The role of the NZ Family Court is broader than its name suggests, but at its heart lies the best interests of a child when it comes to handling family matters. One young teen questions if that\u2019s true, while the Principal Family Court judge says decisions are made after carefully balancing all the evidence.\u00a0Tracy Neal reports.<\/p>\n
When treading a delicate line of deciding which parent little Jeannie* should live with, the Family Court judge likened the child caught in the middle to a k\u014dwhai seedling.<\/p>\n
Jeannie had been living in the week-about care of her parents since they separated.<\/p>\n
When her mum moved to a new town, the\u00a0Family Court\u00a0had to decide if Jeannie should live with her, or remain with her father in the town she was used to.<\/p>\n
Judge Lex De Jong drew upon his specialty in family law, his work with schools and his own life experiences to explain to Jeannie she was as precious as a young seedling.<\/p>\n
“When I think about what is in your welfare and best interests, that reminds me of planting a precious k\u014dwhai seedling.<\/p>\n
“I have to plant you somewhere where you will be safe, where you will be loved and protected, where someone can keep an eye on you to make sure you get everything you need to thrive and blossom until you are old enough to look after yourself.<\/p>\n
“I want you to be the best k\u014dwhai tree possible,” Judge De Jong said in issuing a final parenting order in October 2025.<\/p>\n
The court was persuaded to rule in favour of Jeannie\u2019s dad.<\/p>\n
One in tens of thousands of cases<\/p>\n
It was one of 81,605 cases\u00a0lodged in the court\u00a0in the past five years under the guardianship category which includes care arrangements, custody and access, and child support.<\/p>\n
According to\u00a0Ministry of Justice\u00a0data, 49,195 of those cases in the five years to June this year, were granted \u2013 meaning a judge issued a corresponding court order.<\/p>\n
The remainder were either dismissed or struck out, lapsed, or were withdrawn or discontinued.<\/p>\n
Of the 63,114 applications lodged in the court in the past year (2024-25), 26% were guardianship cases.<\/p>\n
The total number of cases was 3% higher than five years earlier and 4.8% higher than a decade ago.<\/p>\n
\u2018Chatty and happy boy\u2019<\/p>\n
Tobias*, a chatty and happy boy who was 5 when his parents were no longer able to agree on who he should live with, was among the more recent cases.<\/p>\n
In that case custody went to his mother.<\/p>\n
Through interviews with child specialists Tobias expressed his love for both his mum and dad, and how he wanted to have equal time with them.<\/p>\n
“This would obviously be in his best interests,” Judge Rachel Paul said.<\/p>\n
After weighing up background factors, including that Tobias had a younger brother he adored, Judge Paul was satisfied it was in Tobias\u2019 welfare and best interests to live with his mother primarily.<\/p>\n
Principal Family Court Judge\u00a0Jacquelyn Moran\u00a0says\u00a0in all proceedings where the care of children is at issue their welfare and best interests is the first and paramount consideration.<\/p>\n
But, Family Court cases are often complex and take time to resolve, especially when they involve disputes about the care of children.<\/p>\n
Often there are no “winners” and even the children remain unhappy.<\/p>\n
\u2018Not listened to\u2019<\/p>\n
Jennifer* told NZME she feels like she wasn\u2019t listened to.<\/p>\n
The now 16-year-old says she was afraid of her dad, and what he might do to her, her mother and younger brother.<\/p>\n
In her opinion, the Family Court failed in its role to protect her, through insisting on access rights.<\/p>\n
She feels if she\u2019d been able to vouch for herself earlier on, instead of lawyers and psychologists calling the shots, things might have worked out better in her favour.<\/p>\n
“I think the fact that kids are considered a really vulnerable group, but they aren\u2019t always protected, is really questionable.”<\/p>\n
She says from her discussions with others going through similar experiences, she does not think her situation is exceptional.<\/p>\n
According to one decision a teen went so far as to\u00a0refuse to board a plane, prompting a court order to put him on one, by force if necessary.<\/p>\n
The Family Court judge determined in November 2024 that the teenager should live with his father overseas, believing that was what the young man wanted.<\/p>\n
But as time went on, the teen changed his mind.<\/p>\n
When it was time to leave the country, he refused to get into his mother\u2019s car and even ran away from home for a time.<\/p>\n
In February, a second Family Court judge agreed the teenager should live with his father, issuing a court order to put him on the plane.<\/p>\n
Children\u2019s views \u2018must be considered\u2019<\/p>\n
Judge Moran\u00a0says judges understand that children are innocent and haven\u2019t been asked to be put in the situations in which they find themselves.<\/p>\n
Judges must also seek sustainable solutions that address the issues after applying and interpreting laws written by\u00a0Parliament, and the evidence before them in court.<\/p>\n
The law says children\u2019s views\u00a0must be considered and decisions made to ensure appropriate arrangements are in place for their guardianship and care.<\/p>\n
“Children must be given reasonable opportunities to participate in any decisions affecting them and to express views on matters that affect them,” Judge Moran says.<\/p>\n
“That can be either directly to a meeting with the judge or through a representative such as a lawyer for the child.”<\/p>\n
The Family Court, which is a division of the\u00a0District Court, hears cases across a broad range of topics including family proceedings, family violence, adoptions, child support, marriage dissolution, estates, guardianship, applications under the Hague Convention, Oranga Tamariki, property, substance addiction and mental health, particularly applications for compulsory treatment orders under the\u00a0Mental Health Act.<\/p>\n
Judge Moran is the country\u2019s fifth Principal Family Court judge and the first woman appointed to the role since the court was established in 1981.<\/p>\n
She says the majority of cases heard in the Family Court are applications lodged under the\u00a0Care of Children Act, which outlines that a child must be protected from all forms of violence.<\/p>\n
Judge Moran says family violence reaches into every corner of New Zealand society, and Family Court judges regularly see the aftermath.<\/p>\n
She says it\u2019s displayed in people from all walks of life, who come to court seeking help, intervention and sometimes protection in their broken relationships.<\/p>\n
Young migrant faces family breakdown<\/p>\n
Jennifer was born overseas, in a country she describes as having a traditional, patriarchal culture.<\/p>\n
She and her family arrived in New Zealand when she was a young child.<\/p>\n
When the parents separated Jennifer and her brother were raised by their mum for almost eight years, until she re-married.<\/p>\n
She claims the abuse before her father left included violence. When Jennifer\u2019s mum re-married, her dad re-appeared, seeking access rights.<\/p>\n
Jennifer says her mother succeeded in getting a protection order, which her estranged father then opposed, but they did not have the financial means to challenge it.<\/p>\n
She tried, unsuccessfully, to apply for her own protection order, at first unaware she could even do that.<\/p>\n
The application failed for various reasons, including the lack of evidence to prove her father remains a threat.<\/p>\n
Finally through some \u2018bad years\u2019<\/p>\n
Jennifer, now independent but still living with her mum, has come through what she describes as some bad years but is now worried for her younger brother she says has been “forced” to meet their biological father, despite not wanting to.<\/p>\n
“My brother has been put through the wringer with the lawyers and the court-appointed psychologist, who have made him spend time with his father whom he has no relationship with.<\/p>\n
“He is forced to attend supervised sessions with him under the guise of \u2018having a relationship with his father\u2019 even though he views this man as a stranger in his life.”<\/p>\n
She claims it has caused her brother “immense distress”.<\/p>\n
When asked what she felt was wrong with the\u00a0Family Court system, and what needs to change, she says more needs to be done to encourage and enable young people to speak for themselves.<\/p>\n
Heard, understood, respected<\/p>\n
Judge Moran says\u00a0it is “vitally important” that people leave the court feeling heard, understood and respected, and that they have had a fair hearing even though they may not necessarily agree with the outcome.<\/p>\n
“Using clear, accessible language helps people of all ages to understand court decisions, and it\u2019s not uncommon in the Family Court for judges to directly address children or young people in their judgments, or to include a letter to a young person in addition to the judgment, as it is important that they understand how the judge reached their decision.”<\/p>\n
Although the Family Court is essentially a private forum, because of the sensitive nature of matters before it, it remains part of the justice system.<\/p>\n
Therefore, decisions must be as open to the public as possible so that the court can be accountable.<\/p>\n
Disputes over decisions are not uncommon.<\/p>\n
Some succeed on appeal, including a high-profile dispute over a Family Court decision that went to the High Court in 2023.<\/p>\n
In 2015, Family Court Judge Peter Callinicos ruled in favour of a woman\u2019s ex-husband after the couple\u2019s separation agreement landed in court.<\/p>\n
Justice Rebecca Ellis\u00a0quashed the decision\u00a0when she found the judge in the lower court had been unfair.<\/p>\n
The higher court ruled the primary cause of the unfairness was the judge\u2019s mistaken beliefs which pervaded and tainted the hearing.<\/p>\n
Justice Ellis also found the judge\u2019s treatment of the woman during the trial was unfair.<\/p>\n
Other times, appeals are thrown out.<\/p>\n
\u2018Fractious relationship\u2019<\/p>\n
Jeremy* was a newborn in November 2017 when his mum made an urgent application to the Family Court for a parenting order.<\/p>\n
She had earlier separated from Jeremy\u2019s father after a “fractious relationship”.<\/p>\n
The order was granted, giving the mum day-to-day care of Jeremy, while his dad was allowed supervised contact.<\/p>\n
Later, he left town.<\/p>\n
In 2019, a new interim parenting order allowed him contact every third weekend, near the child\u2019s hometown, and under the supervision of Jeremy\u2019s paternal grandmother.<\/p>\n
Interactions between the parents became increasingly poor. They struggled to co-operate over the parenting and care arrangements for Jeremy, before a final parenting order in 2023.<\/p>\n
The child\u2019s paternal grandmother was to oversee visits with the father, but the mother had earlier expressed “no confidence” in the grandmother\u2019s management of contact.<\/p>\n
They in turn did not trust the mother\u2019s motivations, and saw her as “fixated” on limiting contact to exclude the father\u2019s family from Jeremy\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
Fast forward two more years, to a\u00a0High Court\u00a0decision dismissing a general appeal brought by Jeremy\u2019s mother against the lower court\u2019s decisions.<\/p>\n
Justice Tracey Walker said in her judgment, when assessing the background and how increasingly the parents had drawn swords, that none of their views about the other were in the child\u2019s best interests.<\/p>\n
Anger spills over<\/p>\n
There have been instances of violence related to Family Court matters, and against lawyers.<\/p>\n
Various reports have highlighted physical assaults, threats and “systems abuse” or litigant abuse as experienced by victims within and outside of court proceedings.<\/p>\n
In August 2024 Nelson man\u00a0Phillip Mant\u00a0held two people at gunpoint for hours and threatened to blow up a woman with a homemade bomb.<\/p>\n
In the months leading up to the incident, Mant hand-wrote hundreds of pages of notes venting his anger over a recent Family Court matter.<\/p>\n
At his sentencing in the\u00a0Nelson District Court\u00a0in July 2025, Crown prosecutor Sophie O\u2019Donaghue said Mant had created a “volatile” hostage situation involving a “powerless, terrified female” because he was angry with the outcome of a Family Court matter.<\/p>\n
She said the armed home invasion amounted to vigilante action to defy the court and take the law into his own hands.<\/p>\n
\u2018Thought he would die\u2019<\/p>\n
Family lawyer\u00a0Brintyn Smith\u00a0thought he would die during a savage attack in a lift at the Whang\u0101rei Court House in March 2023.<\/p>\n
He was left with multiple injuries in the attack described by the judge who sentenced the assailant as an “ambush”.<\/p>\n
In a video released in 2024 by the\u00a0New Zealand Law Society, Smith spoke haltingly of the events after he arrived at court for what he thought would be a regular morning.<\/p>\n
Litigant abuse is where perpetrators use the court system itself to prolong proceedings to harass, annoy, harm or psychologically abuse the other party.<\/p>\n
The Victims of Family Violence (Strengthening Legal Protections) Legislation Act (2025) which comes into force on February 17, 2026 will provide courts with a new tool to address the tactic by placing restrictions on the abusive party\u2019s ability to take further steps in proceedings.<\/p>\n
The Family Court is among others to have come under fire for increasingly lengthy delays in getting matters before a judge.<\/p>\n
Nelson barrister John Sandston\u00a0blamed the backlog\u00a0on increasing numbers of people representing themselves.<\/p>\n
Judge Moran says the number of people self-representing in the Family Court is increasing, and while it can slow progress, they are entitled to be heard.<\/p>\n
She says judges are very mindful of their circumstances and the challenges they face.<\/p>\n
“There is often support available to self-litigants from social agencies or iwi providers and Family Court Navigators,\u00a0Kai\u0101rahi<\/a>, can facilitate this contact or provide support in a number of other ways.”<\/p>\n Backlogs would also be targeted by a programme called Te Au Reka \u2013 a joint initiative of the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to streamline the heavily paper-based administration of cases.<\/p>\n Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says the Family Court would see it first, leading to a “dramatic impact” in terms of the general timeliness of the process.<\/p>\n At age 16, Jennifer already has career goals, but they don\u2019t include law.<\/p>\n She\u2019s more interested in politics because that\u2019s where she feels she can make more of a difference.<\/p>\n *Names are fictionalised to protect the privacy of family and young people, and to comply with statutory rules around reporting Family Court matters.<\/p>\n FAMILY VIOLENCE<\/p>\n How to get help: If you’re in danger now: \u2022 Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours or friends to ring for you.<\/p>\n \u2022 Run outside and head for where there are other people. Scream for help so your neighbours can hear you.<\/p>\n \u2022 Take the children with you. Don’t stop to get anything else.<\/p>\n \u2022 If you are being abused, remember it’s not your fault. Violence is never okay.<\/p>\n Where to go for help or more information:<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Women’s Refuge<\/a>: Crisis line – 0800 REFUGE or 0800 733 843 (available 24\/7)<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Shine<\/a>: Helpline – 0508 744 633 (available 24\/7)<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0It’s Not Ok<\/a>:\u00a0Family violence information line – 0800 456 450<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Shakti<\/a>: Specialist services for African, Asian and Middle Eastern women and children.<\/p>\n \u2022 Crisis line – 0800 742 584 (available 24\/7)<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Ministry of Justice<\/a>: For information on family violence<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga<\/a>: National Network of Family Violence Services<\/p>\n