Federal courts in Angas Street, Adelaide, hear commonwealth law matters such as tax, family and native title
The Roma Mitchell Commonwealth Law Courts Building in Angas Street, Adelaide.
Matters relating to federal law are heart in Adelaide at the Roma Mitchell Commonwealth Law Courts Building in Angas Street. This includes family law and child support, administrative law, native title, taxation, intellectual property, bankruptcy, consumer protection, human rights, industrial law, privacy law and migration matters.
The Federal Circuit Court of Australia shares the Angas Street building with the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Court of Australia.
The Federal Court of Australia deals with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some less serious criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single judges.
The court has an appeal division to the full court of three Judges and then to the high court of Australia. In the Australian court hierarchy, the federal court is equivalent to supreme courts in the states and territories. It is equal to the family court of Australia and and superior to the federal circuit court.
The Federal Circuit Court of Australia was set up in 1999 and had its first sittings in Adelaide in 2000.
The court provides a simple, shorter and accessible alternative to litigation in the Federal Court of Australia and the Family Court of Australia and to ease the workload of those courts. The court has been directed to operate informally in a streamlined way and to encourage people to engage in resolving disputes.
The court has an expansive regional circuit network. Judges regularly travel to regional locations to hear matters.
The jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit Court has grown and broadly includes family law and child support, administrative law, admiralty law, bankruptcy, copyright, human rights, industrial law, migration, privacy and trade practices.
The court deals with about 95% of migration and bankruptcy applications filed in the federal courts. About 90% of the court's workload is in family law.
