Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bill 2019 and another

The majority voted in favour of a motion to pass the bills, as amended, in the Senate. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read the bills for a third time. The bills will now go back to the House of Representatives for them to decide whether they agree with the Senate amendments. If they do, the bills will become law.

What do the bills do?

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bill 2019 was introduced along with Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2019. Together, the purpose of the bills is to combine the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and the Family Court of Australia into a single Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The effect of this is to abolish the Family Court as a stand-alone court.