Federal Circuit & Family Court of Australia - Lighthouse Update
Update to the Profession April 2023
New court process focuses on the safety of children and their families by identifying and addressing issues of family violence and other risks.
The expansion of Lighthouse supports the Courts’ priorities which includes the objective to shine a light on the scourge of family violence, improve the outcome of matters involving family violence and other risks, and to keep children and vulnerable parties safe. Since commencement of the expansion 60% of risk screens have been identified as high risk, with over 400 matters being placed on the Evatt List. This high number is indicative of the prevalence of serious and significant family violence and other family safety risks in, and vulnerability of, families entering the Courts. The Courts are focused on identifying and addressing risk, of all levels, and the importance of screening through Lighthouse cannot be understated.
The purpose of this update is to focus on the benefits of having a tailored case management approach, including the Evatt List. This update also provides answers to a number of frequently asked questions that the Courts have received. Practitioners are encouraged to review the previous update which was released in February 2023 that focuses on risk and includes links to the Lighthouse Webinar, detailing the Evatt List case management pathway.
The Lighthouse Update provides information on:
- Early and case-specific pathway to resolution
- Evatt List case management
- Confidentiality
- FAQs and
- Further information (per below)
The Courts have published a series of updates to the profession in advance of the expansion of Lighthouse and have published a recording of the Lighthouse Webinar. Practitioners are encouraged to review these updates as they contain important information about the expansion of Lighthouse and the Evatt List.
Further information can be found on the Courts’ website:
- Practice Directions
- Lighthouse including FAQs, fact sheets and detailed information on risk screening
- Evatt List
This update is also available online:
Lighthouse expansion - Update to the Profession April 2023 | Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (fcfcoa.gov.au)