (like a mediation) in your property matter. The changes to their titles are as follows:-
Senior Registrars Senior Judicial Registrars
Registrars Judicial Registrars
Assistant Registrars Deputy Registrars
The change in title does not change the powers or the role of a Registrar.
What does this mean for your matter?
In short, not a whole lot. The Court will internally deal with all of the matters that are presently being heard in both the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court and divide them into either Division 1 or Division 2 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Moving forward, you or your solicitor will need to ensure they are across the new act, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021, familiar with the new Court Rules (which are yet to be released) and ensure they are filing the appropriate documents.
If you require assistance with your family law matter, please contact the Family Law Team at Connolly Suthers.