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Federal Circuit and Family Court merger leaves public with ‘little information’
With the Federal Circuit and Family Court merger around the corner but very little information available, family lawyers, judges, organisations and clients are staring down the barrel at a confusing and uncertain future of navigating the changes.
Naomi Neilson
Come September, the controversial amalgamation of the Federal Circuit and Family Court will officially come into effect, bringing with it a much more streamlined process of hearing family law matters – at least in theory. In practice, lawyers and judges are concerned that the merger may only result in more gridlocks and greater delays.
Justice Family Lawyers is alarmed that not only is there little information for the public, but proponents of the bill have reassured it will streamline the backlog of family-related cases and reduce waiting times for families without explaining how.
“The merger is big news, and a lot of people don’t really understand what it will mean for them,” Justice Family Lawyers’ Hayder Shkara said. “It will bring about significant changes to family matters yet, beyond structural and administrative changes, little information has been given to guide families and practitioners through the transition.”
The merger has had a very controversial history with many judges and major legal organisations announcing their intention to firmly stand against it. In February, shortly before the bills were passed, 157 signatories – including former chief justices the Honourable Elizabeth Evatt QC and the Honourable Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC – wrote an open letter explaining their concerns that the merger would “result in a loss of structural, systemic specialisation and dismantle the appeal division”.
“Any reforms should strengthen a system, not lead to the diminution of specialisation. If the government’s proposed reforms proceed, we will lose a stand-alone specialist superior family court,” the letter read. “The need for increased specialisation of courts to improve decisions is supported by the evidence of many inquiries. We advocate for further discussion of the different options.”
In a joint statement, the Law Council of Australia, Women’s Legal Service Australia, Community Legal Centres and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service shared their concerns, calling on the government to instead “step up and properly fund the family law system and legal assistance”. Similarly, the NSW Bar Association has also criticised the merger.
Mr Shkara has also pointed out that the government has provided no updates since the bill was passed and it remains unclear if the merger will come into effect in September or if it will be delayed due to the new COVID-19 lockdowns.
Although controversy and a lot of concern remain, Mr Shkara said he is still remaining hopeful: “There were a lot of studies done to figure out if the merger will be beneficial, so I’m hoping that the changes will be positive.”
The FCFC’s The Honourable Chief Justice Will Alstergren will provide an overview of the merger and how it will affect family law solicitors soon. More to come on this soon.
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
