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Source: ONE News -
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The Family Court looks headed for a shake up as the government addresses rising costs and lengthy cases.
The Justice Minister is calling for change, with family court battles over issues like child custody and maintenance costing taxpayers $39 million in legal aid last year.
As an example, the Family Court gave security guard Craig Davis custody of his daughter, but the process took eight years in total.
"It was the frustration of the cost and the time and the fact that I had to go back repeatedly for the same issues," Davis said.
Simon Power says the cost of legal aid is unaffordable and he's not ruling out spending caps for legal aid, restricting eligibility and fixed fees.
Power is also looking at the possibility of bulk funding law firms for legal aid or rolling out the Public defence Service earlier.
Power said he is concerned that while the workload in the court has only increased by 5%, costs have increased by 33%.
The Minister is considering options including:
- Imposing cost orders on parents deliberately dragging out proceedings
- A new merits test for family legal aid, tightening up who may be eligible for help
- Using duty solicitors for quick access to legal advice
And some of the options being considered won't stop at the Family Court, with the Minister also looking at imposing limits on the time all judges have to deliver a ruling and a cap on the legal aid spend.
The Minister has pointed out that none of the options are currently government policy but said he is not ruling out any.
A paper will go to Cabinet in November.
