Federal Magistrates Court of Australia
Practice and Procedures
Specialist Panels
Specialist Panels in General Federal Law
The Court has established specialist panels for its general federal law jurisdictions in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Similar
panels will be established in other registries.
Panels comprise federal magistrates with expertise in that particular jurisdiction.
Current panels include:
Commercial – including bankruptcy, copyright and trade practices
Admiralty
Migration and administrative
Human rights
Industrial
National security
Divisions and the industrial law panel
The Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 included miscellaneous amendments to the Federal Magistrates Act 1999 to establish two Divisions within the Federal Magistrates Court, a Fair Work Division, to hear and determine matters arising under the Fair Work Act 2009, and a General Division, to hear and determine matters arising under all other jurisdictions.
As from 1 July 2009 proceedings in the Court must be instituted, heard and determined in one of these Divisions.
The industrial law panel was established prior to commencement of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 and it is not intended that there will be any change to the allocation of industrial law proceedings from 1 July 2009 with the addition of the Fair Work division. Those Federal Magistrates who currently have industrial law matters docketed to them will continue to be allocated such proceedings in accordance with the usual listing practices.
For more information on panels:
See: Notice to Practitioners –
Specialist panels in general federal law in the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia
See: National General Federal Law and Child Support Panels, Summary of Panel Arrangement as at 7 June 2010 (PDF)
Information for practitioners:
Information for practitioners is available in the following Court jurisdictions:
Admiralty: Conduct of maritime and admiralty work in the Federal
Magistrates Court of Australia
Migration: Notices to Litigants and Practitioners regarding migration
proceedings in the Federal Magistrates Court (NSW and Victoria) December 2005
See also:
General Federal Law Matters brochure,
Administrative Law,
Bankruptcy,
Consumer Protection and Trade Practices,
Copyright,
Family and Child Support,
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Law (Unlawful Discrimination)
Migration,
Privacy,
Industrial Law,
Admiralty Law,
Specialist Panels in Family Law
National Child Support Panel
The Court has established a national specialist panel for its child support jurisdiction. Other specialist panels have been established in some areas of the Court's general federal law jurisdiction. These panels comprise federal magistrates with expertise in that particular jurisdiction
See: Notice to litigants and practioners - specialist panel for child support