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

The Family Court of Australia – annual report 1997-98
Establishment
The Family Court of Australia is a superior court of record which has been operating since
5 January 1976 following the enactment of the Family Law Act 1975. The Act makes provision
for the establishment of State Family Courts but only Western Australia has done so.
Organisation
The Court consists of the Chief Justice, Deputy Chief Justice and 50 judges, including two
Judge Administrators. The Chambers of the Chief Justice are located in Melbourne.
Judicial registrars and registrars exercise certain powers of the Court which have been delegated
under Family Law Rules.
Changes to the Family Law Act in 1990 vested in the Chief Justice the responsibility for the
management of the Court’s administrative affairs. The amendments also created the position
of Chief Executive Officer to assist with the administration of the Court and vested that position
with powers equivalent to a Secretary of a Department of State in respect of staff
employed under the Public Service Act. Other senior management positions consist of the
Principal Registrar, the General Manager Corporate Services, General Manager Customer
Services, General Advisor Dispute Resolution, Chief Finance Officer and Area Managers.
At the end of the reporting period the Office of the Chief Executive (OCE) was located in
Sydney with some elements located in Canberra. However most OCE positions are scheduled
to be relocated to Canberra in the first quarter of 1998-99. The Area Managers are
located in Sydney and Melbourne.
The original jurisdiction of the Family Court and jurisdiction in appeals from courts of
summary jurisdiction may be exercised by one or more judges. Appeals from decisions of
its own judges and judges of the Family Court of Western Australia are heard by a Full
Court comprising three or more judges. An application may be made to the Court to review
the exercise of a power delegated to a judicial registrar or registrar.
Proceedings may be started at all filing registries of the Family Court. Primary dispute resolution
services, including counselling and mediation, are also provided. The Court’s
major filing registries are located in Sydney, Parramatta, Newcastle, Canberra, Melbourne,
Adelaide, Dandenong, Hobart, Brisbane, Townsville, and Darwin. It has counselling subregistries
at Wollongong, Albury, Dubbo, Lismore, Coffs Harbour, Gold Coast, Cairns,
Rockhampton, Alice Springs and Launceston (mediation is available at Melbourne,
Brisbane, Sydney and Parramatta). Throughout 1997-98 limited filing services were
extended to a number of the counselling sub-registries, including Coffs Harbour, Dubbo,
Lismore, Rockhampton and Wollongong.
Resident judges are located at all major filing registries except Darwin. The Court conducts
circuit court sittings at Darwin, the counselling sub-registries and in many other country
centres on a regular basis.
Program management
For the purposes of the Government’s Program Management arrangements, the Court lies
within the Attorney-General’s portfolio as sub-program 4.2.
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