Family Court Review

In April 2011 the Government directed the Ministry of Justice to undertake a review of the Family Court.  The aim and purpose of the Family Court Review are detailed in the Terms of Reference below. 

The Review will consider:

• the assumptions regarding the respective roles of the Family Court versus the roles and responsibilities of private citizens in relation to their personal affairs, that is, the areas of family life and/or family dispute that should be the subject of legal intervention in the Family Court;
• the purpose, role and functions of the Family Court, including the extent to which the Family Court should have a therapeutic role as opposed to providing an expeditious application of the law in individual cases;
• the role of professionals (lawyers, psychologists, mediators, counsellors, and social workers) in the delivery of Family Court’s services;
• the statutes best administered by the Family Court and the boundaries between the Family Court and the civil jurisdiction of the High or District Courts;
• how family law legislation and rules impact on the efficiency of the Family Court, and the delivery of professional services and costs;whether the current structure, approach and processes of the Family Court supports durable outcomes and are financially sustainable;
• the responsiveness and accessibility of the Family Court to people needing timely access to the Family Court, in particular vulnerable individuals, children and families;
• the incentives to encourage people to resolve their relationship issues themselves where appropriate, rather than bringing them to the Family Court; and
• the emerging issues, needs and trends within families and critical issues that may influence or even change the role of the Family Court including whether the needs of families may be better addressed through alternative models.

A consultation paper on the Family Court Review is available online here.

A high level summary of the consultation paper is available here.   

Background questions and answers about the Review are available here. 

For more information about making a submission, please visit the Ministry of Justice website here. 

The Families Commisison collated a list of relevant reports and resources to support those who wish to make submissions to the Family Court Review which is available here.   

Submissions close on the 29th of February 2012.

Please send your submission to:

Review of the Family Court

Ministry of Justice

SX 10088

WELLINGTON 6140

Or email it to familycourtreview@justice.govt.nz

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