The merged family court, and what it changed

One court instead of two

The headline change was structural. The Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court were merged into the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, operating in two divisions, with a single point of entry for family law matters.

Before the merger, a party could file in either court, and matters were transferred between them. That produced duplication, inconsistent rules and delay for no benefit to anybody involved.

The merger was funded with more than 100 million dollars directed at the new procedures, registrar positions and support services. Figures of that kind are worth treating as an indication of intent rather than a measure of outcome.

Case management, and where the speed comes from

The change with the biggest day to day effect was the case management model, which rests on judicial registrars. A judicial registrar is a judicial officer who is not a judge but who can exercise court powers.

The logic is simple. If registrars deal with procedural steps, matters can be triaged and pushed along far more often than a judge’s list would allow.

It is reasonable to ask whether parties are getting second best. In the federal system, registrars have handled high volumes in bankruptcy and other areas for many years, and those lists generally run well. Senior registrars, judicial registrars and deputy registrars can exercise the powers a judge would otherwise exercise.

The published targets that came with the model were:

For most well run family law matters, twelve months is more than enough to be ready to resolve or run. The targets exist to stop a matter drifting for two or three years because neither side is forced to move.

A better report about children

Matters involving children have more moving parts and more scope for things to go wrong.

The old approach relied heavily on the section 11F assessment. The merged court introduced the Child Impact Report in its place.

It is a more comprehensive document. It gives the court and the parties considerably more detail about how a child’s welfare can be addressed, and it identifies the issues the court may need to deal with as the matter progresses. Family consultants were renamed court child experts to reflect the expanded role.

A more informative report earlier means the court can identify what actually matters in a particular family, rather than discovering it at trial.

The National Contravention List

One of the persistent problems in family law is a party who does not comply. Directions are ignored, orders are breached, deadlines pass, and historically very little happened as a result. It causes delay, costs money and corrodes any confidence in the process.

The merged court introduced a National Contravention List. In court terms a list is a dedicated allocation of resources for a particular kind of matter, in the same way there are bankruptcy and corporations lists.

If another party has failed to comply with an order, you apply to have the matter placed on the contravention list. The practical benefit is timing. A contravention application can be heard within about 14 days rather than waiting months.

Faster listing plus a requirement that the non-compliant party explain themselves is a meaningful deterrent. It only works if people use it.

The rest of the 2021 package

• A single set of court rules and practice directions replaced the separate rules of the two former courts.
• Dispute resolution is encouraged at every stage, with a strong emphasis on pre-action procedures including disclosure and genuine attempts to resolve before proceedings start.
• Appeals no longer go to a separate appellate venue. Division 1 judges can hear appeals, which shortens the appeal path.
• Child Dispute Services was renamed Court Children’s Service.

What has changed since 2021

If you are reading this article for its original purpose, be aware that the substantive law has moved twice since the merger, and both changes matter more than the structural reform did.

• 6 May 2024. The presumption of equal shared parental responsibility was removed, along with the linked requirement to consider equal or substantial and significant time. Section 60CC was rewritten into a single list of best interests factors. Any parenting advice written before that date needs checking.
• 10 June 2025. The property provisions were restructured, with the framework for altering property interests now sitting in section 79(5) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), and the effect of family violence on contributions expressly recognised.

The 2021 merger changed how a matter moves through the court. The 2024 and 2025 amendments changed what the court decides when it gets there.

Has it worked?

The underlying aim was to reduce cost, increase speed and get more matters actually determined.

Using judicial registrars, who are more available than judges, was a sound idea and has moved matters faster. Anything that discourages breaching orders is also a step forward.

Delay has not disappeared, and a court cannot fix a matter where one party is determined to fight everything. But the direction was right, and the targets give parties something to hold the process to.

If you are starting a family law matter, read our pages on dispute resolution and parenting and custody before you file anything.