The Federal Magistrates Court (also known as the Federal Magistrates Service or the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia[1]) is an Australian court established by the Federal Magistrates Act 1999 (Cth), although its first officers were not appointed until 2000. The court was created to deal with the increasing workload of the Federal Court of Australia and the Family Court of Australia, by hearing less complex cases for them and freeing them to deal only with more complex cases. The court now hears over 70% of applications filed in the federal courts. It is also intended to replace (in part) the federal jurisdiction with which state courts have been invested under the Judiciary Act 1903.
On 5 May 2009, the federal Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, announced the proposed abolition of the Federal Magistrates Court. All family law matters would revert to the Family Court while other matters would be heard in the Federal Court. No date had been given for this change.[2] On 25 May 2010 the abolition proposal has been reported as being reversed.[3]
The Federal Magistrates Court was initially called the Federal Magistrates Service. As the court's jurisdiction has increased the name of the court has become less appropriate as a description of the court's work. The Federal Magistrates Court now exercises a jurisdiction far greater than that of the state magistrates courts and similar to that of the state district and county courts in Australia.
There are now over 60 Federal Magistrates in Australia. The first Chief Federal Magistrate, Diana Bryant left the court in 2004 when she was appointed the Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, the third person to be appointed that position since the establishment of the Family Court. The current Chief Federal Magistrate is John Pascoe AO. The current members of the court come from a wide variety of backgrounds, including barristers, solicitors, academic lawyers, and legal aid and public service lawyers.
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The Federal Magistrates of the court are[4]:
| Name | Location | Appointed |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Federal Magistrate John Pascoe AO | Sydney | 14 July 2004 |
| Federal Magistrate Warren Donald | Parramatta | 13 June 2000 |
| Federal Magistrate Christine Mead | Adelaide | 13 June 2000 |
| Federal Magistrate Michael Baumann | Brisbane | 19 June 2000 |
| Federal Magistrate Jim Brewster | Canberra | 19 June 2000 |
| Federal Magistrate Norah Hartnett | Melbourne | 19 June 2000 |
| Federal Magistrate Stephen Scarlett | Sydney | 19 June 2000 |
| Federal Magistrate John Coker | Townsville | 26 June 2000 |
| Federal Magistrate Rolf Driver | Sydney | 31 July 2000 |
| Federal Magistrate Kenneth Raphael | Sydney | 31 July 2000 |
| Federal Magistrate Stuart Lindsay | Adelaide | 19 January 2004 |
| Federal Magistrate Stuart Roberts | Launceston | 4 December 2000 |
| Federal Magistrate Giles Coakes | Newcastle | 12 January 2004 |
| Federal Magistrate Shenagh Barnes | Sydney | 5 November 2001 |
| Federal Magistrate Maurice Phipps | Melbourne | 18 December 2000 |
| Federal Magistrate Stewart Brown | Adelaide | 5 November 2001 |
| Federal Magistrate John Walters | Melbourne | 29 October 2001 |
| Federal Magistrate Michael Connolly | Melbourne | 4 June 2001 |
| Federal Magistrate Frank Turner | Melbourne | 3 October 2006 |
| Federal Magistrate Toni Lucev | Perth | 14 August 2006 |
| Federal Magistrate David Halligan | Parramatta | 31 July 2006 |
| Federal Magistrate John O'Sullivan | Melbourne | 10 July 2006 |
| Federal Magistrate Michael Jarrett | Brisbane | 2 February 2004 |
| Federal Magistrate Philip Burchardt | Melbourne | 10 July 2006 |
| Federal Magistrate Heather Riley | Melbourne | 3 July 2006 |
| Federal Magistrate Kate Hughes | Melbourne | 30 January 2006 |
| Federal Magistrate Louise Henderson | Parramatta | 28 November 2005 |
| Federal Magistrate Keith Slack | Brisbane | 12 September 2005 |
| Federal Magistrate Kevin Lapthorn | Newcastle | 29 August 2005 |
| Federal Magistrate Sylvia Emmett | Sydney | 5 July 2004 |
| Federal Magistrate Robyn Sexton | Sydney | 27 September 2004 |
| Federal Magistrate Nick Nicholls | Sydney | 23 August 2004 |
| Federal Magistrate Matthew Smith | Sydney | 2 August 2004 |
| Federal Magistrate Daniel O'Dwyer | Melbourne | 2 August 2004 |
| Federal Magistrate Michael Lloyd-Jones | Sydney | 26 July 2004 |
| Federal Magistrate Grant Riethmuller | Melbourne | 19 July 2004 |
| Federal Magistrate Paul Howard | Brisbane | 9 July 2007 |
| Federal Magistrate Robert Cameron | Sydney | 3 October 2006 |
| Federal Magistrate Tom Altobelli | Sydney | 13 November 2006 |
| Federal Magistrate Michael Burnett | Brisbane | 24 November 2006 |
| Federal Magistrate Stephen Coates | Brisbane | 24 November 2006 |
| Federal Magistrate Dale Kemp | Sydney | 4 July 2007 |
| Federal Magistrate Warwick Neville | Canberra | 2 July 2007 |
| Federal Magistrate Leanne Spelleken | Brisbane | 11 December 2006 |
| Federal Magistrate Denys Simpson | Adelaide | 12 June 2007 |
| Federal Magistrate Janet Terry | Newcastle | 10 April 2007 |
| Federal Magistrate Charlotte Kelly | Adelaide | 12 March 2007 |
| Federal Magistrate Leanne Turner | Darwin | 7 June 2010 |
| Federal Magistrate Joe Harman | Parramatta | 7 June 2010 |
| Federal Magistrate Dominica Whelan | Melbourne | 24 May 2010 |
| Federal Magistrate Josephine Willis | Cairns | 27 January 2009 |
| Federal Magistrate Peter Cole | Adelaide | 24 November 2008 |
| Federal Magistrate Susan Purdon-Sully | Brisbane | 15 October 2007 |
| Federal Magistrate Geoffrey Monahan | Sydney | 3 November 2008 |
| Federal Magistrate Margaret Cassidy | Brisbane | 5 November 2007 |
| Federal Magistrate Barbara Baker | Hobart | 27 October 2008 |
| Federal Magistrate David Dunkley | Sydney | 13 October 2008 |
| Federal Magistrate Terry McGuire | Melbourne | 6 October 2008 |
| Federal Magistrate Judith Walker | Sydney | 22 September 2008 |
| Federal Magistrate Evelyn Bender | Melbourne | 15 September 2008 |
| Federal Magistrate Anne Demack | Brisbane | 22 September 2008 |
Federal Magistrates are assisted by Associates and Deputy Associates, many of whom are qualified lawyers.
The court sits permanently in each state capital, although in Perth it only hears general federal law matters as the Family Court of Western Australia has sole jurisdiction over family law in that state. The court also sits permanently in the major regional centres of Launceston, Cairns, Townsville, Parramatta and Newcastle and circuits to a large number of regional cities regularly to hear family law cases. The court hears some applications and evidence by telephone or video evidence when parties or witnesses live a long way from the court.
In keeping with the requirement in sec 3 of the Federal Magistrates Act that the court act 'as informally as possible in the exercise of judicial power' barristers are not required to robe when appearing before the court, although in Queensland the local Bar Association has determined that it is appropriate to do so. The court also has simpler rules than the Family Court or the Federal Court.
Bankruptcy, migration and family law comprise the largest components of the Court's work.[5]
The Court has original jurisdiction under the Administrative Decisions Judicial Review Act. The Court, on remittal from the Federal Court, hears appeals from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
The vast majority of bankruptcy court cases in Australia are heard by the Court (92% in 2004-5).[5]
The Court may hear civil actions, with broad powers including unlimited damages, under the Copyright Act 1968 for:
The largest component of the Court's workload comprises family law matters. It hears almost all divorce applications,[5] and also deals with:
There is no monetary limit on the jurisdiciton of the FMC in Family Law.
Reform in 2005 limited first instance jurisdiction to the Federal Magistrates Court and the High Court to review administrative decisions made by the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, the Refugee Review Tribunal and the Migration Review Tribunal.
In this area, the Court may determine claims, awarding a maximum of $750,000 in damages [6], in relation to:
The Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Court of Australia to hear and determine complaints of unlawful discrimination based on sex, age, race and disability. Its power to grant relief is wide - it may, for example, grant unlimited damages.
The court also has jurisdiction over admiralty, workplace relations and privacy matters.