A Family Court blitz will get underway in Victoria to clear old cases
Relief for Victorian families waiting years to settle disputes in the Family Court is on the way, with a new campaign promising to clear cases that have languished on lists for up to four years.
VIC News
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Longtime warring families will be forced to court this month in a blitz to clear a backlog in the Family Court.
Hundreds of Victorians will be part of the clear-out on cases that have languished on lists for between 18 months and four years.
More than 2000 cases across Australia will be listed, with 480 in Victoria.
Family Court Chief Justice Will Alstergren and his deputy, former Labor attorney-general Robert McClelland, will spearhead the campaign.
From Wednesday the pair will hear up to 50 cases a day over a five-day onslaught in the Federal Circuit Court and will tackle the Family Court in three days later in the program.
The campaign will employ six judges sitting in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Parramatta, Brisbane and Adelaide.
A similar exercise in Queensland last year saw most of the cases settle; in some cases, they had been sitting on the list for up to four years.
It comes after a Sunday Herald Sun investigation last year revealed lawyers were being paid for work they never do and up to half the 50,000 people caught up in family law cases go without lawyers at some stage in their matter because they can’t afford one.
Justice Alstergren said that the summer campaign was one of a number of initiatives being taken in a serious effort to minimise delays that families have experienced in the past several years.
“My absolute focus is on the people who come to our courts seeking a resolution to their dispute,” he said.
“The courts have acknowledged that lengthy delays are unacceptable and we are taking action, and are working extremely hard to address this.”
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Justice Alstergren, who has worked hard to try to reduce the number of cases languishing for years on the docket, said the courts’ recently released practice direction made it clear couples, lawyers and the courts had an obligation to ensure the just, safe, efficient and timely resolution of matters at a cost to the parties that was reasonable and proportionate in all the circumstances of the case.
“The courts look forward to continuing a positive professional relationship and working collaboratively with the state-based legal aid bodies, law societies and bar associations,” he said.