WHITE PAPER ยท 30 MAY 2025
Establishing the Family Court Investigative Service (FCIS)
Investigate. Enforce. Regulate. Advocate. Prosecute.
A proposal for urgent family law reform: the investigative, enforcement, regulatory and child-advocacy backbone the family law system has never had.
The Missing Piece
Australia has merged its family courts, harmonised the rules and modernised case management. Those reforms were necessary, but they were administrative. They did not fix the core failures: orders that go unenforced when breached, false allegations and litigation abuse that go unchecked, children heard inconsistently and too late, and expert reports that vary wildly in quality and ethics.
At the same time, state protection orders and federal parenting orders often collide. Parents hold valid orders but are blocked by conflicting conditions, and police are left unsure which to enforce.
The white paper proposes a federally legislated, independent Family Court Investigative Service that works within the judiciary's framework, not over it. It sets out the agency's structure, a draft FCIS Act, operating protocols, staffing, budget, a phased rollout, and direct answers to the most likely objections.
FCIS is not a rejection of the current system. It is its completion.
Five Pillars, Built-In Safeguards
Investigate
Neutral, evidence-based investigation of allegations of abuse, coercion or misconduct, with full reports to the court within 21 business days.
Enforce
Enforcement officers who carry out court orders within days, not months, partnering with state police through a national training and liaison program.
Regulate
National accreditation, annual audits and a public register for family consultants and report writers, with escalating consequences for poor practice.
Advocate
Independent, trauma-informed child advocates who stay with a child for the whole case and report on their lived experience, not custody recommendations.
Prosecute
Referral or prosecution of only the most serious misconduct: perjury, repeated contempt and maliciously false allegations.
Safeguards
Fact-finding, not fact-deciding. Judges keep full discretion, emergency actions face judicial review within 48 hours, enforcement is recorded on body-worn cameras, and oversight sits with an independent board and the Ombudsman.
By the Numbers
$102.1M
Year-one pilot in NSW and VIC
1,545
Staff at full national rollout, including 900 child advocates
21 days
Target for full investigation reports
<0.4%
Of the federal justice budget at full rollout (white paper estimate)
A Phased Rollout
- Months 1โ6: FCIS Act passed, Commissioner appointed, headquarters established.
- Months 6โ12: NSW and VIC pilot offices operational and staffed.
- Months 13โ18: Audit tabled in Parliament and protocols refined.
- Years 2โ5: State-by-state national expansion.
- Year 5+: Performance review, oversight report and long-term funding review.
Our Call to Action
We call on Parliament to pass a Family Court Investigative Service Act, the Attorney-General to lead drafting and intergovernmental cooperation, and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia to co-design the pilot.
Read the Full White Paper
PDF ยท Free to download and share
This is a policy reform proposal. The information on this page is general in nature and is not legal advice.