What's in a name?

A lot apparently. For those of you not in the know here is a little lesson on the structure of the Family Court.

Family law cases, either children or property, can be dealt with in either the:

1. Family Court of Australia; or
2. Federal Magistrate Court of Australia.

The Family Court has Judges who hear cases and the Federal Magistrate Court has, you guessed it Federal Magistrates.

In the early days the main difference between the two courts was that the Federal Magistrate Court could only hear cases where the total asset pool was less than $750,000 (we have tried to verify what the limit was but could not find out) and children cases had to be able to heard in two days.

Now there is barely any difference between the two courts with both hearing property cases of any value and children cases of any length (although the Family Court does tend to deal with more complex children cases).

And now, according to a press release, there is to be a change in name and Federal Magistrates will now be known as Judges.

Will any of this mean any changes for the user of the Court? We doubt it. There will still be delay, dissatisfaction by the public and it will still cost a lot to go to court.

But there is a new name and title.

Just so you know we did not make it up we have copied in the press release received by us lawyers.

New name for Federal Magistrates Court revealed, 13 September 2012

The Federal Magistrates Court will soon become the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, and the title of Federal Magistrate will be renamed Judge to better reflect their important role in Australia’s judicial system.

Attorney-General Nicola Roxon announced the change today as part of the government’s ongoing court reform agenda to provide greater certainty around the responsibilities and role of each of the federal courts.

“The Federal Circuit Court of Australia better reflects the Court’s modern role in the federal judicial system and its accessibility for all court users”, Ms Roxon said.

The new name for the Court also highlights the important service it provides to rural and regional communities through its program of regular court circuits.