The Family Court probably has the worst record in Australia for getting parties to comply with court orders, its boss concedes.
"Compliance in family law has long been a real problem for our system," Chief Justice William Alstergren said.
"It is perhaps the worst jurisdiction in Australia for compliance.
"And it's not just unrepresented litigants who do not comply. Time and time again, we find a lack of compliance interferes with the effectiveness of the court and also the confidence people have in our system."
The comments were made this week at a Law Society of NSW web forum ahead of the Family Court's merger with the Federal Circuit Court on September 1.
Chief Justice Alstergren said the new court would be much quicker to tackle compliance issues, with a goal to triage contravention applications within 14 days.
Currently, those applications can take more than a year to be finalised.
"If people haven't got a reasonable excuse for lack of compliance, they'll be dealt with very quickly," the chief justice said.
"If one party has withheld children against the orders that were made in the best interests of the child, without a proper reason, orders may have to be adjusted, giving that party less time or ensuring they do comply in the future."
Currently, the two courts handle about 117,000 applications a year, mostly related to divorce or family law.
Some will continue to be conducted on videoconferencing software post-coronavirus pandemic, particularly where one of the parties is at risk of harm.
Chief Justice Alstergren said there had been "hot air" and "unfounded claims" aired that the merged court will lead to fewer judges capable of taking on difficult and complex family law matters.
More than 80 per cent of the new court's 111 judges are family law specialists, he said.
By law, new appointees must be suitable to deal with family law matters due to their knowledge, skills, experience and aptitude.
"People should not be under any misapprehension - the level of specialisation in the courts is growing, not decreasing," the chief justice said.
He characterised the merger as more of a restructure.
The new court will have a single point of entry and harmonised rules, forms and processes.
All cases still active in the old court on August 31 will be immediately transferred into the new court the next day.
