Family Court of Australia

Family Court of Australia

Section 1: Agency overview and resources

1.1 Strategic direction statement

The Family Court of Australia, through its specialist judges and staff, helps Australians to resolve their most complex family disputes.

The purpose of the Family Court, 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.

The core services of the Family Court are those that:

•  are prescribed by legislation

•  enable and support judges to determine cases, and

•  meet duty of care requirements.

The Family Court has designed four programs of work to ensure that it fulfils its stated purpose:

•  maintaining an environment that enables judicial officers to make determinations

•  provision of effective and efficient registry services

•  corporate management of resources, and

•  effective information and communication technologies.

The balance of family law work has evolved significantly over the past several years, with most family law applications now filed in the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia. This has enabled the Family Court to become a smaller, more specialised court that generally deals with appeals and the most complex range of family law cases. The complexity of the cases that are now before the Family Court inevitably lead to lengthier trials and are matters that are less likely to settle.

The following strategic initiatives will be implemented, or continue to be implemented, during 2012–13.

Revised best practice principles for dealing with family violence

The Family Court’s best practice principles for dealing with family violence were first developed as part of the Family Court’s Family Violence Strategy in March 2009. Those principles have now been significantly revised and were launched in July 2011.

The best practice principles were originally developed to provide judicial officers with practical guidance in dealing with matters where family violence is alleged. The principles are now also of assistance to legal practitioners and self-represented litigants. The revised best practice principles were developed by the Family Court and the Federal Magistrates Court in consultation with a stakeholder reference group.

The best practice principles recognise:

•  the harmful effects of family violence and abuse on victims

•  the place accorded to the issue of family violence in the Family Law Act, and

•  the principles guiding the Magellan case management system for the disposition of cases involving allegations of sexual abuse or serious physical abuse of children.

International Framework for Court Excellence

The Family Court of Australia has continued with its adoption of the International Framework for Court Excellence as a way of delivering improvements to the operation of the court, and services to those who visit the court. In particular, over the last year, the court has undertaken a number of key initiatives that align to the seven key areas of the framework (court management and leadership; court policies; human, material and financial resources; court proceedings; client needs and satisfaction; affordable and accessible court services; and public trust and confidence).

These initiatives included conducting a major client survey by interviewing (with the assistance of volunteers and university students) approximately 1,300 litigants and lawyers on the day they attended court. The results of the survey have not only been encouraging as to the current levels of service (86% of those surveyed said that they were satisfied with their visit to court), but have also provided deep insight into some areas of improvement that the court will now take action on, such as form design. This initiative, directly related to client needs and satisfaction, will now become a regular feature of the court’s assessment and improvement program.

The court’s senior management team also participated by undertaking the survey themselves. The results provide invaluable insight into the court’s performance from an internal management perspective, and the feedback received identified areas of strength (for example, managing resources) and areas of opportunity.

Finally, the court has developed an innovative approach to reviewing the performance of the court, and the workload of the judiciary. The quarterly snapshots, locally referred to as the ‘one-pagers’, have now become the cornerstone of quarterly reviews of performance, and assist in ensuring that consistent levels of performance are delivered across the country.

Commonwealth Courts Portal

The Commonwealth Courts Portal (www.comcourts.gov.au), launched in July 2007, is a continuing initiative of the Family Court, the Federal Court and the Federal Magistrates Court. The portal provides free web-based access to information about cases that are before these courts.

After registering, lawyers and parties can keep track of their cases, identify documents that have been filed and view outcomes, orders made and future court dates. Users
log on using a single user ID and access multiple jurisdictions from a single central web-based system.

A recent enhancement includes the ability for a user to elect to be alerted to any recent activity on their files. In addition, verified users can now also access a consolidated view of the documents on a file as well as any subpoenaed material held by the courts. The first stage of portal messaging has also been released, enabling users to be notified by email when they have successfully e-filed an application and also when their application for divorce has been granted.

Work has commenced to provide the initiating application and response e-forms to the Family Court of Western Australia. Applications and responses in a case and e-filing of consent applications are also in the development phase. Progress is being made to ensure compliance with the government-mandated version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

The following statistics highlight the significant growth in the number of portal users as to 31 March 2012:

•  registrations for firms have now moved past 3,000

•  lawyer registrations have also increased to over 6,000

•  total registered users exceed 80,000

•  more than 1,600 distinct users had in total more than 11,000 logins in the last week of March 2012, demonstrating the high proportion of return visitors.

Heads of Jurisdiction cooperation

Under the umbrella of fostering greater cooperation, the Heads of Jurisdiction (Family Court, Federal Magistrates Court and Federal Court) will develop a memorandum of understanding, which will include the respective jurisdictional and administrative heads of the courts meeting no less than quarterly to discuss, agree on and implement initiatives for joint or shared administration across the courts. Such initiatives would generally be directed to areas of improved efficiency and effectiveness (for example, the use of Commonwealth Law Courts facilities, shared libraries and options for common information technology services).

Any savings generated under the umbrella of greater cooperation between the Heads of Jurisdiction are not anticipated to be material in the short to medium term. The primary aim is to improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the scarce resources of the courts. It is likely that other possible initiatives may in fact cost a significant amount of money were they to be implemented (for example, common information technology services).

Managing and funding Commonwealth Law Courts buildings

Beginning in 2012–13, there will be a change to the arrangements for funding and managing Commonwealth Law Courts buildings. Funds will be transferred from the tenants to allow the Department of Finance and Deregulation to take on greater responsibility for managing these buildings. In 2012–13, the Family Court and other tenants will work closely with the Department of Finance and Deregulation to identify the whole-of-life costs for the buildings and to transfer management of the buildings. The court will also work closely with the Attorney-General’s Department to develop a strategic plan for the ongoing occupancy of the Commonwealth Law Courts buildings.

Budgetary pressures

Over recent years, the Family Court has undertaken significant initiatives to reduce costs and generate efficiencies; however, the court is nevertheless still facing financial pressures. The government is working with the court to address the pressures.

The Family Court is identifying new and innovative ways to provide better access to justice for family law litigants. The new initiatives being investigated consider alternative approaches to the use of in-house resources while considering the particular needs of the matter. The Family Court, in conjunction with the Federal Magistrates Court, is considering these innovative solutions in the context of limited court resources and potential better outcomes for litigants.

1.2 Agency resource statement

Table 1.1 shows the total resources from all sources.

Table 1.1: Agency resource statement—Budget estimates for 2012–13 as at Budget May 2012

Estimate of
prior year / Actual
amounts / + / Proposed / = / Total / available
available in / at Budget / estimate / appropriation
2012–13 / 2012–13 / 2012–13 / 2011–12
$’000 / $’000 / $’000 / $’000
ORDINARY ANNUAL SERVICES1
Departmental appropriation
Prior year departmental
appropriation2 / 4,001 / – / 4,001 / –
Departmental appropriation3 / – / 95,895 / 95,895 / 130,529
s 31 relevant agency receipts4 / – / 2,000 / 2,000 / 2,000
Total ordinary annual services / 4,001 / 97,895 / 101,896 / 132,529
Total available annual
appropriations / 4,001 / 97,895 / 101,896 / 132,529
SPECIAL ACCOUNTS
Opening balance5 / – / – / – / –
Appropriation receipts / – / – / – / –
Total special accounts / – / – / – / –
Total net resourcing for agency / 4,001 / 97,895 / 101,896 / 132,529

All figures are GST exclusive.

1. Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2012–13.

2. Estimated adjusted balance carried forward from previous year.

3. Includes an amount of $6.487m in 2012–13 for the departmental capital budget (see Table3.2.5 for further details). For accounting purposes this amount has been designated as ‘contributions by owners’.

4. Section 31 relevant agency receipts—estimate.

5. Estimated opening balance for special accounts (less ‘special public money’ held in accounts such as Other Trust Moneys accounts, Services for Other Governments and Non-Agency Bodies accounts, or Services for Other Entities and Trust Moneys accounts). For further information on special accounts, see Table 3.1.2.

1.3 Budget measures

The government will change court fees from 1 January 2013 as outlined in Budget Paper No. 2. Revised revenue estimates will be included in the 2012–13 Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements.

Section 2: Outcomes and planned performance

2.1 Outcomes and performance information

Government outcomes are the intended results, impacts or consequences of actions by the government on the Australian community. Commonwealth programs are the primary vehicle by which government agencies achieve the intended results of their outcome statements. Agencies are required to identify the programs that contribute to government outcomes over the budget and forward years.

The Family Court’s outcome is described below together with its related program, specifying the performance indicators and targets used to assess and monitor the performance of the Family Court in achieving government outcomes.

Outcome 1: As Australia’s specialist superior family court, determine cases with complex law and facts, and provide national coverage as the appellate court in family law matters
Outcome 1 strategy

The Family Court’s key strategies in achieving Outcome 1 are set out in the strategic direction statement for 2012–13 in section 1.1.

Outcome 1 expense statement

Table 2.1 provides an overview of the total expenses for Outcome 1, by program.

Table 2.1: Budgeted expenses for Outcome 1

Outcome 1: As Australia’s specialist superior family court, determine cases with complex law and facts, and provide national coverage as the appellate court in family law matters / 2011–12
Estimated / 2012–13
actual / Estimated
expenses / expenses
$’000 / $’000
Program 1.1: Provision of a Family Court
Departmental expenses
Departmental appropriation1 / 125,404 / 91,408
Expenses not requiring appropriation in the budget year2 / 15,852 / 29,978
Total expenses for Outcome 1 / 141,256 / 121,386
2011–12 / 2012–13
Average staffing level (number) / 572 / 572

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

1. Departmental appropriation combines ‘Ordinary annual services (Appropriation Bill No. 1)’ and ‘Revenue from independent sources (s31)’.

2. Expenses not requiring appropriation in the budget year are made up of depreciation and amortisation expenses of $7.161m, liabilities assumed by related entities of $9.326m and resources received free of charge of $13.491m.

Contributions to Outcome 1
Program 1.1: Provision of a Family Court
Program 1.1 objective
The Family Court’s objective is to support Australian families involved in complex family disputes by deciding matters according to the law, promptly, courteously and effectively. This involves:
•  the provision of decisions in complex family disputes for separating Australian couples and families through the determination of matters, and
•  providing national coverage as the appellate court in family law matters.
Program 1.1 expenses
The expenses attributable to the Family Court’s program will decrease by $19.870m between 2011–12 and 2012–13 and will remain relatively constant across the forward estimates. The decrease in 2012–13 mainly relates to changes in the management and funding of Commonwealth Law Courts buildings and the 2011–12 approved operating loss (including the impact of changes to the government bond rate). As a result, annual departmental expenses for 2012–13 will decrease by $33.996m. Expenses not requiring appropriation for 2012–13 will increase by $14.126m, which primarily reflects a shift in the responsibility for Commonwealth Law Courts buildings ($13.401m) and an increase in depreciation expenses ($0.727m).
2011–12 / 2013–14 / 2014–15 / 2015–16
Revised / 2012–13 / Forward / Forward / Forward
budget / Budget / year 1 / year 2 / year 3
$’000 / $’000 / $’000 / $’000 / $’000
Annual departmental expenses / 125,404 / 91,408 / 91,254 / 90,028 / 90,641
Expenses not requiring appropriation in
the budget year1 / 15,852 / 29,978 / 30,237 / 30,288 / 30,622
Total program expenses / 141,256 / 121,386 / 121,491 / 120,316 / 121,263

1. Expenses not requiring appropriation in the budget year are made up of depreciation and amortisation expenses, liabilities assumed by related entities, and resources received free of charge.