Family Law Proceedings – Types of Hearings

Navigating through the courts can be overwhelming. This article is designed to be a helpful guide to summarise the main hearing types that your Family Law matter might be listed for in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

First Return Hearing

 In family law proceedings, once your matter goes to Court, the first hearing that your matter would likely be listed for is referred to as a First Return. A First Return hearing is the initial procedural court hearing after filing documents, held before a Judicial Registrar.

A Judicial Registrar has some limited powers of a Judge delegated to them. They also have powers in case management and dispute resolution.

The usual purpose of this hearing is the following:

  1. to ascertain whether any orders can be made by consent;
  2. to identify the issues in dispute and the way forward required to resolve them;
  3. to identify if the parties have complied with the pre-action procedures; and
  4. to consider whether an interim hearing or dispute resolution is required.

Typically, at a First Return negotiations will occur towards making orders on points that are agreed, for example some or part of any parenting arrangements, or agreement to organise valuations of real estate. If there are no interim issues remaining in dispute, then the matter might proceed towards a Dispute Resolution Conference or a Mediation. If there are interim issues in dispute, then the matter might proceed to an Interim Hearing.

Interim Hearing

An Interim hearing is a court event where a decision can be made about a particular issue in dispute in the case on an interim or interlocutory basis. It is a hearing that is held when the parties of a matter cannot reach an agreement to an urgent issue, and the court must make an order before a final decision is made. This is heard by a Judge or a Senior Judicial Registrar, and they have the power to make an interim order which remains in place until there is a further or final court order.

For example, in a parenting matter this might include the disputed care arrangements for a child, or in a property matter it might include the sale of property or the interim distribution of savings.

Dispute resolution

The Court wants, and will provide parties with opportunity, to attempt to settle via negotiation before reaching final hearing. This often takes the form of Dispute Resolution events at the Court, but might also include a private mediation for property matters with a suitably sized asset pool.

Mediation is a common dispute resolution event, and the goal is for a third neutral party i.e. the mediator, to help the parties discuss and attempt to resolve the issues of the matter. The mediator is not there to impose a solution, but rather to work with the conflicting sides to explore the interests underlying their positions to resolve the matter overall.

There are a few types of Court facilitated dispute resolution events, such as;

  1. Conciliation conference – is a dispute resolution event for financial proceedings conducted by a Judicial Registrar e.g. mediation.
  2. Dispute resolution conference – is conducted in parenting proceedings and may be undertaken by a Judicial Registrar with assistance from a Court Child Expert.

The benefits of dispute resolution events are that they are often more cost and time effective. The services are generally less expensive, and resolving a matter at dispute resolution is often faster than proceeding through litigation towards a final hearing.

Compliance and readiness hearing

A Compliance and Readiness hearing is a procedural court event which is designed to confirm that both parties have complied with all prior court orders and that they are prepared to proceed to the final hearing. This hearing is usually after the parties have undergone prior dispute resolutions attempts, but they were unsuccessful in reaching an agreement.

The purpose of this hearing is as follows:

  1. Ensuring that each party has complied with Court orders. The Court will check that all previous orders have been completed, such as providing disclosure or obtaining valuations.
  2. Ensures that all necessary evidence, such as valuation reports or psychological reports, are in place for the final hearing, to avoid any delays.
  3. Allows all unresolved issues to be identified, in anticipation of being determined at the Final Hearing.
  4. If everything above has been complied with, then a Final Hearing date will usually be set, along with any other necessary procedural orders such as for the filing of trial documents, and any updating reports.

Final hearing

The Final Hearing is the last court event, and it is heard before a Judge. At a Final Hearing a Judge hears evidence, cross examination and submissions, and makes a decision that determines your matter on a final basis. Decisions will be made on any outstanding issues, either parenting or property issues, or both.

A trial date will then be set at the discretion of the court based on the Court’s availabilities. The trial will usually be listed for multiple days. The length of a final hearing will depend on numerous factors such as how many issues are in the matter, how many witnesses are expected to be called for cross examination, and how many parties there are in the matter.

Next steps

If you or someone you know wants more information or needs help or advice with their family law matter, please contact our Intake team on (03) 8415 5600 or email us at reception@hartleyslawyers.com.au.

This article is intended to provide general information only and is limited to the Victorian jurisdiction only. You should obtain professional advice before you undertake any course of action.

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