The Family Court of Australia (FCoA) has had a long interest in, and commitment to the provision of services to meet the needs of its culturally diverse clients. There have been many initiatives undertaken over the years.
However, the Court has recognised that the various initiatives that it has been undertaking have not always been uniformly adopted or well understood across all locations. As such, at the first meeting of the National Ethnic Awareness Committee it was decided that it was important that the Court review its progress in the area against benchmarks set by Government policy and best practice in a wide range of organisations. It was also agreed that the Court needed to establish a framework for developing strategies to improve the Court's services to ethnic and culturally diverse Australians.
In undertaking the project, the Court has demonstrated a willingness to engage in critical self-examination in relation to the way, in which it has, and is currently delivering services to its diverse client groups, in an effort to ensure continuous quality improvement.