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Federal Circuit Court of Australia

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Federal Circuit Court of Australia
The Federal Court Building in Melbourne, a location of the Federal Circuit Court
Established1999
Dissolved1 September 2021
JurisdictionAustralia
Location
Appeals to
Appeals fromCertain federal tribunals and other federal bodies, including:
Chief Judge
CurrentlyWill Alstergren QC
Since2017

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 over matters broadly relating to family law and child support, administrative law, admiralty law, bankruptcy, copyright, human rights, industrial law, migration, privacy and trade practices.

The Court was created to deal with the increasing workload of the Federal Court of Australia and the Family 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 the Judiciary Act 1903.

History

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The Court was established on 23 December 1999 by the Australian Government as the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia, as a result of royal assent of the Federal Magistrates Act 1999 (Cth).[2] The Court was known as the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and the Act as the Federal 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 in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta and Townsville.

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, the Morrison government introduced legislation merging the Federal Circuit Court with the Family Court of Australia to form the Federal 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.

Chief Judges

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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] and Barbara Baker, now Governor of Tasmania, who served on the Court from 2008 to 2021.[8]


See also

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References

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  1. ^ "About the Federal Circuit Court". Federal Circuit Court of Australia. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b Federal Magistrates Act 1999 (Cth) s 8 Archived 2 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999 in ComLaw
  4. ^ "Federal Attorney-General's announcement". Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Media Release - The Courts to receive $100 million in Government funding announced in the 2021-22 Budget". Family Court of Australia. 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  6. ^ Porter, Christian (27 September 2018). "Appointments of Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia". Attorney-General of Australia; Minister for Industrial Relations. Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Farewell for Judge Judith Small, Federal Circuit Court of Australia". Law Institute of Victoria. 21 April 2020.
  8. ^ Bird, Isabel (20 May 2021). "Governor Designate Barbara Baker is a former Tasmanian lawyer and Federal Circuit Court of Australia judge". Launceston Examiner. Australian Community Media. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
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