News and media centre

A number of court forms require amendments due to the commencement of the Family Law Amendment Act 2023 and the Family Law (Information Sharing) Act 2023 (the Family Law Act Amendments). Some forms have had new questions added or the structure of the form has changed. Other forms have only had minor changes to legislation references (sections of the Family Law Act) or words in the instruction pages. To allow parties and practitioners to prepare for the changes, copies of the new forms are hyperlinked below. They should be filed on or after 6 May 2024.

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.

The Courts have responded to feedback and family law judgments and Court Children’s Services reports released from 11 December 2023 will be accessible from the Commonwealth Courts Portal (CCP). This will improve the accessibility of these documents and security of distribution.

This update provides important information about Applications for Review filed after 24 November 2023 in family law.

Lighthouse and the associated bespoke case management for high risk matters focuses on the safety of children and their families by identifying and addressing issues of family violence and other risks.

Update 2 on the expansion of Priority Property Pool Cases including a flow chart which summarises how Initiating Applications seeking financial orders will be considered by the Court from the point of filing.

As a result of the sustained success of the highly successful Priority Property Pool under $500,000 Pilot (PPP500), the Courts have received funding from the Commonwealth Government to expand the initiative to all filing registries. The criteria for inclusion as a PPP Case has also been expanded to afford a greater number of parties access to this case management model from 30 October 2023.

The Courts continue to see a high uptake in parties completing the risk screen, with 50% of parties completing the risk screen within 48 hours of receiving the invitation to do so. This impressive response rate means that the Courts’ specialised Lighthouse team are able to provide early service information and support after the filing of a party’s Initiating Application or Response.

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.

Fair work small claims jurisdiction change, Fee changes, Form updates

The expansion of Lighthouse supports the Courts’ priorities to shine a light on the scourge of family violence, to improve the outcome of matters involving family violence and other risks, and to keep children and vulnerable parties safe. It has been six months since the commencement of Lighthouse and the Evatt List nationally and the Courts acknowledge the positive response from the profession and parties in supporting the Courts’ aim to provide better-informed and safe outcomes for families involved in family law proceedings.

The purpose of this update is to focus on the benefits of having a tailored case management approach, including the Evatt List. This update also provides answers to a number of frequently asked questions that the Courts have received. Practitioners are encouraged to review the previous update which was released in February 2023 that focuses on risk and includes links to the Lighthouse Webinar, detailing the Evatt List case management pathway.

The purpose of this update is to focus on the key benefits of screening, provide frequently asked questions and answers the Courts have received, and advise where to go for further information, resources and training.

From January 2023, parties wishing to commence family law proceedings in circuit locations will be able to choose their first return dates before a Judicial Registrar directly on the Commonwealth Courts Portal.