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The Courts have announced the expansion and continuation of the COVID-19 list. The reasons cited in this latest media release for entering the COVID list include the suspension of time due to a family violence order obtained during the pandemic, that is rather than the alleged victim bringing the matter before the court due to a claim of increased family violence the alleged perpetrator could bring the matter before the court due to a reduction in time. No doubt this is in response to the delays or other issues with criminal hearings in many local courts.
Interestingly disputes about vaccinations for COVID are also specifically mentioned in this latest media release.
While the COVID-19 list is for urgent matters, the inclusion of new criteria for entering the list indicates that these types of disputes are growing. Additionally the practice notes for the COVID-19 list still cite reliance on the Core Principles of Case Management which include the importance of ADR. Furthermore the COVID-19 practice notes themselves note that the parties need to give evidence of attempts to resolve the matter, or reasons why that was not safe.
Mostly though we found the inclusion of vaccinations in the list, when vaccinations are not yet available in Australia nor is there a date on the horizon, to be an interesting inclusion. It would seem that the Court anticipates some argument about this, and so the mediators dealing with family law matters probably should too.
Making a change in 2021?
Are you thinking about making a change in 2021? We are running an event on Thursday 28 January 2021 titled "Starting a new family mediation practice" where we will cover a number of practical considerations for launching a firm. You can find out more about it here.
It is aimed at people who are looking to launch their own practice, or have done so in the last year. If, however, one or two of the topics are of interest to you and you want to be sent the video recording and papers for those topics then you can sign up for a product demonstration with Shannel Fanous prior to 21 January 2021 to get those two topics for free. If you are interested in a demo with Shannel you can book that in here.
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