The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) have expanded a virtual appearance platform pilot.
From yesterday, 11 November, each of the following virtual court events in the New South Wales registries, including Albury and Lismore, and the Australian Capital Territory, will be conducted using the Webex platform:
- Family Law Registrars: First return lists; Directions Hearing and Mentions; Interim defended hearings and Dispute resolution conferences;
- Family Law and General Federal Law hearings before Judges.
This represents an expansion of an earlier pilot, which was conducted from 17 June 2024 to 6 September 2024 with select judges, senior judicial registrars, judicial registrars and deputy registrars nationally.
Following the pilot’s overwhelming success, the Webex pilot will run until further notice.
Parties and practitioners will no longer receive listing emails from chambers containing a Microsoft Teams link ahead of their Court events. They will instead be able to refer to the Commonwealth Courts Portal or the daily Court List on the Courts’ website to obtain the relevant Webex link.
These changes will also lead to important efficiencies internally for the Courts, allowing staff to better support judges, registrars and the matters that they preside over or mediate.
All other virtual Court events for matters heard by judges or registrars in matters outside of NSW and ACT will continue to be conducted via Microsoft Teams. In certain exceptional circumstances, dispute resolution conferences listed outside of the NSW/ACT registries may be conducted via Webex. If this is the case, the affected parties and practitioners will be advised of the relevant contact details in advance of the conference.
The following resources are applicable to Webex virtual Court events and practitioners can refresh their knowledge at below links:
- Practitioner and Litigant Guide to Electronic Hearings | Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for information relevant to connecting to, participating and engaging in Webex virtual Court hearings.
- Electronic hearings | Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for information relevant to participating in virtual Court hearings, including Court etiquette.
- Cisco Webex | Test online meeting for practitioners and parties to familiarise themselves with a Webex meeting prior to their virtual Court event.
Share this article