The Court sits in all capital cities, selected major regional centres and circuits to a number of regional locations

There were two appointments the Court welcomed Judges Manousaridis and Stewart

About the Court

The Federal Circuit Court of Australia was established by the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999 (the Act) as an independent federal court under Chapter III of the Australian Constitution. Prior to 12 April 2013, under the Federal Magistrates Act 1999, the Court was known as the Federal Magistrates Court and its judicial officers as federal magistrates. The Court was established to handle less complex matters in the areas of family law and general federal law.

The Court is a federal court of record and a court of law and equity. It sits in all capital cities, selected major regional centres and circuits to a number of regional locations.

Objective

The objective of the Court is to provide a simple and more accessible alternative to litigation in the Family Court of Australia (Family Court) and the Federal Court of Australia (Federal Court) and to relieve the workload of the superior federal courts.

The provisions of the Act enable the Court to operate as informally as possible in the exercise of judicial power, use streamlined procedures and make use of a range of dispute resolution processes to resolve matters without judicial decisions.

Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the Court includes family law and child support and the following areas of general federal law: administrative law, admiralty law, bankruptcy, consumer law (formerly trade practices), copyright, human rights, industrial, migration and privacy. The Court shares these jurisdictions with the Family Court (in respect of family law and child support) and the Federal Court (in respect of general federal law). The provisions of the Act enable the Court to operate as informally as possible in the exercise of a range of dispute resolution processes to resolve matters without decisions.

Family law and child support

The Court exercises all aspects of jurisdiction in the Family Law Act 1975 with the exception of adoption and applications for nullity or validity of marriage. The Court has the same jurisdiction as the Family Court in relation to child support.

This includes:

• applications for divorce
• applications concerning spousal maintenance
• property disputes (including de facto jurisdiction)
• all parenting orders, including those providing for where a child lives, who a child spends time and communicates with, and maintenance or specific issues
• enforcement of orders made by either the Federal Circuit Court or the Family Court
• location and recovery orders as well as warrants for the apprehension or detention of a child, and
• determination of parentage and recovery of child-bearing expenses.

Jurisdiction upon transfer from the Family Court

The Court also has jurisdiction to hear any matter within the jurisdiction of the Family Court which the Family Court transfers to the Federal Circuit Court.

General federal law

The Court deals with a wide range of matters, sharing jurisdiction with the Federal Court and, in some cases, state courts. The Court's rules and procedures are simpler and less formal and aim to reduce the cost and number of court appearances.

The Court can hear and decide matters relating to administrative law, admiralty law, bankruptcy, consumer law (formerly trade practices), human rights, industrial, intellectual property, migration and privacy and any matter transferred from the Federal Court. Where the Court has jurisdiction in a matter, it also has jurisdiction to determine associated or inseverable claims which would otherwise not be within jurisdiction.

Following is more information about the Court's jurisdiction in these various areas of general federal law.

Administrative

• Matters under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977.
• Appeals from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal remitted from the Federal Court.

Admiralty

• In personam actions (claims against a specific person or company) such as freight claims, damage claims and seafarers' wages.
• In rem actions remitted by the Federal Court and state supreme courts.

Bankruptcy

All civil claims and matters under the Bankruptcy Act 1966, except those requiring jury trials.

Consumer

The Court has jurisdiction with respect to claims under the following provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (formerly the Trade Practices Act 1974):

• Section 46 (Misuse of Market Power)
• Section IVB (Industry Codes)
• Part XI (Application of the Australian Consumer Law as a law of the Commonwealth), and
• Schedule 2 (Australian Consumer Law).

The Court can provide injunctive relief and award damages up to $750,000.

In relation to certain claims for $40,000 or less, litigants can elect to use the small claims procedure of the Court.

Copyright

Civil claims and matters under Parts V, VAA, IX and section 248J of the Copyright Act 1968, such as claims for injunctions and damages for breach of copyright.

Trade Marks – Trade Marks Act 1995

• Appeals from decisions of the Registrar of Trade Marks: ss 35,56, 67, 83(2), 83A(8), 84A–84D and 104
• Infringement actions ss 120–128 and under ss 129 and 130
• Revocation of registration under: ss 88 and 89
• Decision on whether a person has used a trade mark under s 7 Determining whether Trade Mark has become Generic: ss 24, 87 and 89 Amendment or Cancellation of Registration under ss 85 and 86 Application for an Order to Remove a Trade Mark Registration for Non Use: s 92(3)
• Application for rectification of Register by order of court under s 181, and
• Variation of rules governing use of certification trade mark under s 182.

Design – Designs Act 2003

• Appeals from Decisions of the Registrar of Designs: ss 28(5), 67(4), 68(6), 50(6), 52(7) and 54(4)
• Ability to make a determination of the entitled person during proceedings before the Court under s 53
• Infringement actions under ss 71–76
• Applications for Relief from Unjustified Threats under ss 77–81
• Application for Compulsory Licences under s 90–92
• Revocation of Registration under s 93
• For Crown use provisions, provide a determination of the term of use of a design under s 98
• Application for a declaration by a court of any Crown use under s 101
• Application for the cessation of Crown use of a design under s 102, and
• Rectification of Register under s 120. D.

Human rights

Federal unlawful discrimination matters under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 relating to complaints under the:

• Age Discrimination Act 2004
• Disability Discrimination Act 1992
• Racial Discrimination Act 1975, and
• Sex Discrimination Act 1984.

Industrial

The Federal Circuit Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Court for matters under the:

• Fair Work Act 2009
• Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009, and
• Workplace Relations Act 1996 (in so far as it continues to apply).

This jurisdiction is to be exercised by the Fair Work Division of the Court.

The Fair Work Act 2009 confers small claims jurisdiction on the Court for various matters if the compensation is not more than $20,000.

The Court also has jurisdiction in relation to certain matters under the Independent Contractors Act 2006.

Migration

Most first instance judicial reviews of visa-related decisions of the Migration Review Tribunal and the Refugee Review Tribunal. The Court does not have jurisdiction to undertake a merits review of these types of decisions.

Privacy

Enforcing determinations of the Privacy Commissioner and private sector adjudicators under the Privacy Act 1988.

Jurisdiction upon transfer from the Federal Court

The Court also has jurisdiction to hear any matter within the jurisdiction of the Federal Court which the Federal Court transfers to the Federal Circuit Court.

Changes to the Court's jurisdiction during 2013–14

The following Acts impacted on the jurisdiction of the Court, including:

Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013

This established a new legislative scheme for the investigation of allegations of serious wrongdoing in the Commonwealth public sector and the substantive provisions commenced on 15 January 2014. The Court and the Federal Court have jurisdiction to make orders for civil remedies (including compensation, injunctions and reinstatement of employment) if a reprisal against a person because of a public interest disclosure (including a proposed or a suspected public interest disclosure).

Statute Law Revision Act (No. 1) 2014

The main purposes of this Act is to correct technical errors that have occurred in Acts as a result of drafting and clerical mistakes and to repeal spent and obsolete provisions and Acts. Included is a minor amendment to subsection 20(2) (paragraph(s) of the note) to omit 'section 94 of the Family Law Act 1975', substitute "section '94AAA of the Family Law Act 1975'.

Major Sporting Events (Indicia and Images) Protection Act 2014

This Act is designed to prevent the unauthorised commercial use of certain indicia and images associated with the following events:

• Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup 2015 with matches to be held from 9–31 January 2015
• International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup 2015 to be jointly hosted with New Zealand from 14 February – 29 March 2015, and
• Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games to be held from 4–15 April 2018.

The Act confers civil penalty jurisdiction on both the Federal Circuit Court and Federal Court along with State Courts.

Court Security Act 2013

The substantive provisions of this Act commenced on 1 January 2014 and replaced the current security framework for federal courts. Included is a new power to make a court security order upon application to the Court by the administrative head.

Other regulations impacting on jurisdiction

Federal Circuit Court of Australia Legislation (Consequential Amendments) Regulation 2013 (No 1)

The Federal Circuit Court of Australia Legislation (Consequential Amendments) Regulation 2013 (No. 1) (the Regulation) is made under numerous Acts under which the Governor-General has the authority to make regulations. These Regulations updated Commonwealth regulations to reflect the new name of the Court as the 'Federal Circuit Court of Australia', and the change in title of Chief Federal Magistrate to 'Chief Judge' and Federal Magistrate to 'Judge'. Sections 1 to 4 and Schedule 1 to the Regulation, which contained the amendments to current regulations, commenced on 12 April 2013. Schedule 2 to the Regulation, which contains amendments contingent upon commencement of the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Legislation Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 2),commenced 11 October 2013 immediately after the Agreement Between the Government of Australia and the Government of New Zealand on Trans-Tasman Court Proceedings and Regulatory Enforcement has entered into force for Australia and New Zealand.

Amendments to fee regulations

Prior to 1 January 2013 the fee regulations for the Court were the Federal Magistrates Regulations 2000. From that date these Regulations were repealed and replaced by two fee regulations, a single fee regulation for all family law proceedings and a single fee regulation for general federal law proceedings.

• Family Law (Fees) Regulation 2012
• Federal Court and Federal Magistrates Court Regulation 2012

On 12 April 2013, in light of the name change of the Court, included in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Legislation (Consequential Amendments) Regulation 2013 (No 1), was an amendment to the general federal law fee regulations to rename them as the Federal Court and Federal Circuit Court Regulations 2012.

The renamed regulations are as follows:

Table 2.1: Renamed regulations for the Federal Circuit Court

	Previous	From 12 April 2013
General Federal Law	Federal Court and Federal Magistrates Court Regulation 2012	Federal Court and Federal Circuit Court Regulation 2012
Family Law	Family Law (Fees) Regulation 2012	No Change

Most items included in the Court's fee regulations are the subject of biennial increases to adjust for inflation. The next biennial increase will take effect on 1 July 2014.

Family Law Amendment (Fees) Regulation 2013

The Regulation commenced on 1 July 2013 and amended the Family Law (Fees) Regulation 2012 to provide a specific exemption for independent children's lawyers from paying court fees relating to subpoenas and interim orders.

Organisational structure

Figure 2.1: Federal Circuit Court organisational structure

Judicial officers

Judges are appointed by the Governor-General by commission as justices in accordance with Chapter III of the Australian Constitution. A judge is appointed for a term expiring when they reach the age of 70 years.

Section 8 of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999 provides that the Court consists of a Chief Judge and such other judges as appointed. At 30 June 2014, 65 judges held appointment to the Court (including the Chief Judge). More detail on judicial officers can be found at Appendix B.

Note: The remuneration arrangements for all judicial officers and the Chief Executive Officer are governed by enforceable determinations of the Remuneration Tribunal. Further details including relevant determinations are available at www.remtribunal.gov.au

Details of the judges follow in the table below:

Table 2.2: Federal Circuit Court Judges, 30 June 2014

Chief Judge	Location	Date of appointment
John Pascoe, AO, CVO	Sydney	14 July 2004
Judge	Location	Date of appointment
Warren Donald	Parramatta	13 June 2000
Christine Mead	Adelaide	13 June 2000
Michael Baumann	Brisbane	19 June 2000
Jim Brewster	Canberra	19 June 2000
Norah Hartnett	Melbourne	19 June 2000
Stephen Scarlett	Sydney	19 June 2000
John Coker	Townsville	26 June 2000
Rolf Driver	Sydney	31 July 2000
Kenneth Raphael	Sydney	31 July 2000
Stuart Roberts	Launceston	4 December 2000
Maurice Phipps	Melbourne	18 December 2000
Michael Connolly	Melbourne	4 June 2001
Stewart Brown	Adelaide	5 November 2001
Shenagh Barnes	Sydney	5 November 2001
Giles Coakes	Newcastle	12 January 2004
Stuart Lindsay	Adelaide	19 January 2004
Michael Jarrett	Brisbane	2 February 2004
Sylvia Emmett	Sydney	5 July 2004
Grant Riethmuller	Melbourne	19 July 2004
Michael Lloyd-Jones	Sydney	26 July 2004
Daniel O'Dwyer	Melbourne	2 August 2004
Nick Nicholls	Sydney	23 August 2004
Robyn Sexton	Sydney	27 September 2004
Kevin Lapthorn	Brisbane	29 August 2005
Louise Henderson	Sydney	28 November 2005
Kate Hughes	Canberra	30 January 2006
Heather Riley	Melbourne	3 July 2006
Philip Burchardt	Melbourne	10 July 2006
John O'Sullivan	Melbourne	10 July 2006
David Halligan	Parramatta	31 July 2006
Toni Lucev	Perth	14 August 2006
Frank Turner	Melbourne	3 October 2006
Robert Cameron	Sydney	3 October 2006
Tom Altobelli	Sydney	13 November 2006
Michael Burnett	Brisbane	24 November 2006
Stephen Coates	Brisbane	27 November 2006
Leanne Spelleken	Brisbane	11 December 2006
Charlotte Kelly	Adelaide	12 March 2007
Janet Terry	Newcastle	10 April 2007
Denys Simpson	Adelaide	12 June 2007
Warwick Neville	Canberra	2 July 2007
Dale Kemp	Sydney	4 July 2007
Paul Howard	Brisbane	9 July 2007
Susan Purdon-Sully	Brisbane	15 October 2007
Margaret Cassidy	Brisbane	5 November 2007
Evelyn Bender	Melbourne	15 September 2008
Anne Demack	Brisbane	22 September 2008
Judith Walker	Sydney	22 September 2008
Terry McGuire	Melbourne	6 October 2008
David Dunkley	Parramatta	13 October 2008
Barbara Baker	Hobart	27 October 2008
Geoffrey Monahan	Sydney	3 November 2008
Peter Cole	Adelaide	24 November 2008
Josephine Willis	Cairns	27 January 2009
Dominica Whelan	Melbourne	24 May 2010
Joseph Harman	Parramatta	7 June 2010
Leanne Turner	Brisbane	7 June 2010
Matthew Myers	Newcastle	23 January 2012
Ron Curtain	Melbourne	23 January 2012
Alexandra Harland	Darwin	15 April 2013
Judith Small	Melbourne	15 April 2013
Suzanne Jones	Melbourne	3 June 2013
Nicholas Manousaridis	Sydney	1 July 2013
Joanne Stewart	Melbourne	2 September 2013

Appointments and retirements, 2013–14

There were two appointments and a resigned commission during the 2013–14 reporting period.

• Judge Nicholas Manousaridis was appointed on 1 July 2013
• Judge Joanne Stewart was appointed on 2 September 2013, and
• Judge Garry Foster resigned commission to take up appointment in the Family Court of Australia on 7 August 2013.

Other changes during the 2013–14

• Judge Louise Henderson relocated from Parramatta to Sydney on 30 September 2013
• Judge Joanne Stewart relocated from Parramatta to Melbourne on 5 May 2014, and
• Judge Kate Hughes relocated from Melbourne to Canberra on 5 May 2014.