Half a century ago, Australians were queuing at courthouse doors in their thousands. The Family Law Act 1975, born from the Whitlam Government's reforming zeal, swept away the old fault-based divorce regime and replaced it with something radical: no longer did a spouse have to prove adultery, cruelty, or desertion to obtain a divorce.
On 5 January 1976, the Family Court of Australia opened its doors for the first time and was promptly swamped. Five million families have been through the courts since.
Marking 50 years of that quiet revolution, and reflecting on just how dramatically it reshaped Australian law and society, is Kathryn Kearley, College of Law lecturer, family law specialist, and our regular Family Law contributor.
A Quietly Radical Start
The Family Law Act 1975 was, by any measure, a watershed moment in Australian legal history.
"The enactment of the Family Law Act 1975 and the establishment of the Family Court of Australia in 1976 were radical developments that dramatically changed both our law and our society," Kathryn says.
Before the Act, divorce was adversarial by design. A spouse seeking to end a marriage had to prove fault, whether adultery, cruelty, or desertion, under the prior law. The new Act swept all of that away.
"Fault became irrelevant to divorce," Kathryn explains. "And importantly, parties could not collude to agree to obtain a divorce. The law had fundamentally changed the basis on which a marriage could be dissolved."
The Hon Elizabeth Evatt AC, who served as the Court's first Chief Judge from 1976 to 1988, recalled the immediate impact: "The Family Court opened in January 1976 and hundreds of people, if not thousands of people, came to the Court because they had been waiting patiently for the Act to come in so they could get their divorce without fault, so we were swamped with work."
A Court Built Differently
The Family Court was not simply a new court. It was a new kind of court.
"The Family Court adopted a cross-disciplinary approach by having child consultants report on what arrangements would be best for children under 18 years where their parents could not agree," Kathryn says.
This was a significant departure from the adversarial model that dominated Australian courts at the time. The Act introduced the principle that the best interests of the child were the paramount consideration in parenting matters, a concept that remains central to family law today.
"Many of the first judges appointed to the Court were experienced solicitors who had practised in family law," Kathryn notes. "They understood family law and its practical and human dimensions not just the law."
That commitment to the people involved in the cases before the court was evident from the outset. As Justice Evatt recalled: "Despite the challenges, there was very good morale, everyone who worked in the Family Court, all of the judges appointed to the Court, they were all highly committed to the principles of the Family Law Act, and to the services to help people resolve their disputes. We all loved that and we all wanted it to work."
Scrutiny, Violence, and Targeted Judges
The Court's history has not been without profound difficulty. It has faced sustained public and government scrutiny throughout its 50 years, and at times, something far darker.
The most harrowing chapter in the Court's history involved a series of violent crimes committed by Leonard Warwick in the 1980s. His attacks targeted individual judges, their families, lawyers who practised in the court and the institution itself. In 2020, almost four decades later, Warwick was finally found guilty of multiple crimes, including the 1980 murder of Justice David Opas, the 1984 murder of Pearl Watson, wife of Justice Ray Watson, and the bombings of Justice Richard Gee's home and the Court's Parramatta registry.
Despite this, the Court endures. This, too, speaks to how committed all who work in and for the Court are to its purpose.
Five Million Families Later
Today, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) stands as a world leader in its response to the complexities family disputes can involve.
"Through determination, innovation and integrity, the Court has supported over five million Australian families in their most challenging times," Chief Justice Alstergren said. “Over 180 Judges (past and present), together with CEOs, Registrars, Court Child Experts, and all other staff, should be incredibly proud of their contribution in helping families resolve their family law disputes, when they were unable to do so themselves.”
"To see the Court thrive as a superior court of record for over 50 years is quite remarkable. Although often shrouded in controversy because of the emotive nature of the work, it has always been a world-leading and innovative Court with judges who are incredibly committed to dispensing justice in the best interests of the child, with fair and equitable hearings."
In recent years, the Court has continued to evolve, introducing strengthened First Nations engagement, improved family violence and risk assessment processes, and the Court Dog Program, among other initiatives aimed at providing a more pragmatic experience of justice.
For Kathryn, the 50th anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on just how far Australian family law has come, and how much the Court's founding vision has shaped the legal landscape.
"The ideals that drove the creation of the Family Court in 1976 were bold ones," she reflects. "A court dedicated to helping families resolve their disputes, with the best interests of children at its heart, and a recognition that the breakdown of a marriage is not a matter of fault. Those ideals have proven remarkably durable."
Chief Justice Alstergren echoes this sentiment:
"I think the ideals that Prime Minister Whitlam had when he originated this Court have pretty much been borne out with the Court model we have now,” said Chief Justice Alstergren. “I believe the originators of this Court would be very proud of the legacy created."
Half a century on, the Family Court continues to do what it was always designed to do: assist Australian families to reach resolution of the issues that can emerge on relationship breakdown and while in challenging circumstances.
