News; Prominent barristers say the backlog in NSW Family Courts may get worse if the Family Court and Federal Circuit Courts are merged

 

The NSW government are planning to merge the Family Court of Australia (FCA) and the Federal Circuit Court (FCC) into a new ‘super court’ to be called the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCA). The aim is to address costly delays, inefficiencies and reduce confusion experienced by families in either court system.

However, top NSW barristers say that they believe the backlog in the system will only get worse with the merged court. Both courts currently already have a backlog and some families are having to wait years to have their matters resolved. The NSW Bar Association is pushing against the merger, as they say that the new system will only increase delays and that one swamped system should not be simply swapped for another. Even with a new court appointed, the same backlog will still exist, as well as the same overall number of judges and staff, as there has been no additional resources appointed. Another potential issue they have outlined is that it might not be very helpful to the families involved to be streamlining or fast tracking their cases – as many of the cases in the FCA are quite complex and require a specialist response, not a fast track through the system.

One proposed solution put forward by the NSW Bar Association is to give the Family Court more resources to deal with their matters – as this would be an effective way to work towards actually clearing their backlog.

Phoenix Rising for Children

Phoenix Rising For Children (PRFC) are accredited by The Office of The Children’s Guardian, peak government body in NSW for child protection. PRFC was established in 2001 and are experienced in provision of specialist services to children and their families for Family & Community Services, Non Government Agencies, Family Law Court Matters and Private Family Agreements. PRFC operates ethically, effectively and empathically with a view to achieving quality outcomes and a satisfying working environment, and as such we support organisations that encompass similar ideals.

PRFC’s focus is the wellbeing and safety of children while providing parents with opportunities to care for and engage with their children. These visits allow parents to demonstrate relationship and parenting skills.

PRFC’s qualified staff closely monitor contact visits in a supportive and positive way. We understand each family has a unique story and we seek to bring clarity and resolution whilst facilitating a service that is both safe and enjoyable for children and parents.

Phoenix Rising For Children have experience and expertise working with children and families affected by difficult and stressful circumstances.

We provide:

• In excess of 17 years experience providing supervised
• contact services
• Immediate availability to accept family referrals
• Qualified, experienced professional family supervisors
• High level of confidentiality
• 24 hour/ 365 days per year support to clients and personnel
• Detailed, well written reports appropriate for court matters

 

The services we provide include; supervised family contact, supervised transportation, supervised handover, mentoring and youth work support. We also provide interim supervised contact, pre-requested contact visit meetings between children and supervisors, and detailed contact visit reports.

 

We are contactable in the following ways:

T: 02 9873 3992, 

Write to us at PO Box 71, Oatlands 2117 or

Email: scheduler@phoenixrising.org.au

Learn more about our services at www.phoenixrising.org.au