Federal Circuit Court of Australia

Federal Circuit Court of Australia
The Federal Court Building in Melbourne, a location of the Federal Circuit Court
Established	1999
Jurisdiction	Australia
Location	Canberra Sydney and regional NSW Darwin and Alice Springs Brisbane and regional Qld Adelaide and Mount Gambier Hobart, Launceston, Burnie Melbourne and regional Victoria
Decisions are appealed to	Federal Court of Australia; Family Court of Australia
Decisions are heard for appeals from	Federal tribunals: Administrative Appeals Tribunal Australian Competition Tribunal Copyright Tribunal Defence Force Discipline Appeal Tribunal Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal Federal Police Disciplinary Tribunal Migration Review Tribunal National Native Title Tribunal Refugee Review Tribunal Remuneration Tribunal Secretariat Social Security Appeals Tribunal Superannuation Complaints Tribunal
Website	www.federalcircuitcourt.gov.au
Chief Judge
Currently	John Pascoe AC, CVO
Since	2004

The Federal Circuit Court of Australia (formerly known as the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia) is an Australian court with jurisdiction over matters broadly relating to family law and child support, administrative law, admiralty law, bankruptcy, copyright, human rights, industrial law, migration, privacy and trade practices.

The Court was created to deal with the increasing workload of the Federal Court of Australia and the Family Court of Australia, by hearing less complex cases for them and freeing those Courts to deal only with more complex cases. The Federal Circuit Court deals with approximately 95% of migration and bankruptcy applications filed in the federal courts. Approximately 90% of the Court's workload is in the area of family law. The Court also deals with nearly 80% of all family law matters filed in the federal courts. It is also intended to replace (in part) the federal jurisdiction with which state courts have been invested under the Judiciary Act 1903.

Established on 23 December 1999 by the Australian Government as the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia, as a result of royal assent of the Federal Magistrates Act 1999 (Cth), the court is now known as the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and the Act as the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999. Its first judicial officers were appointed in 2000; it first applications were filed on 23 June 2000 and the Court’s first sittings were conducted on 3 July 2000 in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta and Townsville.