Family Courts in crisis

You may have seen some media items recently regarding the current state of the Federal Circuit Court (FCC).

The FCC is responsible for the vast majority of family court proceedings.

The media has recently reported that the Chief Judge of the FCC is considering moving Judges from the Wollongong and Parramatta registries to the Sydney registry. The Court was quick to clarify that there was no current intention to close the registries in those areas, just that it was considering moving Judges to Sydney to cover the severe time delays being experienced in the Sydney registry at the moment. It is said that these are steps that the Court does not want to take but must consider in light of the funding crisis.

The media have also reported on a KPMG report, commissioned by the current Federal government, that reportedly concluded that there was an immediate need for the injection of millions of dollars simply to preserve the operation of the Courts.

The Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia has called on the Federal government to immediately commit the funds to ensure the continued operation of the Courts, including the immediate appointment of Judges to meet the needs of the community. The press release from the Section stated "Families involved in the family law system already face delays of more than three years in waiting for a judge to hear their case. ... For Judge Pascoe to now have to consider closure is an indictment of the government's commitment to the administration of Australia's legal system ... No government that claims to be committed to justice and to addressing the scourge of family violence could permit the Federal Circuit Court to consider the closure of these registries"