| Federal Circuit Court of Australia | |
|---|---|
 | |
 The Federal Court Building inMelbourne, a location of the Federal Circuit Court | |
| Established | 1999 |
| Dissolved | 1 September 2021 |
| Jurisdiction | Australia |
| Location |
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| Appeals to | |
| Appeals from | Certain federal tribunals and other federal bodies, including:
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| Chief Judge | |
| Currently | Will AlstergrenQC |
| Since | 2017 |
TheFederal Circuit Court of Australia, formerly known as theFederal Magistrates Court of Australia or theFederal Magistrates Service, was anAustralian court withjurisdiction over matters broadly relating tofamily law andchild support,administrative law,admiralty law,bankruptcy,copyright,human rights,industrial law,migration,privacy andtrade practices.
The Court was created to deal with the increasing workload of theFederal Court of Australia and theFamily Court of Australia, by hearing less complex cases for them and freeing those Courts to deal only with more complex cases. The Federal Circuit Court dealt with approximately 95% of migration and bankruptcy applications filed in the federal courts. Approximately 90% of the Court's workload was in the area of family law. The Court also deals with nearly 80% of all family law matters filed in the federal courts.[1] It is also intended to replace (in part) the federal jurisdiction with which state courts have been invested under theJudiciary Act 1903.
The Court was established on 23 December 1999 by theAustralian Government as theFederal Magistrates Court of Australia, as a result of royal assent of theFederal Magistrates Act 1999 (Cth).[2] The Court was known as the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and the Act as theFederal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999.[2][3] Its first judicial officers were appointed in 2000; it first applications were filed on 23 June 2000 and the Court's first sittings were conducted on 3 July 2000 inAdelaide,Brisbane,Canberra,Melbourne,Newcastle,Parramatta andTownsville.
On 12 April 2013, in recognition of its increased jurisdiction and its role as an intermediate court servicing regional centres as well as capital cities throughout Australia, it was renamed the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and its judicial officers received the title "Judge" instead of "Federal Magistrate".[4]
In 2021, theMorrison government introduced legislation merging the Federal Circuit Court with theFamily Court of Australia to form theFederal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, effective from 1 September 2021.[5]
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia comprises two divisions:
Division 1 (a continuation of the Family Court of Australia) deals with family law matters. Division 2 (a continuation of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia) deals with family law, migration and general federal law matters.
Only three people have served as Chief Judge or Chief Federal Magistrate. All three have subsequently (or concurrently) held the office of Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia. They are:
Former judges include folk singer turned lawyer and judge,Judy Small, who served on the Court between 2014 and 2020,[7] andBarbara Baker, nowGovernor of Tasmania, who served on the Court from 2008 to 2021.[8]
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| People | |
