From 1 July 2016, the Courts Administration Legislation Amendment Act 2016 merged the corporate services of the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia with the Federal Court of Australia into a single administrative entity – the Federal Court of Australia. The entity also includes the National Native Title Tribunal.
The Act makes provision for the courts to share corporate services including Human Resources, Information Technology, Finance as well as other functions.
Under the arrangement, each court remains independent to fulfil its statutory obligations. Heads of Jurisdiction continue to be responsible for managing the administrative affairs of their respective courts (excluding corporate services), with assistance from a Chief Executive Officer and Principal Registrar. All staff of the courts are employed by the Federal Court of Australia under the Public Service Act 1999 regardless of which court or tribunal they work for or provide services to.
