Written Answer by Minister for Law K Shanmugam to PQ on Assistance for Non-Native English Speakers Filing Court Applications Via Integrated Family Application Management System

09 JAN 2024

09 January 2024 Posted in Parliamentary speeches and responses

Question for Written Answer

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong (Member of Parliament for Hougang SMC):

Question
To ask the Minister for Law (a) for the past three years, what is the percentage of applicants who have filed court applications via the Integrated Family Application Management System and are non-native English speakers; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider simplifying the application process or render assistance to such applicants whose English is not their first language.

Written Answer:

  1. The Integrated Family Application Management System (“iFAMS”) is an online case application and management system that was designed to meet the needs of Self-Represented Persons (“SRPs”) involved in proceedings in the Family Justice Courts (“FJC”). iFAMS simplifies the application process so that SRPs can prepare and file court applications for maintenance, protection orders, and simplified deputyship, without having to engage a lawyer.
  1. The percentage of non-native English speakers amongst applicants who have filed court applications via iFAMS from 2020 to 2022 is set out in Table 1.

Table 1: Percentage of non-native English speakers (based on applicant’s self-declared “preferred language”) amongst applicants who have filed court applications via iFAMS from 2020 to 2022

2020 2021 2022
3% 3% 6%

Note: Data excludes applicants who did not indicate their preferred language.

  1. The data for 2023 is not yet available.
  1. SRPs whose first language is not English can seek help with filing iFAMS applications at several locations, including the FJC Registry, the ServiceSG Centres at Our Tampines Hub and One Punggol, any Protection Specialist Centre, and the HELP Family Service Centre.
  1. The Judiciary regularly reviews and seeks to improve the assistance available to SRPs who face difficulties filing applications via iFAMS, and welcomes feedback on specific difficulties that court users face.

Last updated on 09 January 2024