NSW Waiting for Family Court Final Orders - How Long Until Judgement?

[Been2Trial]

As title says, I went to full trial in May/June and I am still waiting for the final orders/judgment to be made. I didn't expect it to happen overnight but we're now 3/4 months after the trial and still nothing?

I am sure the answer is sadly going to be "that's not an unusual time to be waiting for final orders", I was wondering if I could get an idea of realistically how long I should wait before checking 'what's up?'

Thankyou in advance!

 

[AllForHer]

Perhaps it would be worthwhile calling the Family Law Registry or emailing the judge's associate for an update.

It does take time though. The Court is grossly under-resourced for both time and money.

 

[Lennon]

After 3 months it is appropriate to email the Judge's Associate and politely enquire as to the progress of the matter (make sure you CC the other party).

 

[Rod]

make sure you CC the other party

What is the reasoning for this statement?

 

[Lennon]

What is the reasoning for this statement?

All parties should always copy the other party when communicating with the Judge's Associate, unless it relates to an ex parte application.

 

[Rod]

And the source of this rule/practice? I am not questioning you with my questioning, just wanting to learn

 

[Been2Trial]

Thanks for the responses everyone - I instructed my lawyers and they have done as suggested above now! Fingers crossed for a favorable result soon

 

[Lennon]

And the source of this rule/practice? I am not questioning you with my questioning, just wanting to learn

For lawyers it is a professional conduct issue.

For unrepresented litigants the source is usually in a practice direction. For example in the Federal Circuit Court, the policy is here Communicating with Judges' Chambers - Federal Circuit Court of Australia
and the specific direction is "In cases of genuine urgency or in the event that consent is not forthcoming within a reasonable period of time, contact with an Associate should be made, in writing, and contemporaneously, a copy of that communication forwarded to each other party/practitioner."

 

[Rod]

Hi Lennon,

Ok, lawyers I understand -> professional courtesy <- r 4.1.2 SCR

SRLs on the other hand don't have this duty and to me this seems like an administrative query (checking release date on orders) rather than a substantive query and probably falls outside the policy directive.

 

[AllForHer]

@Rod...

Sure, they don't have to, but the Court has often condemned parties who communicate with the Court without including the other party. You wouldn't think it such an issue that the Court would actually mention it in its decision, but it has, and more than once.