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FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA<br />
7 SRL Project ~ consultative workshops’ report<br />
PREPARED BY MICHAEL DAVIES<br />
1 Overview<br />
As part of the <strong>Self</strong>-<strong>represented</strong> <strong>Litigants</strong> (SRLs) Project, consultative workshops<br />
were held in Parramatta and Brisbane in 2001.<br />
The process asked service providers and self-<strong>represented</strong> litigants to review their<br />
experiences of the Family Court of Australia (FCoA) processes and identify the<br />
needs of SRLs and the assistance the FCoA may be able to give to those<br />
individuals who choose or need to represent themselves.<br />
Approximately 23 SRLs and 26 service providers have contributed to the<br />
discussions. The views expressed at the workshops are summarised below for the<br />
project team’s consideration. In collecting together the input from both service<br />
providers and SRLs no attempt has been made to identify consensus or indicate<br />
a position of the project team with respect to any suggestions made.<br />
1.1 Discussions with Service Providers<br />
The discussions opened with service providers being asked about their<br />
perceptions of the experience for SRLs at their first presentation at the court. The<br />
discussions were launched with:<br />
"Terrifying. At the starting point people need direction to some legal<br />
advice recognising the individuality of each case, this has to be face to<br />
face. People arrive at another service such as a Community Legal Centre<br />
(CLC) with a stack of forms often the wrong ones or wrongly completed.<br />
It is pointless for people to get into the system without legal advice as to<br />
what the first steps are for them. They are overwhelmed and confused<br />
by bureaucracy. They know they wont get legal aid. The complexity<br />
means it is difficult to know where to start."<br />
The discussion then proceeded through the stages of the court process from<br />
preparation to enter the system through to the trial stage.<br />
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