Family Court Act 1980, s 11

The Family Court deals with a wide range of family law issues, including:

• guardianship, including appointing guardians and resolving disputes between them (see “Guardianship of children” in this chapter)
• care arrangements for children (see “Care arrangements when parents have separated” in this chapter)
• abuse and neglect of children (see the chapter “Dealing with Oranga Tamariki / Ministry for Children”)
• adoption (see “Adoption” in this chapter)
• separation and dissolution (divorce) for marriages and civil unions (see the chapter “Relationships and break-ups”)
• relationship property (see the chapter “Relationships and break-ups”)
• family violence – which the law used to call “domestic” violence (see the chapter “Family violence and elder abuse”)
• disputes about wills (see the chapter “Wills”)
• mental health compulsory assessment and treatment (see the chapter “Mental health”)
• decision-making for people who have become mentally incapacitated (see the chapter “Decision making and powers of attorney”)

Family Court Act 1980, ss 10, 12A

The Family Court Act requires the Family Court to avoid unnecessary formality.

The rules of evidence are also more flexible in the Family Court – the judges are allowed to accept a wide variety of evidence, including evidence that wouldn’t be allowed in other courts.

Family Court Act 1980, s 5, District Court Act 2016, s 15

• Judges – To be appointed as a Family Court Judge you must have at least seven years’ experience as a lawyer, and you must also have the right training, experience and personality for dealing with family disputes.
• Registry staff – The Family Court registry staff make some of the procedural decisions that keep a case moving towards a final decision by a judge – for example, timetabling decisions about when the next step in the case has to completed. The registry staff are also responsible for managing individual cases: if you have a question about your own case you should contact the staff member whose name is on any letters you’ve received from the Family Court about your case.
• Family Court Coordinator – The coordinator can give you information about the court and its services. They also liaise with other people involved in Family Court processes such as specialist report writers (psychologists for example), social workers and lawyers appointed for children. Most Family Courts have a coordinator. If it’s a smaller Family Court that doesn’t have one, the court manager will be able to help you.