Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bill 2019 and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2019. These bills bring together the Federal Circuit Court and the Family Court into a new court, which will be known as the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. This is a change which has been called for by many parts of the family law sector and which cannot be achieved without legislation. Unlike what previous contributors to this debate have falsely asserted, this change cannot be achieved without this legislation. In just one example of support for this change, the New South Wales Bar Association has stated:

… the experiment of sharing jurisdiction between two federal courts and running family law matters in separate courts with separate rules and procedures has failed.

As a senator for Western Australia, I welcome the government's commitment to this change. The consequential amendments bill will facilitate the transition for court users from the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia to the new FCFC as soon as the provisions commence.

The bills do not abolish the Family Court, as some are falsely claiming. Nor do they reduce the specialisations of the courts. The Family Court will continue to exist as Division 1, and the government has committed to a minimum of 25 Division 1 judges, consistent with the recommendation of the Semple review. The FCFC will be an improved and streamlined process for those who need to access it and will provide the significant benefit of creating a single point of entry into the federal family law courts. This structural reform has the potential to allow for up to 8,000 cases to be resolved each year, and it will significantly reduce the delays currently experienced by families, which, of course, burden families with so much frustration. That's more than 8,000 families each year who will be able to readily access the dispute resolution provided by this court, thanks to the administrative and structural changes that this legislation provides for. So this is a big change for those that need to access justice. This will make an enormous difference to Australian families, and it will be a far more accessible court for Australian families to resolve their matters with as little complexity as possible. It will be simpler, more efficient and more effective.

Most importantly, I should note standing here today that I've been involved in the review undertaken by the Joint Select Committee on Australia's Family Law System. In the 18 months or so that I've been here, I've seen the work that this very diligent committee does. It comprises members and senators from all sides of politics, and they have applied themselves to this process. It has been one of the most confronting aspects of my role since coming here, because you hear the stories and you hear about the trauma and the difficulty that so many families have faced in dealing with separation. The vast majority of separations, as difficult and tragic as they are, are dealt with privately and without needing the court system. But for those that do find themselves needing to go through the system, it's an incredibly frustrating, incredibly time-consuming and very, very costly process. These amendments won't solve all of the issues that have been identified. I look forward to the tabling, soon, of the report at the culmination of the work of the committee. The report will outline a whole range of recommendations that will go to improving the system more generally. But this change will go a long way to providing some of the relief that is necessary, particularly around streamlining and ensuring that there are efficient processes for families to avail themselves of.

The Morrison government is committed to ending the unnecessary costs and delays for thousands of Australian families that arise from a split Federal Court system. The structural reforms of the federal Family Court that are outlined in this legislation will ensure that families are able to have their matters dealt with as efficiently as possible. The reforms enabled by these bills will improve user experience for those Australian families that unfortunately need the assistance of the courts to resolve their disputes and will promote improved practices by both courts and legal practitioners.

By way of history, neither the Commonwealth nor the states or territories have exclusive jurisdiction over family law matters. The Australian Constitution gives the Commonwealth the power to make laws with respect to marriage, divorce, matrimonial cases, and in relation to parental rights and the custody and guardianship of infants. The states have referred their state powers to the Commonwealth, with the exception of Western Australia, my home state. This has had the effect of the federal parliament having jurisdiction over marriage, divorce, parenting and family property upon separation, while the state and territory governments have retained jurisdiction over adoption, child welfare and same-sex couples.

Two federal courts currently deal with matters under the Family Law Act: the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. As I said, Western Australia established a state family court, the Family Court of Western Australia, which exercises both federal and state jurisdiction. The structure that exists introduces unnecessary duplication and complication for families. The merging and streamlining of these courts will make a significant contribution to reducing the burden that families face when needing the support of the courts to adjudicate their separation matters. The government does not pretend that these changes, to be enacted by the passage of these bills, will be a silver bullet, nor does it suggest that this will magically fix the issues that are present within the family law system—as I've already said, issues which necessitated, and that we're dealing with through, the family law inquiry. But it is an important step forward.

The structural failings of the current split family law system are widely agreed upon. Continuing to do nothing to fix this problem is not the solution, is not an option. Reform for any longstanding structural problem is challenging; there's no doubt about that. Whether it be laws relating to taxation or family law, big reform is never easy. This is, perhaps, the most sensitive area of all reform. There is no doubt that families dealing with separation experience some of the most traumatic moments of their life. The stress that it imposes upon families and their children, where children are involved, is immense. Having sat on the family law committee, which is looking at the system, we heard a number of testimonies. I recall that we had over 1,500 submissions—it's one of the most subscribed committee submissions processes, as I understand, that this parliament has seen in a long time. And every single one of those cases is, of course, very challenging.

While very streamlined, the proposed reforms are the least radical path to end the unnecessary confusion, additional costs and unnecessary delay that have arisen for thousands of Australian families by virtue of this split system. It's necessary for these bills to pass to help streamline the court system. There are some bigger issues that must be dealt with, but this is just one thing that can be done to alleviate some of the pain and frustration, and, of course, the cost and the delays that are preventing people from ultimately moving on with their lives.

We heard the previous speaker called for more funding, resources and public money. The government has actually been delivering that. The government has funded the establishment of the family advocacy and support services. Since 2016, we've committed over $48.9 billion in funding for the family advocacy and support services. Those services operate in Family Court registries across Australia to offer integrated duty lawyer and social support services to persons affected by family violence who have had cases in the family law courts. This includes, in the 2019-20 budget, the $7.8 million that was committed over three years for dedicated men's support to be engaged in all FASS locations. It is, of course, very critical that everyone, including men, is supported when dealing with the challenge and the stress of separation. I'm an advocate for even more support for men, for women and, of course, for children. For all parties involved, support needs to be there. This government stands proud of providing that support.

As part of the 2018 Women's Economic Security Package, the government provided funding for family law services and initiatives, including funding to 65 family relationship centres across Australia—on an ongoing basis, to help families reach agreement about splitting their property after separation—and to legal aid commissions in each state and territory for a two-year trial of law-assisted mediation for property matters with asset pools up to $500,000, excluding the debt.

As I've stated already in this speech here today, this is by no means a silver bullet. No-one in the government, from the minister down, is calling this the panacea to the challenges that are faced, but it certainly will make a significant difference. It certainly will make a significant difference in streamlining the process for families that need to deal with the multiplicity of challenges and issues in a separation, enabling them to deal with it in a more efficient way; in a less complicated way; importantly, in a more cost-efficient way; and, ultimately, in a way that enables them to process the challenge that they're facing—a very private matter—in relation to their family, their living situations and their children. Being able to do that through a streamlined court process—an amalgamation; a centralisation of that—will go parts of the way and in many respects a long way to helping families deal with it and be able to move forward in their lives without that unnecessary burden of a very complicated system.