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The Hon Deputy Chief Justice Robert McClelland AO and Ms Hayley Foster, Director – Family Violence and Access, Equity and Inclusion from the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) and (Division 2) (the Courts), today joined Mr David Mandel of the Safe & Together Institute to address the Ending Coercive Control & Family Violence conference, held in Sydney.

The Hon William Alstergren AO, Chief Justice of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) and (Division 2) (the Courts), gave the opening address for the 9th World Congress on Family Law & Children's Rights in the United Kingdom, highlighting the Courts' innovative and comprehensive approaches to addressing family violence in Australia.
Speaking to an international audience of judges, lawyers, psychologists, and other experts working in family law, Chief Justice Alstergren's presentation, titled "It's time for change - innovative approaches to deal with family violence," detailed the significant advancements made by the Courts in managing family violence within family law proceedings.

JCAC welcomes submissions from interested parties on changes to the quantum of costs allowable to legal practitioners under each court’s scale of costs.

The fees payable in the Federal Circuit and Family Court are changing from 1 July

The fees payable in the Federal Circuit and Family Court are changing from 1 July

This update is to inform the public and profession of a change to the title of private practitioners who prepare 62G family reports, pursuant to an appointment under the Family Law Regulations.

The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 (the Amendment Act) commences on 10 June 2025. As a result, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (the Rules) have been amended.

As a result of the Family Law Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) changes commencing on 10 June 2025, and consequential changes to the Family Law Rules, there will be minor amendments to several family law Practice Directions. The new Practice Directions will be published on 10 June 2025.

On 10 May 2025, the Courts will automatically end legal practitioners’ access to family law files on the Commonwealth Courts Portal (CCP) 60 days after all applications on the file are finalised.

The Chief Justice of the FCFCOA (Division 1 and Division 2) introduced a screening of the powerful documentary created by Safe Steps, Unanswered Calls, which highlights the need for systemic improvement to ensure the voices of children and young people impacted by family violence are heard and help is provided.

From 22 April 2025, changes will be introduced to how urgent Initiating Applications and Family Law (Airport) Watchlist applications are managed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) and (Division 2). These changes aim to improve the efficient review and prioritisation of urgent applications.

The following Regulations commenced on 1 April 2025: The Family Law Regulations 2024 replace the 1984 Regulations; The Family Law (Superannuation) Regulations 2025 replace the 2001 Regulations; The Family Law (Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners) Regulations 2025 replace the 2008 Regulations. As a result, there will be changes to the following family law court forms which are to be used from 1 April 2025. Please note that the changes are largely updating section references where the Regulations have been renumbered.

The FCFCOA’s Director – Family Violence, Access, Equity and Inclusion, Hayley Foster, chaired a session at the ‘Engaging Men & Boys to End the Cycle of Violence’ conference in Sydney this week.

The Brisbane and Lismore Registries will be open as normal on Tuesday 11 March 2025.

The Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus KC MP, today announced the appointment of the Honourable Justice Jacoba Brasch as Chair of the Family Law Council.