In most circumstances, courts and their decisions are accessible to members of the public. This policy of 'open justice' is reflected in section 97 of the Family Law Act 1975, which provides that all proceedings should be heard in open unless a court decides otherwise. The principle of open justice is fundamental to ensuring that courts remain transparent and accountable for their decisions.
The legal aid commissions are independent statutory bodies that provide legal assistance services to the public, with a particular focus on the needs of people who are economically and/or socially disadvantaged.
Legal aid have offices in all state and territories, see below for contact details:
Legal Aid ACT
https://www.legalaidact.org.au/
Legal Aid New South Wales
https://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/
Legal Aid Northern Territory
https://www.legalaid.nt.gov.au/
Legal Aid Queensland
https://www.legalaid.qld.gov.au
Legal Services Commission of South Australia
Tasmania Legal Aid
https://www.legalaid.tas.gov.au/
Victoria Legal Aid (VLA)
https://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/
Legal Aid Western Australia
This fact sheet explains what an affidavit is and when you need to file one in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (the Court). It also gives basic information about what you can and cannot include in an affidavit.
Conciliation is a form of dispute resolution and provides an opportunity for parties involved in a legal dispute to reach an agreement without the uncertainty, cost and time of a court hearing.
The Court may refer a proceeding, or a part of a proceeding or a matter arising out of a proceeding, for conciliation, an informal, quick, and cost-effective way to resolve issues in dispute.
A conciliation conference is similar to court-annexed mediation, that is, mediation with a court-appointed mediator. The fee charged for a conciliation is a fixed-fee payment to the court, rather than a larger fixed fee, or hourly rate, which is common in private mediation.
Unless the Court or a registrar otherwise orders, you must attend the conference in person. If you have a lawyer, your lawyer must also attend. Your lawyer will provide advice and help about making, considering, accepting or rejecting offers of settlement.
During a conciliation conference, you must make a genuine effort to reach agreement on the relevant matters in issue.
If an issue remains unresolved at the end of the conciliation conference, the judge or registrar may give further directions and make any other order, including an order for costs.
Mediation is a process in which a neutral third party (the mediator) helps you and the other party or parties:
Mediation is an alternative to a judge imposing a decision on you and provide an opportunity for parties involved in a legal dispute to reach an agreement without the uncertainty, cost and time of a court hearing. It is the process usually adopted to try to resolve disputes in general federal law matters in the Court.
Mediation offers many benefits over a trial by a judge, including:
In a privately organised mediation, the parties can choose the mediator. The law society, law institute or bar association in the state or territory where you live will be able to provide a list of accredited mediators. Some of them will have expertise in specific areas.
When a judge orders you to attend mediation, the mediation is usually conducted by a registrar of the Court.
You must attend a scheduled mediation. If you have a lawyer, your lawyer must also attend. If a party to a dispute is an organisation (rather than an individual), it is essential that those who attend the mediation on behalf of the organisation know enough about the relevant issues in dispute to consider how the matter might settle. They must also have the authority to:
If you are not legally represented, you may ask to bring someone for support.
Be sure you understand the issues in dispute, including the facts and sources of conflict. Before the mediation, consider also:
A modest fee applies to mediation when conducted by a registrar and is ordinarily paid by the applicant, unless otherwise ordered. For further information, see the fees page.
If you have a lawyer, you will usually have to pay your lawyer’s legal costs of preparing for and attending mediation.
Before starting mediation, the mediator will consider the best process for mediating your dispute, taking into account the parties’ suggestions, where possible.
The mediator will begin by explaining the process and will then discuss the background to the matter and the issues in dispute.
The mediation itself is flexible and can be tailored to the circumstances. The mediator has no advisory role regarding the content of your dispute or its outcome and cannot make binding determinations. However, the mediator may help negotiations by asking questions, encouraging open discussion, offering different perspectives and expressing issues in alternative ways.
After mediation, the mediator will notify the Court of the outcome. If an agreement is reached, you and the other party or parties can file consent orders with the Court. You can reach agreement on some or all of the issues in dispute.
If you don’t reach an agreement on all the issues, your case will proceed to a hearing.
If you reach agreement, the details of that agreement will usually be recorded and signed by all parties before the end of mediation. The mediator will notify the judge that the matter has settled. The mediator will not provide the judge with any details of the mediation discussions or the terms of any agreement you reached without permission from you and all other parties. Once the agreement is finalised, you will usually formally notify the Court that the case is not going to proceed, and the case will be closed.
If the matter is not fully settled there may be discussion about what needs to be done to prepare for trial and the file will return to the judge. The mediator will notify the judge of the outcome but not the content of the mediation. Even when a matter does not settle, the mediation might help you to clarify the issues.
Remember that you and the other party or parties can reach an agreement at any stage before the final hearing.
Community legal centres are independent community organisations that provide free legal help, including information, referrals, legal education, advice, casework and representation services.
Many of the centres provide general assistance in a range of areas of law, this may include:
family law and family violence
credit and debt
consumer law
social security
migration
tenancy
discrimination
employment, and
child protection.
To find a community legal centre in your state or territory, see the online directory at find legal help.
It is advisable to obtain legal advice before you make a decision about what to do or apply to the Court. A lawyer can help you understand your legal rights and responsibilities. They can also explain how the law applies to your case.
You can get legal advice from a:
Court staff are not permitted by law to give you legal advice and cannot refer you to a private lawyer.
The list below gives contact details of organisations that might be able to provide free or low-cost legal advice or assistance or the services of a lawyer. Listing the organisations below is not an endorsement of material on those sites, or of any associated organisation, product or service.
Legal help
Lawyers
It is important to note that at each hearing, orders will be made. Court orders can be made:
If you and the other party or parties reach an agreement on the day, or in the lead up to the hearing, you can present the signed agreement to the judge or judicial registrar and ask that the orders be made by consent. Consent orders can be interim (temporary) or final. If you cannot reach an agreement, the judge or judicial registrar will make any orders necessary for your case to proceed to the next court event.
When an order is made, each person bound by the order must comply with it.
The Court will notify you on how your matter will be heard, for example in person or an electronic hearing.
When you initiate your case in the Court, the documents you file will be stamped and given a time and date for hearing. This is usually the first time that people involved in a case appear in court and is referred to as a first court date.
The purpose of a first court date is to identify issues in dispute at the earliest possible stage and work out the timing of your matter, not to hear the substantial facts of the case.
The Court may, on this date:
In addition, the Court may possibly set a date for hearing. You may be asked how long you think the final hearing will take. This allows the Court to schedule your final hearing.
The first court date and further directions hearings also provides the parties with an opportunity to define the issues that are in dispute and, if possible, reach an agreement.
It is likely that your case will be one of many listed at the same time. This is sometimes known as a ‘list’. The way in which judges or judicial registrars conduct a list will vary. Some judges and judicial registrars may call through the list alphabetically or in numerical order. Others may ask for matters to be ‘stood down’ and deal with consent matters or applications for adjournment first. In any event, the judge or judicial registrar will call through all the cases in the list. If you are unsure, ask the associate before the list starts.
If your case is ‘stood down’, it means that it is put on hold for a short time and the Court will deal with your case later that day. This gives you an opportunity to negotiate, define the issues in dispute and, possibly reach an agreement with the other party. This is different from an adjournment. If your case is adjourned, it will be postponed to another day.
In some matters, such as Fair Work small claims and consumer credit small claims, the first court date is likely to be the only court date, and the matter will be heard (and probably decided) on this date.
In addition to the hearing on the first court date, you will sometimes have to attend court for a further directions hearing, especially if a considerable time has passed since you were first in court and things have evolved in your case. The Court will make the same kinds of orders as it made on the first court date, such as directions on the next steps to be taken, including a possible direction to attend mediation.
Interlocutory hearings deal with specific issues that need to be determined before the final hearing. For example, an interlocutory hearing may be scheduled if a party applies for:
At the final hearing or trial, each party presents their case. In most matters, witnesses will be called to give their evidence and may be cross-examined. If a witness has given evidence by affidavit, they will not have to give the evidence again, but they may be cross-examined on their evidence.
The judicial officer usually asks the applicant to outline their case first. Following this and any cross-examination of witnesses by the respondent, the respondent outlines their case, and their witnesses may be cross-examined by the applicant. The parties then make any final comments or legal arguments in support of their case.
The judicial officer may ask questions or interrupt you. Listen carefully and answer as clearly as you can. If the judicial officer says something is not relevant, move on to your next point.
You cannot interrupt the other party with an objection unless it is about a matter of law. If you do have a legal objection, stand and tell the judicial officer of your objection.
The length of the final hearing will depend on the facts of the case.
After hearing the case, the judicial officer may make orders and give reasons for their decision. Ask for the orders to be repeated if you missed any. If you do not understand any of the orders, ask the judicial officer to explain them once they have finished speaking. Once finalised, your orders will be signed and sealed electronically, and you can download them from the Commonwealth Courts Portal. For a step-by-step guide to accessing orders, see How do I access orders?
Sometimes, a judicial officer may reserve or hold over their decision for another time or date. In such a case, the Court will let you know when the decision has been made, and you must attend court when the decision is handed down. The decision will include the orders made and the reasons for the decision.
The purpose of this Practice Direction is to set out the practice and procedure of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) (Court) for the case management of all proceedings brought under the Admiralty Act 1988 (Cth) (admiralty and maritime proceedings) in the Court.
This Practice Direction applies nationally from 1 September 2021 to all intellectual property proceedings in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.
The Courts acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the elders, past, present and emerging.
