The challenges a family from a remote North-West town would face in getting to Launceston for a family court hearing have been quantified. Tasmania Legal Aid director Kristen Wylie has outlined how difficult it is for people, particularly on low incomes, to travel from the West Coast and Circular Head to Launceston. Ms Wylie's comments followed the decision of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia to hold hearings in Launceston after it lost access to the venue it was sitting in at Burnie. READ MORE: Family Court appears to have made no plans to find new venue before April Between December 2021 and April this year, the Court was conducting monthly sittings in the Burnie Arts and Function Centre, but that ceased when the Burnie City Council began long-awaited renovations of the venue. Two weeks ago, Family Court Judge Marcus Turnbull issued a memo to legal practitioners that "for the foreseeable future" North-West litigants would need to travel to Launceston for hearings or attend mentions through online video conferencing. This decision caused outrage across the community as travel across Northern Tasmania is expensive and time consuming, and many of the litigants, particularly clients of Legal Aid, cannot afford to spare time or money. READ MORE: Family court decision raises the ire of federal MP "Many litigants needing the assistance of the court do not have the financial resources to get themselves to Launceston," Ms Wylie said. "Now people in the most financially disadvantaged region in Tasmania are faced with travelling to Launceston." She said it would take those needing to attend court between and three and 3.5 hours to travel from places like Strahan, Zeehan and Smithton by car, and they would spend about $70 in fuel for the journey. But if they don't have access to a car or cannot afford the fuel, they will need to spend between eight and 10 hours on a bus, which only travels once per day. Once in Launceston, litigants would spend $127 per night on average on accommodation, for which TLA does not provide financial assistance, for each night they need to be in Launceston, which would vary depending on the nature of the case. Similarly, low-income residents of remote Tasmania may not have affordable or reliable access to the internet, so attending online mentions is also a challenge. Representatives from the Family Court are expected to visit the Coast this week to assess the suitability of newly proposed venues in Burnie and on the Central Coast. No timeline has yet been formed on how long the Burnie circuit will be conducted in Launceston. We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Advocate website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions.