Shortage of Family Court and Federal Circuit judges in Parramatta leading to delays of up to three years
CHILDREN at the centre of bitter custody battles are paying the price as delays in Family Court matters stretch on for up to three years in Parramatta.
Family court matters drag out in Sydney’s west due to judge shortage
Some families waiting up to three years for a trial date
Concern long waits mean volatile family matters may become worse
Delays in cases involving domestic violence put women, kids in danger
CHILDREN at the centre of bitter custody battles are paying the price as delays in Family Court matters stretch on for up to three years in Parramatta.
Between 2008 and 2016 the number of Family Court and Federal Circuit Court judges has been halved in Parramatta from 10 to five.
In contrast, in Sydney city there are at least 15 Family Court and Federal Circuit Court judges. The effect of this shortage has been “catastrophic on the timely disposition of family law cases”, according to David Maddox, head of Arthur Phillip Chambers in Parramatta.
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“The shortage of judicial time has meant in effect judges are sometimes placed in the position of having to choose which case to hear, even if the competing cases have claims to be heard urgently,” the barrister said.
Of the 12 courtrooms in the Garfield Barwick Commonwealth Law Courts buildings in Parramatta, only four were in use on Monday. Three were handling Family Court matters.
The other eight courtrooms were locked and the lights turned off while the waiting areas nearby remained deserted. This is not for a lack of cases, with one judge reportedly dealing with 600 Parramatta cases.
Many litigants are left with a great deal of uncertainty as to their property or, perhaps more importantly, their children
Generally his case load should be about 300 in total, according to legal sources.
Mr Maddox said in some cases the people involved in family law matters in Parramatta had been told that a final hearing might not take place until 2018 or even 2019.
“Many litigants are left with a great deal of uncertainty as to their property or, perhaps more importantly, their children,” he said.
Mr Maddox said the refusal of the Federal Government to replace judges had potential to “exacerbate the effects of domestic violence”.
The shortage is attributed to a failure to replace judges who have retired or have been relocated due to a lack of government resources.
Judges who are about to retire are also not taking on any more cases, contributing to a bottleneck in delays.
Last year, Federal Circuit Chief Judge John Pascoe told members of the Law Council of Australia’s Family Law section that he was “seriously considering” closing the Parramatta registry – one of the busiest in Australia.
Some families were waiting up to three years for a trial date and up to 18 months for an interim hearing to resolve disputes over children and property.
Justice Garry Foster has been sitting in the family court at Parramatta for the past three years.
The senior family law judge said if a matter came before the court quickly it could help “take the heat out of it”, but long waiting periods could lead to increased frustration and violence. “If we have the resources we can get them in quick and it calms everybody down,” he said.
Women’s Community Shelters chief executive Annabelle Daniel said she had heard of women waiting about two years for Family Court matters to be settled in Parramatta.
In cases where domestic violence was an issue, lengthy court delays could put women and children in a precarious position.
“There’s potential for abuse to continue for a number of years because the relationships are not defined,” she said.
A spokesman for the Attorney-General said four appointments of judges were imminent: two to the Family Court and two to the Federal Circuit Court.
“These appointments will bring the courts up to their full complement of judges,” he said.
Where these new judge’s will be located remains confidential, until their appointment.
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