NCJ Number
214548
Date Published
2006
Length
79 pages
Annotation
This report, the first in a planned series of annual publications of New Zealand's Family Court statistics, presents an overview of the number and types of cases processed in the Family Court and the characteristics of those who access its services.
Abstract
Because the Family Court jurisdiction is covered by several laws and the court processes determined by these laws vary, the statistics are presented according to the law under which a case is brought. Included in the report are statistics on guardianship (custody and access), domestic violence, care and protection, relationship property, protection of personal and property rights, and mental health cases. There are also sections on judicially ordered costs and instances in which parties are concurrently involved in more than one type of case. The report examines trends in Family Court cases since 1998, and it shows that the number of guardianship cases declined between 2003 and 2004 and that the number of domestic violence cases continues to decrease. Care and protection cases continue to increase, but at a slower rate than previously. Mental health and relationship-property cases are increasing. In the 2003/2004 fiscal year, judicially ordered costs were $37 million, an increase of 5.6 percent from the previous fiscal year. In 2004, just over 60,000 adults were parties to cases or accessed the services of the Family Court; and there were 8,165 children involved in care and protection cases, 6,799 children involved in domestic violence cases, and 16,960 children involved in guardianship cases. The ethnicity profile of children involved in guardianship and domestic violence cases was similar to that of children in the general population, although Maori children were disproportionately involved in care and protection cases. Extensive tables and figures, 3 references, and appended data sources and quality, court cluster unit, and issues with measuring guardianship activity