Annual report [1997-98] - Family Court of Australia

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The Family Court of Australia – annual report 1997-98 1 Dissolution (divorce) hearings Standard: Dissolutions of marriage can be heard within 10 weeks of filing Outcome: This standard was met by all but two of the 11 filing registries in the last quarter of the financial year. Darwin Registry was just outside the performance standard as at the end of the financial year and this is expected to improve following the appointment of a Darwin-based SES Registrar. Six registries met the standard every month during the year, two met the standard in 10 months, one in nine months and two in eight months. While this represents a slight drop in performance over the previous year’s figures in terms of the number of months in which the standard was met, registries were rarely over one-and-ahalf weeks beyond the standard. 2 First directions hearings Standard: Form 7 ancillary applications listed within six weeks Outcome: Two of the registries were able to meet the time standard in the last quarter of the financial year compared with only one registry at the end of last financial year. Generally registries found this standard difficult to meet, with only one registry meeting the standard for 10 months and one for eight months. Two registries did not meet the standard in any month, three registries met the standard in three months, two in four months, one in five months and one in six months. However, most registries were able to reduce the number of weeks they were over the standard or meet the standard more often in the second half of the financial year. 3 Form 8 applications Standard: Form 8 interim or procedural applications listed within four weeks Outcome: Seven registries were able to meet this time standard in the last quarter of the year. Although no registry was able to meet the time standard for every month, in most registries the delay was only slightly beyond standards. Brisbane Registry did not meet the time standard in any month but was able to reduce the average waiting time by almost a week. However, the extent of the delay as at the end of the final quarter remains a concern. Darwin met the time standard in only two months, four other registries met the standard for 5 months of the year, two for eight months, two for nine months and one for 10 months. 4 Registrars conferences Standard: Conciliation conference in standard track financial matters available within 12 weeks from directions hearing Outcome: Six of the registries were able to meet this time standard for every month and one registry met the time standard in all the months in which a conciliation conference was required. All but two registries increased or equalled the number of months for which this time standard was met compared to the previous year. By the last quarter of the year all registries except one were meeting the standard. 5 Conciliation counselling Standard: Conciliation counselling available within three weeks from first directions hearing Outcome:This standard was met by four of the 11 registries in the last quarter of the financial year; Sydney and Hobart registries were able to meet the standard for the 12 months 33
The Family Court of Australia – annual report 1997-98 of the year with a further three registries meeting the standard for 11 months of the year. Three other registries (Parramatta, Darwin and Townsville) met the standard for nine, seven and five months respectively. Overall, there has been an improvement on last years figures. It should be noted, however, that urgent requests for appointments were able to be met within the time standard in all registries. 6 Direct track matters Standard: Direct track matters heard within six months Outcome: This time standard was met by only one registry (Canberra) for the 12 months of the financial year. Four other registries increased the number of months for which this standard was met compared with the previous year. However, four registries were unable to meet the standard in any month. 7 Standard track child matters Standard: Standard track child matters heard within 10 months Outcome: No registry was able to meet this time standard in the last quarter of the financial year. However, Hobart met the standard in four months in the financial year and Sydney met the standard in three months and was outside by no more than two months for most of the rest of the year. Seven registries were unable to meet this time standard in any month while the other two registries met it for one month. These figures reflect the demand on judicial hearing time. 8 Standard track financial matters Standard: Standard track financial matters heard within 11 months Outcome:One registry managed to meet this time standard in the last quarter of the financial year. Only three registries managed to meet the standard in any month. Most registries were considerably outside the standard for the duration of the year. As with other standards measuring delays from filing to hearing, these figures indicate there is insufficient judicial resources to meet demand. 9 Complex track matters Standard: Complex track matters heard within 12 months Outcome: These matters are judge-managed and relatively few in number. One complex case with particular needs requiring special management may take some time to complete, resulting in the mean delay being high. Parramatta Registry met the standard in four out of the five months in which it dealt with complex track matters and only exceeded the standard by six weeks in the remaining month. This registry was the only registry within time standards as at the end of the financial year. Sydney met the standard for three months and Melbourne for one month during the year. Neither Brisbane nor Adelaide could meet the standard in any of the months in which complex matters were dealt with. 34
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Annual report [1997-98] - Family Court of Australia

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