News and media centre

Changes to the Family Law Act due to the commencement of the Family Law Amendment Act 2023 and Family Law Amendment (Information Sharing) Act 2023 commence on 6 May 2024.

This week the Courts have published the updated Family Violence Plan and Family Violence Best Practice Principles.
Both documents have been updated on the advice of the Courts’ Family Violence Committee. They set out the Courts’ commitment to identifying and managing family violence, the actions the Courts will take, and practical guidance to assist court users, legal practitioners and other stakeholders to understand how family violence is managed by the Courts.
The Family Violence Plan refines and updates the last plan issued in 2019. The Best Practice Principles are the 5th iteration, having first been published in 2009.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) are pleased to advise that in response to feedback from the profession, and as part of the Courts’ commitment to modernising court processes, we are introducing eFiling for family law 'Requests to issue a subpoena'. Initially, eFiling will only be available for subpoenas seeking the production of documents where there is an ongoing family law final orders application.

The FCFCOA hosted a successful public launch of the Lighthouse initiative in Sydney on Monday 5 December 2022. A media package can be viewed from the Courts' YouTube channel.

Webinars are scheduled for 22 and 24 November that are designed to inform the family law profession about the how the expanded Lighthouse model and associated case management processes will work.

New court reform focused on the safety of children and their families by identifying and addressing issues of family violence and other risks.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia has become aware of an email impersonation scam which is being sent to members of the public.

This update focuses on Lighthouse risk screening, including Family DOORS Triage, what happens when an eligible proceeding is filed and what happens next.

The Chief Justice has issued the Special Measures Information Notice – Hearing Protocol to replace the Special Measures Information Notice – COVID-19 Hearing Protocol, with effect from Monday, 7 November 2022.

Following Tuesday’s budget announcement, and FCFCOA media release, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (the Courts) have been working on the expansion of the Lighthouse model to 15 family law registries

Substantial funding announced last night as part of the 2022-23 Budget has been welcomed by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia

Judges of the FCFCOA visited the Supreme Court of Indonesia in July 2022 to continue discussions under the Memorandum of Understanding between the courts that focuses on improving the quality of services and judicial decisions in family law cases affecting women and children. 

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia welcomed the announcement of $63.8 million of additional resources (over the four years to 2025-26) to enhance the ability of the Courts to respond to family violence and other risks to vulnerable

From 1 April 2022, parties to family law property settlement proceedings can apply directly to the Court to request information about the other party’s superannuation information held by the Australian Taxation Office.

Information about transferring of proceedings from Family Court of Australia to Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Division 2 to Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Division 1 and jurisdictional