The Magellan program was developed to deal with Family Court cases involving serious allegations of physical and sexual child abuse. As these cases involve the most vulnerable children, the Family Court has implemented this fast-track program in all of its registries. Magellan involves:
rigorous judicial management including the imposition of strict timeframes
an early ‘front loading’ of resources such as the appointment of an independent children’s lawyer
requesting information from the relevant state or territory welfare authority early in the trial process, and
close liaison on case management between external information providers and a small team of judges, registrars and family consultants.
The Magellan approach is based on:
cooperation with other organisations, such as state welfare authorities, which have had contact with the family
a focus on the children in the dispute
a judge leading and managing the proceedings from the beginning within a tightly managed and time limited approach
the Court’s ability to order expert investigations and assessments from the respective state/territory child protection agency and/or a court family consultant, and
a designated court-ordered independent children’s lawyer for every child, funded by legal aid.
Magellan process Family Court cases that involve serious allegations of child abuse go into the Court’s Magellan program where they are dealt with as effectively and efficiently as possible. When a Notice of Child Abuse, Family Violence, or Risk of Family Violence (Form 4) is included in a parenting order, it is referred to the Family Court’s Magellan Registrar for listing.
A Magellan team consisting of judges, registrars and family consultants at each family law registry manages the cases. Ideally, each case is managed by the same team from start to finish. Generally, the aim is to complete Magellan cases within six months from the case being placed on the Magellan list.
Early steps in a Magellan case include:
making appropriate interim orders to protect the child until the matter comes to trial
ordering a report from the respective state/territory child protection agency including:
whether it intends to intervene in the Family Court proceedings
whether it has previously investigated these or other allegations
the conclusion and the reasons for the conclusion of the investigation
any recommendations or other relevant information
ordering a subpoena of the respective state/territory child protection agency
ordering the appointment of an independent children’s lawyer, and
ordering a detailed family report, where appropriate, which analyses the family dynamics and the needs of the children.
Magellan program – a staged introduction The Magellan case management system was piloted in the Melbourne registry in 1998 and evaluated during 2001. The review of the pilot identified the following positive outcomes:
cases were going through the court more quickly
parties made fewer visits to Court
fewer cases were going all the way through to judgment, and
fewer cases were coming back with problems.
The Magellan program was extended to all states and territories, except Western Australia, between 2003 and 2006.
Once Magellan had been operating in all jurisdictions for at least 12 months, the Court commissioned the Australian Institute of Family Studies to conduct a further evaluation and review of the program. The evaluation report, which included the perceptions of stakeholders, was completed and released in October 2007. The evaluation showed that, as a case management system, Magellan was achieving its objectives and that both staff and external stakeholders regarded it is a good system.
The researchers found that:
Compared with the previous system, Magellan cases are dealt with more quickly (by 4.6 months on average), have fewer court events and have more consistency of outcome because they are dealt with by fewer judicial officers.
Magellan focuses the evidence gathering and trial process to ensure the best outcomes for children and families.
Magellan is an important systemic change that has been successful in achieving its aim of providing a better response when abuse is alleged.
Further improvements can be made to listing practices, national uniformity and the availability of judicial time so that cases move even more smoothly through the court and with less distress to children and families.
The Chief Justice has committed the Court to working out how to best implement the recommendations contained in the report.
