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Overview of the court Part 2 The Court’s Family Violence and Law Reform committees began developing draft guidelines for use in cases where family violence or the risk of family violence is alleged. These will be especially valuable in the context of amendments to the Family Law Act in the area of family violence, particularly section 60K. This section imposes an obligation on courts exercising jurisdiction under the Act to give prompt consideration to allegations of violence or abuse, or the risk of violence or abuse, and, where appropriate, make orders with respect to the gathering of evidence and the protection of parties and children. The Court has developed a process to ensure that these allegations are brought to its attention as soon as possible through the filing of a Form 4: Notice of Child Abuse or Family Violence. Upon filing, the Form 4 and supporting affidavit will be immediately referred to a duty registrar. Where urgent interim orders are considered necessary, the application will be listed before a judicial officer on the same day. Standard timeframes governing specific court events are also being developed. The Government recently announced that the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) has been commissioned to undertake research on allegations of family violence and child abuse in family law proceedings. The research will examine material held by family courts to assess: the types of allegations and denials about family violence and child abuse, and the way that such allegations and denials arise how allegations and refutations are dealt with in court proceedings and what type of conclusions are reached, and the impact of allegations and proven cases on post-separation parenting arrangements. The Family Court will be working with the AIFS during this research project. The Court’s Statistical Services Unit is also working to modify the Casetrack data collection system to facilitate the capture of outcome related measures. Magellan Magellan is a case management system designed to ensure that matters involving allegations of serious child abuse are dealt with as effectively and efficiently as possible. The Magellan case management system involves rigorous judicial management, including the imposition of strict time lines, early ‘front loading’ of resources such as the appointment of a child representative, provision of information from the relevant state welfare authority, and close liaison on case management between external information providers and a team of family consultants (formerly ‘mediators’). Magellan has now been implemented in all Family Court registries, with the New South Wales Department of Children’s Services agreeing during 2005-06 to participate in the program. The Family Court’s National Magellan Committee is in the process of finalising terms of reference for an external evaluation of Magellan. Ongoing work is also taking place to ensure consistent management of Magellan cases in the Court’s registries. 18 Family Court of Australia Annual Report 2005–2006
Living in Harmony Chief Justice Diana Bryant presents Medina Idress with a graduation certificate following the ‘Living in Harmony’ education program at Melbourne Registry In 2004-05 the Court received $108,000 from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) under the ‘Living in Harmony’ Partnership Program. The funding was provided to develop family law education strategies for new and emerging communities (in particular Afghan, Somali, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Sudanese and Iraqi). Community consultations undertaken as part of the partnership were completed in July 2005 in four states – New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. A number of common themes emerged, including: a lack of understanding of the different roles of state and Commonwealth courts, and a lack of understanding of the Family Court’s mediation service. Part 2 Overview of the court To address the issues identified during the consultation process, each jurisdiction developed individual policies and programs to engage new and emerging communities. In recognition of the completion of programs developed through the ‘Living in Harmony’ Partnership, the Chief Justice awarded certificates to 12 leaders from Melbourne’s African communities and to 17 bilingual workers from a range of community and government agencies in Parramatta. The project has now concluded, with an evaluation report to be provided to DIMA. Mental Health Support Pilot Project The Mental Health Support Pilot Project, a joint initiative between the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Magistrates Court, was launched in Adelaide by the Hon. Christopher Pyne, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, on 5 December 2005. The Department of Health and Ageing sponsored the project and contributed $300,000 for an 18-month pilot from October 2004. The purpose of the project was to pilot a range of measures to improve the mental health support provided to clients of both the Family Court and the Federal Magistrates Court. There were four main objectives: The development of mental health literature to improve client and staff awareness of mental health and emotional wellbeing during separation. The development and provision of staff training to provide staff with the skills necessary for dealing with clients who present with mental health or emotional wellbeing issues. Family Court of Australia Annual Report 2005–2006 19
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6. Each of her Honour’s findings
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not filed with the Court. The wife
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FIRST INSTANCE JUDGMENTS Property a
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6. The complex issues raised by the
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It is not necessary to consider if
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The mother submitted that the child
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3. Court intervention should be lim
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Costs — Costs agreements — Whet
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Other reporting Part 6
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Management of Human Resources The p
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Ten places in the National Public S
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Legend SES Senior Executive Service
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Occupational Health and Safety (OH&
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The Court is working to continually
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Facilities for examining documents
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The Family Court took these steps t
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Parramatta Fit-out alterations were
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Table 5: Consultant services contra
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Advertising and market research The
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Financial sTATEMENTS Part 7 112 Fam
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FAMILY COURT OF OF AUSTRALIA INCOME
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FAMILY COURT OF OF AUSTRALIA STATEM
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FAMILY COURT OF OF AUSTRALIA SCHEDU
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FAMILY COURT OF OF AUSTRALIA SCHEDU
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Financial sTATEMENTS Part 7 Notes t
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Financial sTATEMENTS Part 7 Notes t
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Appendices Part 8
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Appendix 1 Court Committees and Pub
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In addition to the Law Reform Commi
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Appendix 2 Judicial activities In a
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Many judges and judicial registrars
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Registries ADELAIDE 3 Angas St, Ade
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APPENDIX 4 Resources for Outcomes O
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Glossary of terms Part 9 174 Family
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Judicial Registrar - A judicial off
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Compliance index Part 10 178 Family
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Compliance index Part 10 Corporate
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Alphabetical Index Part 10 Australi
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Alphabetical Index Part 10 Deputy C
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Freedom of Information Act 1982, 10
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O Alphabetical Index Part 10 Occupa
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Alphabetical Index Part 10 Women’
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