Merging the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court – what changes?

In 2019, the Federal Government proposed the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bill 2019 which aimed to collapse the specialist Family Court of Australia into the generalist Federal Circuit Court. Then on 17 February 2021 the Senate gave the final approval to the Bill, passing with only a narrow margin of 30 for and 28 against. We’ll have a look at some of the prominent opinions regarding the Bill as well as offering our own take.

The Bill is intended to reduce the “costs and delays of the Family Court System”, in the words of Attorney-General Christian Porter. To do this, the point of entry, processes and rules surrounding each court will be merged. It was clarified that there will still be 2 ‘divisions’ in the new Federal Circuit and Family Court, each essentially acting as the previous separate court.

The effectiveness of this strategy to assist struggling families in some of the most difficult times of their lives has been questioned by many. Elizabeth Evatt, a former Chief Justice of the Family Court, has written a letter to the Attorney-General which has since been signed by 157 experts in the family law sector. This letter heavily criticizes the merge as threatening the safety of victims of family violence and says that a specialist court should be a priority so that families in dangerous situations are protected as best as possible.

Although the Government intended these structural reforms to increase efficiency, the removal of the specialised Family Court to deal with fragile situations involving family violence and children is a heavy loss for the Australian people. It is likely that combining the Family Court with the underfunded and notoriously slow Federal Circuit Court will only force families to wait longer for a suitable outcome.

Despite the overwhelming call for reconsideration of the Bill, the Federal Government has so far remained silent.

If you have further questions, please contact us at frank@franklaw.com.au.

This is not legal advice.