The vast majority of property settlement matters are settled privately without the need for litigation in the Courts. This occurs for many reasons but the most important is that litigation is an expensive undertaking. Previously it could be difficult for cases involving a small pool of assets to be litigated as the costs could very well outweigh the benefit, leaving parties to accept offers of settlement simply because of commercial reasons.
The Priority Property Pool under $500,000 list
Recently the Courts have begun a pilot for these “small claim” property cases in the Paramatta Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia called, “The Priority Property Pool under $500,000 list”. This pilot will begin to be rolled out to other location including Newcastle from 28 November 2022.
It is a Court led initiative to give priority to these smaller, less complicated cases so they can move through the system quicker and with much less expenses. Its features include:
- Drastically reducing the documents each party is to file with the Court (e.g. No affidavits are required).
- Expedited hearing dates especially for Court events such as Conciliation Conferences (which is a formal type of mediation held at the Court).
- If there is no agreement parties can have their matter dealt with by a Judge at a “Short-form expedited hearing” rather than a traditional trial. This can have multiple benefits such as:
> A quicker hearing date. Parties not in this list can expect to wait around 12 months for a trial.
> A shorter hearing. For example the Judge can decide the rules of evidence do not apply to certain pieces of evidence, or that both parties are not to be cross-examined. This reduces the length of the hearing. In comparison, most trials take at least a day.
> A shorter wait for a judgment from the Judge after the hearing is concluded. In comparison, most judgments after trials take many months to be released to the parties.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible the following must apply:
- The net property of the parties (including superannuation) is likely to be less than $500,000 in value.
- There are no entities such as businesses, trusts, or self-managed superannuation funds that require a valuation or expert investigation; and
- The parties are only seeking property orders.
This scheme aims to give parties who have limited wealth the same ability to have their cases decided by a Judge without incurring disproportionate legal costs. If you are in the midst of a property settlement case or need assistance with any aspect of family law, please contact our office on (02) 4944 3322 to make an appointment with one of our family law solicitors.
