The Federal Circuit Court of Australia, formerly known as the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Service, was an Australian court with

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

over matters broadly relating to

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

and

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (state or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is ...

administrative law Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...

admiralty law Maritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and conflict of laws, private international law governing the relations ...

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

industrial law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...

and trade practices. The Court was created to deal with the increasing workload of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...

and the

Family Court of Australia The Family Court of Australia was a superior Australian federal court of record which deals with family law matters, such as divorce applications, parenting disputes, and the division of property when a couple separate. Together with the Fed ...

, 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. It is also intended to replace (in part) the federal jurisdiction with which state courts have been invested under the ''

Judiciary Act 1903 The ''Judiciary Act 1903'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that regulates the structure of the Australian judicial system and confers jurisdiction on Australian federal courts. It is one of the oldest pieces of Australian feder ...

''.

History

The Court was established on 23 December 1999 by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

as the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia, as a result of royal assent of the ''Federal Magistrates Act 1999 (Cth)''.Federal Magistrates Act 1999 (Cth
s 8
. The Court was known as the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and the Act as the ''Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999''. 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 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, ,

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

and

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

. 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". In 2021, the

Morrison government The Morrison government was the Australian Government, federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister of Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison governmen ...

introduced legislation merging the Federal Circuit Court with the

to form the

Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia is an Australian court formed in September 2021 from the merger of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and the Family Court of Australia. It has jurisdiction over family law in Australia, ap ...

, effective from 1 September 2021. 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.

Chief Judges

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: *

Diana Bryant Diana Bryant (born 13 October 1947) is an Australian jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia from 5 July 2004 to 12 October 2017. Early life and education Bryant was born in Perth, Western Australia and attended ...

(2000–04) *

John Pascoe John Henry Pascoe (born 10 December 1948) is a former Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia and Deputy Chancellor of the University of New South Wales. Background and career Pascoe was raised in and , the only child of a grazier ...

(2004–17) * Will Alstergren (2017–present) (who also holds the position of Chief Justice of the

since 10 December 2018.) Former judges include folk singer turned lawyer and judge, Judy Small, who served on the Court between 2014 and 2020, and

Barbara Baker Barbara Avalon Baker (born 31 March 1958) is an Australian barrister and former judge, who is the 29th and current governor of Tasmania since 16 June 2021. She served on the Federal Circuit Court of Australia from 2008 to 2021. Early life Bake ...

, now

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the monarch, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the governor is Gov ...

, who served on the Court from 2008 to 2021.

References

External links

Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999 (Cth)
in

ComLaw The Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) is an Australian Commonwealth government agency established under the ''Parliamentary Counsel Act 1970'' (Cth) within the Commonwealth Attorney-General's portfolio. OPC drafts all government Bills that ...

Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001 (Cth)
in

Federal Court and Federal Circuit Court Regulation 2012 (Cth)
in

Judgments of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, 2013–
in

AustLII The Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) is an institution operated jointly by the Faculties of Law of the University of Technology Sydney and the University of New South Wales. Its public policy purpose is to improve access to just ...

Judgments of the Federal Magistrates Court in general federal law, 2000–2013
in

Judgments of the Federal Magistrates Court in family law, 2000–2013
in

{{Authority control 1999 establishments in Australia Commonwealth of Australia courts and tribunals Courts and tribunals established in 1999 Former Commonwealth of Australia courts and tribunals

History

Chief Judges

See also

References

External links