In June 2022 the FCFCoA rolled out what they have termed a Critical Incident List. The Critical Incident List specifically designed for matters where there is no available parent to care for a child due to death (including homicide), critical injury or incarceration due to family violence and where Orders are required so that appropriate arrangements can be made. The list is a National list and is managed by the Honourable Justice Jacoba Brash. The overarching objective to this list is to give access to and facilitate a prioritization of these matters within the Court system. It will allow matters to be dealt with on an urgent basis to facilitate a third party caring for and making decisions for a child or children where there is no parent as I described above. The list is National in all states and territories except Western Australia. The Chief Justice of the FCFCOA, the Hon Wil Alstergren, noted that the process will help not only the children but their families as well: “Family violence is a national disgrace, and far too often, results in the death of a parent at the hands of their partner or former partner… It is an extraordinarily tragic and stressful time for the children involved, and the extended family members who are suddenly left to pick up the pieces and care for the children and make arrangements for their health and education.”
