The system will also be rolled out to parts of national services divisions in November
Phase 1 of the Family Court digital case flow management system Te Au Reka is set to be implemented in the Christchurch and Ashburton District Courts on 23 November.
The system will also be rolled out in parts of the national services teams on the same day, according to the justice ministry. Te Au Reka will be used solely for registry and judicial functions.
Registry staff will file all new Family Court cases in the system; judicial officers will use the new digital decision making system for these cases. Ongoing cases will still be managed in the case management system.
In March 2027, the new courts portal will debut in the Family Court in Christchurch and Ashburton as well as the rest of South Island. Users can access the portal via web browsers across all devices.
By April 2027, the portal will extend to the Lower North Island and Central regions. By May 2027, the courts portal and supporting digital systems will be rolled out in the Northern region. Once the portal is active, lawyers must use the system to enter new cases where applicable.
The portal will be open to court participants like self-representing litigants and third-party organisations, but they are not required to use it. The government-run authentication and identity verification service RealMe will be used to validate users seeking access to the portal and case information.
The ministry indicated that by focusing on the registry and judicial case management functions, it could test the system properly. Moreover, it would help prepare frontline staff and judiciary while facilitating what it described as a “carefully controlled” launch. This ensures adequate support, system stability and fitness for purpose prior to a full-scale implementation.
Nonetheless, if unexpected significant problems surface during the testing period that are unresolvable by November, the rollout of the system across all functions (registry, judiciary and portal) would be pushed back to March 2027. The ministry will publish guidance on the portal’s use on its website and conduct webinars before the launch date.
The findings from the Phase 1 trial period will inform Phase 2, which involves the implementation of the system and portal in the District and High Courts Criminal and Civil jurisdictions. Phase 2’s rollout is set for the second half of 2027.
