Make a Submission to the Family Court Review

This is your chance to let the government know your experiences and suggestions for improvement around family court processes and relationship separation. In 2014 major changes were made to the support and advice available to separating parents to help them agree on how their children will be cared for.

Why Should I Get Involved
The government is interested in hearing from people who have gone through this family court process since the 2014 changes. They are interested in hearing from specific groups of people in the community. These include Disabled and Deaf parents and guardians, plus young people and children with disabilities who have been involved in separations.

The government has set up an Independent Panel to do the work around this review of the family court. Their first job is to gather your experiences and stories through a submission process.

Submissions must be received by Friday 9 November 2018 at 5pm.

Ways to Have your Say
Complete the Submission Online
The online submission is divided into three main sections, each section has three to four sets of questions, about different parts of the family court process. The three main sections are about:
Out-of-court processes
In-court processes
The role of professionals.

In the online submission you can choose which section and questions you fill in. Go to the Ministry of Justice website and fill in the submission at Rewriting the 2014 Family Justice System Reforms Consultation Page

There is a Glossary, explaining key terms, on the Ministry of Justice website's Consultation Page. Go to the online submission glossary

You can also write or record your own submission
Post it to Family Justice Reforms, SX10088, Wellington 6011
Email it to FamilyJusticeReforms
Send your audio or video submission (20MB max) to FamilyJusticeReforms

Use the Easy Read Submission
Use the Easy Read submission document to have your say. The submission questions start on page 39 of the Easy Read document. There is lots of information about the different parts of the family court process. You can choose which sections you fill in.

To do your submission go to the Easy Read Have Your Say: The 2014 Family Justice System Changes document

Tell Your Story in Your Own Words
There is also an opportunity for people to share their stories and experiences of the family justice system and separation. People can also tell the Independent Panel about their experiences about other family court processes, such as Welfare Guardianship and Property Orders. While this is outside the current review, the Independent Panel is able to recommend further work to the government about other parts of the family court system.

To share your experience go to Ministry of Justice webpage Korero Mai - Tell Us Your Story

Remember submissions must be received by Friday 9 November 2018 at 5pm.

Please Note
Submissions could be obtained through Official Information Act requests. When you are answering questions and telling your story, we suggest you do not include identifying details about specific cases or people such as names, addresses, case numbers or court documents in your submission. Go to the Ministry of Justice’s Korero Mai - Tell Us Your Story webpage to find out what will happen with your information at Overview and Privacy Page

More Information
For a summary of the 2014 changes go to the Ministry of Justice webpage at Background - Changes to the Family Justice System in 2014
For more detailed information on the current Review of the Family Justice System go to the Have Your Say on the Family Justice System - A Consultation Document

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