Family Court to merge with Federal Circuit Court to deliver ‘faster, simpler, cheaper’ decisions
A MASSIVE backlog of child custody and property disputes will be resolved “faster, simpler and cheaper” under the largest shake-up of the Family Court in a generation planned by the Turnbull government.
NSW
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A MASSIVE backlog of child custody and property disputes will be resolved faster under the largest shake-up of the Family Court in a generation planned by the Turnbull government.
Attorney-General Christian Porter will today announce sweeping changes that include abolishing the Family Court and merging it with the Federal Circuit Court to deliver “faster, simpler and cheaper” decisions on divorces and other family cases.
“There are currently unnecessary costs (and) court appearances which cause unnecessary distress and legal fees for families,” Mr Porter told The Daily Telegraph.
“The longer (families) are in the court system the more stress and angst and antagonism and disagreement there is.”
The Family Court is currently mired in a backlog of more than 21,000 cases — a sharp rise of nearly 4000 in the past five years — with 22,000 new cases being added every year.
Former chief justice Diana Byrant, who retired in October, last year admitted the system is “letting the people down” with families waiting up to three years for their case to be heard.
Family Court costs are estimated to be four times higher than similar cases heard in the Federal Circuit Court, and trials take twice as long.
Mr Porter’s department estimates the reforms will result in an extra 8000 cases being resolved every year.
Mr Porter said the need to merge the two courts was urgent, despite a government-ordered review of the 42-year-old family court system by the Australian Law Reform Commission being still under way.
One key issue causing delays was the 1200 cases that were transferred between the two courts each year, he said.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that systems in place to assist those families who cannot resolve matters without legal intervention are as efficient as possible and that the system itself does not exacerbate the trauma of family breakup, especially for children.”