Inquiry into Impact of Rises in Court Fees

An inquiry will be launched into the impact higher Federal Court fees have had on Australians' access to justice over the past three years after the former A-G Nicola Roxon introduced higher court fees for the Federal Court making a range of legal actions more expensive, including divorce applications and consent orders.

In an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, Senator Penny Wong is quoted as hoping that the inquiry "would uncover whether higher court fees were exacerbating barriers to justice, with growing pressures on courts and legal aid in crisis in a number of states, including Victoria."

Solicitors in family law have also claimed that the government's new divorce fee is so high it will limit access to the justice system for women who rely on social security after the breakdown of their marriages.

Law Council president Joe Catanzariti believes that this creates a situation where the big losers will be the working-class poor who cannot afford the family law fees, some of which have doubled since 2010.

The inquiry will also examine how revenue raised from higher fees has been spent and is due to report its findings to Parliament by June 6.

''We'd like to see that revenue going to legal assistance services such as community legal centres, Legal Aid, which is in crisis in some states, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services.''

Victoria Legal Aid expects to record a more than $3.1 million deficit this financial year due to ''unprecedented demand'' for its services. Commonwealth Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the government supported the inquiry because it wanted to explain why changes to fees would improve court services.

He called on the committee's members to consider the impact lawyers' costs and expenses had on litigants, ''of which court fees pose a very small component''.

TimeBase’s LawOne Service,  provides Australian Legislation in a consistent and reliable format. Contact us for a free trial.