Family Court Litigation

Federal Circuit and Family Court Process

Step 1 - Pre-Action Procedure

The Federal Circuit and Family Court Rules require you to complete the Pre-Action Procedure to the other party before commencing proceedings. You need to do the following:-

• Give a copy of the Pre-Action Procedures to the other parties to the proceedings;

• Find out about Family Dispute Resolution / Dispute Resolution services available to you;

• Invite the other party to participate in Family Dispute Resolution;

• Cooperate for the purpose of agreeing on an appropriate Family Dispute Resolution service;

• Make a genuine effort to resolve the dispute by taking part in Family Dispute Resolution;

• Provide a notice of intention to commence a proceeding and allow the other party to reply at least 14 days before the date of the letter.

Step 2 - File an Initiating Application / Response

• If you have not heard back from the other party after 14 days of the notice, you may file an initiating application.

• Alternatively, if you are served with an Initiating Application, you shall file a Response within 28 days of the service.

Step 3 - First Court Event

• The matter will be listed for a first court event, also known as a Mention 4 to 8 weeks after the Initiating Application is filed.

• The first court event is usually held by telephone or Microsoft Teams. It is usually a short procedural hearing to help the parties resolve any interim procedural matters, such as disclosure, valuation, mediation and arrangement for a family report.

Step 4 - Interim Hearing (if required)

Sometimes, the parties have to ask the Court to decide some significant matters before the Trial. For example, whether one party needs to continue to pay for their mortgage repayments, whether a property needs to be sold and the funds be put into a trust account pending settlement and whether a child needs to spend supervised time with one parent.

An Interim Hearing is usually a half-day court event. Most of the time, solicitors brief Counsel to appear at the Interim Hearing. This is because the outcome of an Interim Hearing can have a significant impact on the parties’ bargaining power and may indirectly affect the outcome of the Final Hearing (the Trial). Preparation of an Interim Hearing could also be very tricky. There is a page limitation in terms of the length of the affidavit. The Court allocates limited time to hear and consider the case. However, litigants usually find that they have so many relevant points that they wish to bring to the Court’s attention and find it frustrating when they realise that the Court does not have time to hear every point. It is therefore very important for solicitors to hear the entire story and succinctly summarise relevant facts so that the Registrar or the judge in the Court would be able to quickly understand the story.

Step 5 - Compliance and Readiness Hearing

This is probably the last or the second last hearing before the Final Hearing. A judge will hear the case and order the parties to prepare an Affidavit of Evidence in Chief (all relevant evidence to your case) and other supporting documents in readiness for the Final Hearing. The judge will ask the parties to estimate the length of the trial and allocate a date or dates for the Final Hearing.

Step 6 - Final Hearing

This is the day for the judge to hear your case. You and the other party and perhaps other witnesses will be called into the witness box and be asked questions by the other party’s Counsel. This process is also known as cross-examination. The process can be lengthy and stressful. You need to make sure that you have a meeting with your Counsel prior to the Final Hearing so that the Counsel can help you to prepare for the cross-examination.

If you would like us to take care of your family court case, simply send your signed or draft contract to info@rglawgroup.com.au or call us on 0493 833 862.