LSB September 2021 LR

FAMILY LAW
Introduction of the Federal Circuit
and Family Court of Australia
THE HON WILL ALSTERGREN, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA
It is hard to fathom that, approximately
18 months since COVID-19 hit our
shores, we are continuing to be impacted
by the severe effects of the pandemic on
individuals and the Australian community
in general. As I write this report, many
parts of the country are experiencing
Government imposed restrictions of
varying levels.
As you would all attest to, the impact
on families and individuals has been
very stressful and no doubt, as legal
practitioners, you would have seen the
consequences of that stress in your own
workplace and perhaps through your
clients, especially in the area of family law.
In respect of family law, now, more
than ever, we must do all that we can to
continue to identify risk to vulnerable
parties and children at the earliest
opportunity, and ensure that our processes
respond to that risk. The new Court
and modern technology can assist us to
conduct safer, and earlier, hearings in
high-risk cases. We must and will continue
to do all that we can as a Court to assist
those at risk, and diminish the horrifying
level of family violence in our community.
I continue to be in awe of the amazing
work lawyers do in this area, especially
those working in Women’s legal and
support services, Men’s legal and support
services, Community Legal Centres, Legal
Aid and those working in refuge shelters.
They remain an outstanding example to
the community for their hard work and
dedication.
At the same time, we must also remind
separated or separating couples to focus
on what is important, what is in the best
interests of the child, and encourage
them to engage in dispute resolution
opportunities as a preferred way of
resolving their disputes, if it is safe and
28 THE BULLETIN September 2021
appropriate to do so. An example of what
can be achieved, was the establishment and
operation of the COVID-19 List (which
was originally the idea of Angela Lynch
AM and supported by other experts in my
advisory group. If disputes have arisen due
to circumstances related to the pandemic,
the Court’s national COVID-19 List
continues to operate to provide litigants
access to urgent family law assistance from
anywhere around the country within 72
business hours.
The new Court provides an
opportunity to change the conversation
about family law litigation in particular.
The architecture of that conversation
includes asking litigants if there is a
smarter, better way for them to separate
without the impact, stress and expense of
protracted family law litigation.
It means, however, that we need
to do things differently. We now have
a system where identifying risk and
safety at the very beginning of every
case is a priority, where parties will be
given ongoing opportunities for dispute
resolution where it is safe to so, and if
cases cannot be resolved, they will be listed
for a trial before a Judge much earlier than
previously experienced.
For those cases that do need to
proceed to litigation, the new Court
provides a modern, transparent and more
efficient system of justice which is aimed
at getting these parties through the process
as safely, quickly and fairly as possible
without undue delay.
It has been an extraordinarily busy year
for the Court. As well as adapting to deal
with much of the workload electronically
and adjusting to those challenges, we have
been working diligently to establish the
new Federal Circuit and Family Court
of Australia (FCFCOA) by 1 September
Chief Justice Alstergren
2021. This has included a rejuvenation
of all areas of the Court, including areas
set out below such as rules, forms, case
management, appeals management and
resources.
The FCFCOA comprises two divisions,
Division 1 (formerly the Family Court
of Australia) and Division 2 (formerly
the Federal Circuit Court of Australia).
Division 1 deals only with family law
matters (including family law appeals),
while Division 2 deals with family law,
migration and general federal law matters.
The profession and the litigants can
have faith that there is no diminution of
specialist family law experience and skill
in the new Court. Both Divisions of the
Court will continue to have judges with
specialist knowledge, skill and experience
in family law. Division 1 has 35 specialist
family law judges hearing both trials and