CHAPTER 1


CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1        On 31 October 2012, the then Attorney-General, the Hon Nicola Roxon MP, (Attorney-General) introduced the Courts and Tribunals Legislation Amendment (Administration) Bill 2012 (Bill) into the House of Representatives.[1] On 1 November 2012, the Senate referred the provisions of the Bill to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee (committee) for inquiry and report by 5 February 2013.[2] The reporting date was subsequently extended until 25 February 2013.[3]

Purpose of the Bill

1.2        The Bill proposes amendments to the Native Title Act 1993 (Native Title Act), the Family Law Act 1975 (Family Law Act), the Federal Magistrates Act 1999 (Federal Magistrates Act),[4] and the Ombudsman Act 1976, which aim to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Family Court of Australia (Family Court), the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia (Federal Magistrates Court), the Federal Court of Australia (Federal Court) and the National Native Title Tribunal by reforming their administrative structures and processes.[5]

1.3        In particular, the Bill proposes amendments to:

  • transfer the National Native Title Tribunal's appropriations, staff and some of its administrative functions to the Federal Court;
  • reflect that the National Native Title Tribunal is no longer a statutory agency for the purposes of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997; and
  • facilitate the merger of the administrative functions of the Family Court and the Federal Magistrates Court.[6]

1.4        The Bill implements recommendations of the Strategic Review of Small and Medium Agencies in the Attorney-General's Portfolio, conducted by Mr Stephen Skehill and publicly released on 8 June 2012 (Skehill Review).[7]

Conduct of the inquiry

1.5        The committee advertised the inquiry in The Australian on 7 November 2012, and wrote to 107 stakeholders inviting submissions by 17 December 2012. Details of the inquiry, including the Bill and associated documents, were made available on the committee's website at www.aph.gov.au/senate_legalcon.

1.6        The committee received 10 submissions, which are listed at Appendix 1.

1.7        A public hearing was held in Canberra on 31 January 2013. A list of witnesses who gave evidence at the hearing are listed at Appendix 2.

Acknowledgement

1.8        The committee thanks those organisations and individuals who made submissions and gave evidence at the public hearing.

Note on references

1.9        References to the committee Hansard are to the proof Hansard. Page numbers may vary between the proof and the official Hansard transcript.

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