Family Court of Australia

Corporate Plan 2017- 2018

Background

The FCoA is a superior court of record established by Parliament in 1975 under Chapter III of the Constitution. The FCoA operates under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and through its specialist judges and staff, helps Australians to resolve their most complex family disputes.

The FCoA exercises appellate and trial level jurisdiction. At trial level, the Court deals with the most complex parenting and financial cases and hears cases arising under the regulations implementing the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction. It has a substantial appellate jurisdiction and hears appeals from decisions of single judges of the Court and from the FCC in family law matters.

The Chief Justice is the head of jurisdiction and is responsible for managing the administrative affairs of the Court. The Chief Justice is assisted by the CEO and Principal Registrar who is appointed by the Governor-General on the nomination of the Chief Justice.

The purpose of the FCoA as Australia’s superior court in family law is to:

  • determine cases with the most complex law, facts and parties
  • cover specialised areas in family law, and
  • provide national coverage as the appellate court in family law matters.

Our vision

An internationally respected, specialist family court.

Our Mission

To assist Australian families in the determination of the most complex family law disputes domestically and internationally, consistent with the rule of law and procedural fairness.

Our values

Innovative, impartial, respectful, efficient and accountable.

We are committed to upholding the Australian Public Service Values and Employment Principles and to comply with the Code of Conduct. We are impartial, committed to service, accountable, respectful and ethical.


Goals

The FCoA assists Australian families in the determination of the most complex family law disputes domestically and internationally, consistent with the rule of law and procedural fairness. The Court achieves this through effective judicial and non-judicial processes and high-quality judgments, while respecting the needs and sensitivities of separating families.

Our strategic objectives for the next four years:

  1. Ensure best practices in judicial and non-judicial processes.
  2. Ensure the efficient and just resolution of complex family law matters.


Performance Measures

The key outcome measure for the Court is contained in Outcome Two of the Portfolio Budget Statements. That is, to apply and uphold the rule of law for litigants in the FCoA through the resolution of family law matters according to law, particularly more complex family law matters and through the effective management of the administrative affairs of the Court.

The FCoA maintains three goals related to timely completion of cases. Strategies and priorities are designed to support the achievement of these performance goals. Our Annual Performance Statement will report on the success of the plan to achieve timely completion of cases.

This will be measured by the following:

  1. clearance rate of 100 per cent
  2. seventy-five per cent of judgments to be delivered within three months, and
  3. seventy-five per cent of cases pending conclusion to be less than 12 months old.


1 Strategic Objective - Ensure best practices in judicial and non-judicial processes

The work of the FCoA is extremely demanding, with judges hearing the most complex and difficult family law matters involving allegations of family violence and/or child abuse; questions of international family law (relating to the Hague 1980 Child Abduction Convention and/or 1996 Child Protection Convention); applications related to special medical procedures (such as stage two treatment for gender dysphoria in children); and complex property matters including those involving accrued jurisdiction and third parties.

Whilst the Government has been proactive in amending the Act to provide better protection and broaden the definition of family violence, the FCoA’s ability to manage workloads in order to provide timely hearings and well informed outcomes requires considerable management attention in a very tight fiscal environment. Identification and allocation of resources to address these issues are a priority.

Strategies to address family violence issues are a priority for the FCoA. Family violence features in a significant proportion of matters filed. It is a complex issue which is further complicated by a range of scenarios:

  1. The intersection of parenting orders made by the FCoA and family violence orders, including apprehended violence orders or intervention orders and criminal sanctions made in other jurisdictions.
  2. The consequence of a victim of family violence having to be involved in private litigation with their former partner following an acrimonious separation, particularly if there has been a history of violence.
  3. The need to make interim parenting orders which may have to last more than 12 months before a final hearing can be provided and where there are contentious issues about safety which cannot always be readily determined at an interim hearing.
  4. The crucial need for adequate risk assessment at the earliest opportunity when an application has been filed.
  5. Where the alleged perpetrator cannot afford a lawyer and is ineligible for legal aid, the need to manage cross-examination of the alleged victim sensitively whilst according procedural fairness to both parties.

Our strategies over the next four years

  1. Enhance and strengthen the role of the FCoA as a specialist court for complex family law matters.
  2. Review and enhance the role of registrars so they are specialists in their field.
  3. Enhance strategies to address family violence in complex family law disputes.


Priorities for 2017–18 ensure best practices in judicial and non-judicial processes

In 2017–18, the FCoA will undertake the following projects and deliverables:

Objective

Deliverable

Target

Family violence risk screening

  • Continue to evaluate and implement the family violence risk screening tool

June 2018

Review and enhance the role of Family Court registrars

  • Review the role of registrars to ensure they provide specialist services to families with complex family law needs

June 2018

  • Maximise the role these Family Court registrars play in assisting Australian families with complex family law issues to resolve their disputes
Ongoing


2 Strategic Objective - Efficient and effective dispute resolution of complex family law matters

Our strategy recognises that services need to be accessible and tailored to the needs of a diverse range of users. These may include unrepresented litigants, those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and those who present with complex issues related to family violence, mental health and/or drug and alcohol issues. To this end, the FCoA will continue to focus on providing efficient and effective services to a broad range of litigants involved in complex family law disputes.

Our strategies over the next four years

  1. Continuously look for efficiencies and business improvements in processes and operations.
  2. Enhance the efficiency of the Court through digital innovation.
  3. Improve processes in dealing with complex family law matters, with a particular focus on appeals, child safety and family violence.


Priorities for 2017–18 efficient and effective dispute resolution of complex family law matters

In 2017–18, the FCoA will undertake the following projects and deliverables:

Objective

Deliverable

Target

Enhance the efficiency of the FCoA through digital innovation

  • Staged roll-out of an electronic court file starting with the Appeal Division

Ongoing

  • Investigate the use of Sharepoint as a means of improved communication and information sharing for specialist FCoA registrars and judges of the Appeal Division
June 2018

Look for efficiencies and business improvements in court processes

  • Investigate and implement digital processes for the efficient resolution of consent orders

Ongoing

  • Develop and implement a web-based application for online electronic consent orders
June 2018

Improve processes in dealing with complex family law matters

  • Engage and collaborate with other jurisdictions, agencies, and service providers to improve and enhance services provided to Australian families with complex family law matters

Ongoing


Resourcing - Family Court of Australia

The table below illustrates the financial and staffing resources applied by the FCoA over the four years of this Plan.

  2017–18
Budget
$’000
2018–19
Forward
estimate
$’000
2019–20
Forward
estimate
$’000
2020–21
Forward
estimate
$’000
Administered expenses 300 300 300 300
- Special appropriations
Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013

100

100

100

100

Administered total

400

400

400

400

Departmental expenses        
- Departmental appropriation 31,706 32,443 32,404 32,479
- S74 retained revenue receipts 259      
- Expenses not requiring appropriation in the budget year (b) 12,318 11,720 11,720 11,720

Departmental total

44,283

44,163

44,124

44,199

Total expenses Family Court of Australia

44,683

44,563

44,524

44,599

Average staffing level (c)

107

Note: Departmental appropriation splits and totals are indicative estimates and may change in the course of the budget year as government priorities change.

  1. Estimated expenses incurred in relation to receipts retained under section 74 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
  2. Expenses not requiring appropriation in the budget year are made up of liabilities assumed by other entities.
  3. Excludes judges.

 

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