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AUSTRALIA

The cost of efficiency in Family Court merger

  • 23 November 2018
In May this year Attorney-General Christian Porter announced the Family Court Merger, due to be implemented from January 2019. This will combine the Family Court of Australia with the Federal Circuit Court (FCC) to create the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCA), a 'single point of entry' for Family Law litigants, supposedly decreasing the backlog of cases, reducing costs and delays and simplifying the process as a result.

It all sounds good. Most people who have been through Family Court will confirm that it’s a long and arduous process, one that is both emotionally and financially stressful. But I have some serious concerns about this merger. My main concern is what this will mean for people who are dealing with family violence while going through the court system.

As it stands, the Federal Circuit Court already takes the bulk of family law cases, while Family Court is reserved for the more complex cases, such as those involving family violence. This means that some cases are moved back and forth between the two courts, as different issues arise during proceedings. The merging of these two courts (while maintaining the two separate divisions) will eliminate this back and forth and speed up the process for litigants, which the Attorney-General has said will provide faster relief for families.

This emphasis on 'faster relief' assumes that speedy resolutions are better for families. This may be true for some cases, but for those thousands of families dealing with the complexity of family violence, it is imperative that the courts examine all the evidence thoroughly with expert analysis and allow time for perpetrators of violence to show their true colours, before any potentially life-changing decisions are made.

Efficiency and cost cutting shouldn’t be the goal. The Family Court is crying out for more resources and specialist family violence experts, not merely simpler, faster results. Additionally, the Attorney-General has not confirmed that judges in the family law division of the new court will be required to have specific family law experience, or that existing family court judges will be replaced as they retire, so there is also a risk that those complex cases will soon be heard by unqualified judges. This would be a dangerous step backwards.

A case involving family violence needs to be overseen by someone who understands the intricacies of family violence. Perpetrators are skilled manipulators who often present well before a judge. During the court
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