1. What happens at court

What to expect at the Family Court

What happens at court

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Overview

What happens at court depends on the type of event your case has been scheduled for. Sometimes you don’t need to go to court at all.

Attending court

If you do need to go to court, there are two types of court appearances in the Family Court - case conferences and hearings.

Types of case conferences

Types of hearings

While you’re inside the court room you must not:

  • swear
  • disturb the court in anyway
  • talk while a witness is talking.

If you have a question and someone else is talking, write it down. When it is your turn to speak, you can ask your question.

The court uses legal words and language. Sometimes it can be hard to understand what the judge and the lawyers are saying. If you need help understanding the legal words, ask your lawyer to explain them to you.

Judicial officers will oversee your case

Your case will be looked after and heard by a judicial officer. Depending on what stage your case is at and the decision that needs to be made, this could be a registrar or a judge.

The registrar will:

  • regularly check and manage your case to make sure that things are progressing
  • check that it is ready for a judge to make decisions
  • be able to make some decisions about your case that can help it move forward.

The judge will:

  • make decisions at a case conference to help your case move forward or to help you to resolve it. A judge can make a final decision at a case conference if everyone reaches an agreement.
  • make the final decision about your case at a hearing. They will do this after they hear all the evidence.

The judicial officer may make decisions ‘in chambers’ or ‘on the papers’

At any time during your case a judicial officer will read the documents that have been filed and consider what the next steps are. This may include procedural directions.

If something happens during your case, you may file a Memorandum explaining what has happened and what you would like the Court to do. This will be considered by a judicial officer without you having to attend court.  This is called making decisions or directions ‘in chambers’ or ‘on the papers’.

The general courtroom process

The general court room process applies to all Family Court cases.

1

Enter the court room

You should enter the courtroom and sit in the middle of the room, next to your lawyer. If you’re unsure where to sit, ask your lawyer or court staff for help.  

2

Stand for the judge

You’ll have to stand when the judge enters the court room. The Judge is often the last person to enter the room.

3

Present your case

Each side will present their case to the judge. You should only talk to the judge when it is your turn to speak. When you are speaking to the judge, you must call them Judge, Your Honour, Sir, or Ma’am.

4

Witnesses give evidence

If you are at a hearing, you, other parties, and any other witnesses may be asked to give evidence. They must swear or affirm that they will tell the truth. Other witnesses in your case will be called into the court room when it is their time to speak and will sit in the witness box.

In some cases, it may be necessary to give your evidence in another way. For example, from behind a screen in the witness box, or by video from outside of the court room. While this doesn't happen often, you can ask the judge to agree to giving your evidence another way if you think this is necessary. You or your lawyer will need to make a written application to the court as early as possible before the day of your hearing.

5

The judge makes a decision

The judge will make a decision and explain it to everyone in the room. Sometimes they may want to go over everything they have read and heard again and make their decisions later. If this happens, you will leave the court without knowing the judge’s decision. The Family Court will contact you to let you know the outcome.

6

Stand for the judge

You’ll have to stand when the judge leaves the room. They’re usually the first person to leave the room.

After the courtroom process

The judge will tell everyone involved in the case what their decision is. If you’re not sure about what will happen next, ask your lawyer to explain it to you.

If the judge makes a final decision, the court process is finished. This is called a Family Court outcome. Your outcome will usually include a court order and the reasons why the judge came to their decision. You may still have things to do even though your case is over.

What happens after your Family Court case has finished

Feeling overwhelmed?

Going to Family Court can be hard. It's normal to feel overwhelmed. There are services available to help and support through this time.

Visit our help page