Thousands of Australian families have been waiting more than a year to have their disputes heard in court.
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Notorious backlogs in the Family and Federal Circuit courts have reduced slightly in the past 12 months.
But more than half of the 3000 pending matters before the Family Court are more than one year old, along with one-third of 17,000 family law matters before the Federal Circuit Court.
Family Court chief executive Louise Anderson said more judges and registrars are needed to cut through the long wait lists.
"It would be difficult at this point to say whether filling those vacancies would be sufficient," Ms Anderson told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Tuesday.
"But certainly in conjunction with a number of case management initiatives it will make a good impact on the backlog."
There are three judicial vacancies in both the Family and Federal Circuit courts and another vacancy in the Federal Court.
"As always, it's very helpful if those appointments are made expeditiously," Ms Anderson said.
The vacancies have all arisen since December and are under "active consideration" by the federal government.
The government is planning to merge the Family and Federal Circuit Courts to help clear the backlog and speed up complex trials.
However, the restructure is facing stiff headwinds, with the peak body for Australian legal professionals warning it could make an overstretched system already in crisis even worse.
Law Council president Arthur Moses wants the "catastrophic" merger put on ice until an Australian Law Reform Commission review is released in April.
Mr Moses said problems facing the Family Court were rooted in chronic underfunding by successive governments.
"Without doubt Australia's family law system is in need of reform, but the proposed restructure would compound the court's problems, not solve them," he said in a statement.
"Proper resourcing and prompt appointments is what is desperately needed."
In the meantime, courts dealing with family law matters are working to "harmonise" rules to deal with cases more efficiently.
Consultations on the changes are due to begin by the end of March and span more than 12 months.
Australian Associated Press
