The Federal Court Rules 2011 apply to all Federal Court proceedings that have commenced after 1 August 2011.

Federal Court Practice has responded to this major change by publishing the new Rules, along with comparative tables and introductory commentary. The service is retaining the former Rules (now renamed “Federal Court Rules (1979)”) and all of the related commentary because there is substantial comparability between the former Rules and the new Rules.  For this reason, the annotations to the former Rules will also continue to be updated for some time as new decisions made pursuant to them are handed down.

Federal Court Practice online subscribers now have access to the new Rules. The comparative tables, which provide an easy reference tool between the sets of Rules and Forms, are also available online. Due to late registration of the new Federal Court Forms, these will be online tomorrow.  

For Federal Court Practice paper subscribers, a separate binder will be issued with the August 2011 update, which is being mailed next week. The new volume will be entitled “Federal Court Rules (1979)” and will be supplied so that the former Rules and related commentary are retained for future reference.

The commentary to the Federal Court Rules 2011 will be written as the decisions of the Federal Court applying the new Rules begin to be handed down.  There are differences in terminology between the two sets of Rules and future commentary will discuss issues that may arise from these differences. 

Thomson Reuters is committed to continuous improvement of its products and services to ensure they meet the changing needs of our subscribers. We welcome feedback from subscribers as to how we can make Federal Court Practice even more useful for users. Please contact Catherine Roberts, Product Manager – General Law: catherine.roberts@thomsonreuters.com or (02) 8587 7327.