2019 Family Law Courts Changes

The proposed changes to the Family Court system was well discussed in the media in 2018. The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee has now released its report providing their recommendations in relation to the proposed changes to the structure of the Family and Federal Circuit Courts. This report was released 2 months ahead of schedule and overall recommended that the proposed Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bill 2018 and the Family Court of Australia (consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2018 be passed by the Senate subject however to a series of amendments being made. The recommendations made by the Committee included 1. Additional resources for Registrars to assist with backlog of cases 2. That the current existing appellate jurisdiction of the Family Court of Australia be retained into the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia 3. That the qualification of judges as per the proposed paragraph 79(2)(b) be amended to ensure that they have appropriate skills, knowledge, experience and personality 4. That the Australian Government pursues immediate appointment of suitable candidates to vacant judiciary positions in the family courts and consider if there is a need to appoint additional judges. Please click on the link to read the full report  https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/FederalCourts/Report?fbclid=IwAR3hHrFoGPeH0SM2cZep3xkiXP9O0mjO5Q2gf0F2lh3z33yYwOYz0s-_yik