Attorney-General Christian Porter is doubling down on efforts to reform the Family Court.Credit:James Brickwood
In the opening address to the Family Court and Circuit Court Plenary,Mr Porter confirmed his plan to press ahead with the reforms and reintroduce legislation before the end of the year.
"The problems associated with having two separate courts both dealing with family law is a structural problem that is widely accepted as representing a structural failure that needs fixing,"Mr Porter told the audience of judges.
He acknowledged the changes had been the cause of debate but said"perpetual disagreement on what outcome is the better model is not in itself an outcome".
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The plan to abolish the Family Court of Australia as a stand-alone court and merge it with the lower-level Federal Circuit Court - which handles some family law matters alongside other cases,including migration matters - had been criticised by Labor and some legal figures.
Mr Porter had pushed the merger as a means of improving efficiency in family law cases and clearing a backlog of about 20,000 matters,but critics said resourcing was the key to fixing the problem.
The peak body for the legal profession,the Law Council of Australia,had been vocal in its opposition to Mr Porter's plan,saying families were better off with a specialised Family Court.