In announcing today (5 July) that the Family Court of Western Australia will receive a one-off $712,000 payment to help it cope with an increase in case load, the Attorney-General said that the decision of WA to have a separate Family Court "inhibits the effective allocation of national judicial resources".

"The Commonwealth would welcome Western Australia reviewing its position on maintaining a separate Family Court to enable more effective allocation of judicial resources," McClelland said.

The Family Court of Australia operates under the Federal Court system, with Western Australia the only state that has its own separate Family Court.

Both the Family Court of Australia and the Family Court of Western Australia were established in 1975. The Family Court of WA is vested with state and federal jurisdiction.

The extra Federal Government funding will extend the term of the acting magistrate and support staff for the next 12 months.