Family Court of Australia - Less Adversarial Trials

Less Adversarial Trials

In July 2006, under Division 12A of Part VII of the Family Law Act, the Court implemented its model for 'less adversarial trials' - to be applied to all new child related proceedings in the Family Court, without the need for consent of the parties. According to the Court, the change from a traditional common law approach to a less adversarial trial "has significant implications, not only for the conduct of family law litigation, but also for the conduct of litigation as a whole."

According to the Family Court, "in a less adversarial trial:

• no affidavits are filed before the trial—parents only complete a questionnaire
• the judge, rather than the parties or their lawyers, decides how the trial is conducted
• the judge controls the case and keeps everyone concentrated on the major disagreements about their children’s best interests
• parents and carers can speak directly to the judge, not simply through their lawyers
• the judge identifies the issues to be decided and the evidence to be heard, and
• the judge is assisted by evidence from a family consultant."