As from, 1 September 2021, the Federal Circuit Court and the Family Court of Australia has officially been merged in to the one Court, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

This new Court means a new system of case management, one set of documents for use in Family Law matters and one set of Court Rules. There will no longer be “Federal Circuit Court Judges” and “Family Court Judges”, although matters will continue to be divided in to one of two divisions, based on the complexity of the matter.

Any current cases will remain before the docket Judge in which it was originally assigned, and any changes which may affect your matter should explained to you. Possibly the most noticeable change you will find is the change to case management, which will hopefully result in less interim appearances and a stricter oversight of compliance with orders and disclosure. That’s the desired outcome at any rate.

The new Court website has been launched, so if you do wish to do your own research, please click the following link: https://www.fcfcoa.gov.au/about