The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (General Federal Law) Rules 2025 (New GFL Rules) have been made by the Court, and will commence on 1 September 2025.
The New GFL Rules have been approved by a majority of Judges and will replace the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (General Federal Law) Rules 2021 (GFL Rules 2021).
To assist the public and the profession to become familiar with the New GFL Rules, they have been registered early on the Federal Register of Legislation, and are available here: Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (General Federal Law) Rules 2025 - Federal Register of Legislation
Over the past two years, a Working Group chaired by her Honour Deputy Chief Judge Mercuri, and comprised of four senior general federal law judges and a retired judge, along with senior staff, reviewed and redrafted the rules of court that apply in the court's general federal law and migration jurisdictions. The Working Group was also assisted by three members of Counsel during the process.
The Working Group undertook extensive internal judicial consultation and external consultation with relevant stakeholders when drafting the New GFL Rules.
The New GFL Rules broadly align with the Federal Court Rules 2011 (FCA Rules) where appropriate, but have been altered to take into account:
- the different jurisdiction of the two courts;
- the promotion of the overarching purpose of the FCFCOA Act; and
- the Court as a high-volume jurisdiction with large numbers of unrepresented parties.
The advantages of a set of rules that align, where appropriate, with the FCA Rules are:
- greater consistency for practitioners and registrars across the two courts; and
- greater jurisprudential certainty when procedural matters are resolved in court.
To achieve consistency and greater jurisprudential certainty each part of the New GFL Rules were compared with their equivalent in the FCA Rules. The suitability of each FCA Rule to proceedings in the Court was examined to determine whether the FCA version of the given rule should be adopted, or whether a different rule or different form of rule would be more appropriate.
To this end, the New GFL Rules are comprised of:
- some rules which are identical to those found in the FCA Rules;
- retention of some rules from the GFL Rules 2021;
- some rules from the GFL Rules 2021 which have been redrafted for improved readability or to address a specific need identified by the Working Group;
- some rules based on those found in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (Family Law) Rules 2021 to ensure consistency across the Court; and
- some completely new rules which respond to certain proceedings in the Court that neither the GFL Rules 2021 nor the FCA Rules sufficiently addressed.
Explanatory Statement
The Explanatory Statement to the New GFL Rules provides a comprehensive outline of the source of the rules, including an Annexure containing two tables to assist with understanding the New GFL rules:
- Table 1 sets out where each new GFL Rule is derived from if it has been sourced from an existing rule (e.g. GFL Rules 2021 or FCA Rules) (Derivation Table)
- Table 2 sets out where each rule from the GFL Rules 2021 is found in the New GFL Rules, if it has been retained in substance (Destination Table)
The New GFL Rules are intended to largely provide a single legislative source without requiring parties and practitioners to cross-reference with the FCA Rules. However, the New GFL Rules do still allow for referral to the FCA Rules on the rare occasion that a matter arising in a proceeding in the Court is not addressed in the New GFL Rules.
The New GFL Rules have been registered on the Federal Register of Legislation to provide the profession with an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the new rules prior to their commencement on 1 September 2025.
- The New GFL Rules are publicly available here: Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (General Federal Law) Rules 2025
Amendments to the Bankruptcy Rules
As a result of the New GFL Rules, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (Bankruptcy) Rules 2021 have had minor amendments made by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (Bankruptcy) Amendment (2025 Measures No. 1) Rules 2025 (the Amendments), which will also commence 1 September 2025.
The Amendments were also subject to judicial consultation and formal external consultation with relevant stakeholders.
As is detailed in the Explanatory Statement, the changes have been to:
- update references from the GFL Rules 2021 to the New GFL Rules, and
- update Schedule 1 i.e. the powers of the court that may be exercised by a Registrar.
Given the concurrent jurisdiction of the Court and the Federal Court, the Amendments seek to continue to align, as far as possible, with the Federal Court (Bankruptcy) Rules 2016 (Cth).
The Amendments have also been registered on the Federal Register of Legislation in advance of their commencement to provide the profession an opportunity to familiarise themselves with these more minor changes.
- The Amendments are publicly available here: Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (Bankruptcy) Amendment (2025 Measures No. 1) Rules 2025
Updates to Practice Directions and Court Forms
Along with the New GFL Rules, the Working Group has undertaken a review of the general federal law Practice Directions and court forms, to ensure they are consistent with the requirements of the New GFL Rules.
More information on the updated Practice Directions, and updates to the court forms reflecting the changes, will be provided regularly over the coming weeks.
