Two courts, one front door
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021 set it up as two courts, Division 1 and Division 2, kept separate but run through one administration built so each supports the other. The court describes the benefit of that arrangement as “a single point of entry for all family law matters”.
Division 1
A continuation of the Family Court of Australia. It is a specialist family law court and hears the most complex family law trials and appeals.
Division 2
A continuation of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. Its work covers family law and a broad federal jurisdiction that includes migration, fair work, bankruptcy and consumer law.
Family law appeals from Division 2 are heard by a single judge of Division 1, unless the Chief Justice considers a Full Court appropriate. Appeals from Division 1 are heard by a Full Court.
The court also says what it is aiming for. It aims to resolve 90 per cent of family law cases within 12 months of filing. It also expects people to make genuine attempts at dispute resolution, where it is safe to do so, and calls court proceedings a last resort.
The Brisbane registry
These are the family law details the court gives for Brisbane, as shown on its Brisbane page in October 2026.
| Detail | What the court lists |
|---|---|
| Address | Harry Gibbs Commonwealth Law Courts Building, 119 North Quay, Brisbane |
| GPO Box 9991, Brisbane 4001 | |
| Telephone | 1300 352 000 |
| Telephone hours | 8:30 to 17:00 |
| Opening hours | 8:45 to 16:30 |
The court’s Brisbane page also lists the enquiry forms and email contacts for filing, divorce hearings and subpoenas, and the separate details for general federal law.
Getting there, and inside the building
- Roma Street railway station is a short walk away. Buses run along George Street and pull in between Turbot and Tank Streets, and the way into a public car park is on Tank Street.
- Wheelchair access is through the main entrance on Tank Street, with lifts to all public floors.
- There are no public telephones.
- Bathrooms, including disabled facilities, are on each level, and parents’ rooms with baby-changing facilities are on the ground floor and level 3.
- Hearing loops are available if you contact the registry in advance.
- The court asks that documents needing a Justice of the Peace are signed, witnessed and photocopied before you come to the registry.
Free legal help in the building
The Brisbane page lists two duty lawyer services: Legal Aid Queensland on level 1 and Caxton Legal Centre on level 2, each open Monday to Friday, 9.30 am to 4 pm. Both are only for people whose matters are listed in court that day. For people without a lawyer, their help can include information sessions, referrals, help applying for legal aid, preparing documents including urgent applications, and duty appearances in court. There is more on free help in legal aid and free help in Queensland.
What registry staff can and cannot do
The court is clear that its staff help with forms and process, never with legal advice.
Staff can
- help you understand which forms you may need to file, and check your paperwork is complete
- explain how the court works and how a case is managed at each stage
- give you your hearing date, time and location
- help you register for and use the Commonwealth Courts Portal
- tell you how to find an interpreter for your hearing
- refer you to outside services that help people with legal issues.
Staff cannot
- give you legal advice, or tell you what to write in your court documents
- tell you what to say in court
- recommend a lawyer to act for you
- predict how the court will decide your case
- explain what a judicial officer’s orders mean, or change an order once it is made.
For people at court in Queensland there is also Court Network, a court support service in Victoria and Queensland whose volunteers offer people at court support, information and referrals. Its site is courtnetwork.com.au.
Filing, and the online portal
The court says applications should be eFiled online through the Commonwealth Courts Portal. Once orders are finalised they are signed and sealed electronically, and you can download them from the portal. Court fees are set by federal government regulations, not by the court.
Divorce is a completely separate process from financial or property proceedings, and the court has its own divorce pages. Arrangements for children have their own section of the court’s site too. This guide stays with the court process and property.
One thing this court does not do
The court does not make family violence orders. They are made under state and territory law, and in Queensland they are called Domestic Violence Orders. If you have one, the court says you must tell it about the order before you attend. Family violence and safety at court covers what the registry can arrange.
How a case moves
Family law cases follow a nationally consistent case management pathway. The first step in court, the first court event, usually happens between 1 and 2 months after filing unless the matter is urgent. What happens at a first court event walks through it, and before you file covers the steps the rules require first.