The Family Court of Western Australia is a state court that deals with family law

Family law

Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...

. It was established by the passing of the Family Court Act (WA, 1975) and commenced operation in 1976. It deals with divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

, marital property settlements, child custody

Child custody

Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...

, adoption

Adoption

Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...

 and surrogacy

Surrogacy

Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person. This woman may be the child's genetic mother , or she may carry the pregnancy to delivery after having an embryo, to which she has no genetic relationship whatsoever, transferred to her uterus...

. Although funded by the Commonwealth Government, it is the only state-based family court in Australia.

Structure

Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 is unique amongst Australian states

States and territories of Australia

The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...

 in being the only state with its own Family Court. Family law matters in all other states are dealt with by two federal Courts - the Family Court of Australia

Family Court of Australia

The Family Court of Australia is a superior Australian federal court of record which deals with family law matters. Together with the Federal Magistrates Court, it covers family law matters in all states and territories of Australia except Western Australia...

 and the Federal Magistrates Court. The Family Court of Western Australia is an integrated court, in that it combines the functions of a Superior court and a lower Court. Officially, the Family Court is two courts in one - the Family Court itself (constituted by its Judges) and a Magistrates Court (constituted by Family Law Magistrates). Its Magistrates' division is officially differentiated from the main Magistrates Court of Western Australia

Magistrates Court of Western Australia

The Magistrates' Court of Western Australia is the first tier court in Western Australia, a state of Australia. It has jurisdiction in respect of criminal and civil matters, as well as a range of administrative matters...

 by being referred to as the 'Magistrates Court at 150 Terrace Rd Perth'.

In 2008, the federal Attorney-General announced a review of the delivery of family law services by the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Magistrates Court. A November 2008 report set out a possible framework of governance options to achieve a more integrated system of case management practices across the federal family law jurisdiction, with changes in judicial structures and reporting relationships. According to the report, all review submissions, with the exception of that provided by the Federal Magistrates' Court, "considered that the most effective model for the delivery by the Courts of family law services would be a single family court, with two separate judicial divisions serviced by a single administration." The proposed federal model is similar to that of the Family Court of Western Australia, which the Law Council of Australia, in its submission, had noted as "providing a useful model of the structure and functioning of an integrated Family Court". The Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, Diana Bryant

Diana Bryant

Diana Bryant QC was appointed Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia on 5 July 2004.Bryant attended grammar school in Melbourne, at the Firbank Girls' School. Chief Justice Bryant holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Melbourne University, and a Master of Laws degree from Monash University....

, in her submission, also favoured a single integrated federal family court structured similarly to the Family Court of Western Australia.

Funding

Under the terms of a 1976 agreement signed by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser

Malcolm Fraser

John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...

 and the State Premier Sir Charles Court, the Commonwealth government provides almost all funding for the operation of the Family Court of WA. The Western Australian government issues an invoice to the Commonwealth, on a quarterly basis, for the cost of operations, and receives payment from the Commonwealth. In 2007-08, the Court's operating budget was approximately $17m, $10.6m of which was for staff and judicial salaries. In that financial year, expenditure exceeded budget by $1.27m and by July 2008, the Court was carrying a cash deficit position of almost $200,000
Although a State Court, the Family Court of Western Australia is located within the Commonwealth Court complex, which houses the Federal Court of Australia

Federal Court of Australia

The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law , along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges...

 in Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

. The Court leases part of the building from the Commonwealth. Court security is provided as part of the lease arrangement.

Jurisdiction

For married people who want to divorce and make arrangements for children, property and spousal maintenance, proceedings in the Family Court of Western Australia are held under the Family Law Act 1975 (Commonwealth), which is federal legislation. For unmarried people who seek arrangements for children, property and maintenance, the Court proceedings are held under the Family Court Act of 1997 (Western Australia) which is state legislation. In 2002, the legislation was amended to incorporate de facto relationships and their property matters.

Adoption

Elsewhere in Australia, the legal aspects of adoption are dealt with either in the Supreme or District Courts of each state and territory. In Western Australia, the Family Court of Western Australia is responsible for the approval of adoption applications in the state. Judges of the court make adoption orders and other related orders, and the court then issues the appropriate orders. The court also releases information from past adoption cases at the request of the Department for Community Development. Officers at the court coordinate the processing of adoption applications and release of information as well as answering enquiries from the public.

Surrogacy

The Family Court of Western Australia has jurisdiction under the Western Australian Surrogacy Act 2008. Judges of the court may make parentage orders and other related orders. A parentage order transfers the parentage of a child from his or her surrogate birth parent/s to the child’s arranged parents. The arranged parents then become the child’s legal parents. After commencement of the Surrogacy Act 2008 on 1 March 2009, any person wishing to enter into a surrogacy arrangement must comply with all the procedures set out under the Act and Regulations if they propose to apply to the Family Court of WA for a parentage order. If a child is conceived through a surrogacy arrangement before the Act came into effect, an application may be made to the Family Court of WA for a parentage order provided the application is brought within 12 months of the child’s birth and all the requirements set out in the Act have been met.

Judicial Officers

The Court is presided over by five judge

Judge

A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

s, nine magistrate

Magistrate

A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...

s and two sole judicial registrars.

Chief Judge

• Justice Stephen Thackray (appointed 16 November 2006) (is also a Judge of the Appeal Division of the Family Court of Australia)

Judges

• Justice Carolyn Martin (appointed 19 November 1996)
• Justice Jane Crisford (appointed 24 October 2006))
• Justice Stephen Crooks (appointed 22 October 2007)
• Justice Simon Moncrieff (appointed 31 August 2009)

All the Court's judges hold dual commissions; on appointment to office, they are also appointed to the Family Court of Australia. In addition to their judicial role in relation to family law matters, Judges of the Family Court of WA are often required after hours and on weekends to determine applications under the Telecommunications (Interception) Act from law enforcement agencies, relating to authorisations for carrying out telephone surveillance activities. In 2005 there were 153 such applications.

Family Law Magistrates

As at May 2011, the Magistrates of the Court are:

• David Monaghan (Principal Registrar)
• Christopher Judges
• Roberta Andrews
• Alan Moroni
• Lisa Stewart
• Jill Vander Wal
• Susan Duncanson
• Gail Sutherland
• Colin Kaeser (Acting Magistrate)