As judicial officers, Family Court Associates will be independent of the executive and will have powers additional to those of the registrar. They'll be able to take on some work currently undertaken by judges, including decisions made at early stages of proceedings, and this will enable judges to focus on progressing case work. Substantive decisions in proceedings, however, will continue to be made by judges because of the social significance of those decisions, the impact those decisions have on human rights, and the complexity of the decisions.