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Critical Incident List to help families in a crisis
The Federal Circuit and the Family Court of Australia has established a new Critical Incident List, which commenced yesterday (6 June).
Simon Levett
Court orders are often needed during times of crisis. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia can make orders that enable non-parent carers to make appropriate arrangements for children, including enrolling children in school and organising and consenting to medical treatment.
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A new process known as the Critical Incident List – commenced on 6 June 2022 – will establish a fast-tracked process to help families where no parent is available as a result of death, critical injury or incarceration relating to family violence. The process has been established by the Federal Circuit and the Family Court of Australia.
The List will be managed by a dedicated, specialist division 1 judge, Justice Jacoba Brasch, on a national basis.
The Honourable Will Alstergren, Chief Justice of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, praised the establishment of the Critical Incident List.
He commented, “family violence is a national disgrace, and far too often, results in the death of a parent at the hands of their partner or former partner. Australia has witnessed too many situations in which children are left without the care of their biological or legal parent following the murder of one parent and the death or incarceration of the other.”
The Honourable Alstergren suggested that the Critical Incident List could be utilised in times of a crisis. He said that “it is an extraordinarily tragic and stressful time for the children involved, and the extended family members who are suddenly left to pick up the pieces and care for the children and make arrangements for their health and education”.
Brett Thompson, Queensland Homicide Victims’ Support Group chief executive officer, said that the Critical Incident List would provide greater support for children in the context of a crisis.
He remarked that “the impact upon children when a parent is lost through family violence is immeasurable, and our society must ensure that appropriate support is able to be put in place as an absolute priority. The energy and focus needs to be on the welfare of the children, and not on how to navigate the right to support them in the most basic of ways every day.”
