This month Ben and Heather had a look at the new rules governing the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia which merged in September 2021. While the Family Law Act has not changed, the newly merged Court has been given increased resources and has implemented new processes to speed up the Court process which has been mired in logjams for a number of years.

Ben and Heather cover off the following questions:

•Why have the Courts merged?

•How do the new Court rules actually affect separating couples who head to Court?

•How does the new "case management pathway" work?

•How has the increased emphasis on dispute resolutions impacted proceedings?

•What is the affect of additional Court resources?

•How do the new rules impact on Property Settlement disputes?

•How do the new rules impact on Children's Matters?

•How is the Court using electronic hearings to fast track proceedings?