The Turnbull government has moved to turbocharge reform of the family law system by appointing a new chief justice of the Family Court who is just 14 months away from mandatory retirement.

The unorthodox move, which will raise eyebrows in legal circles, comes as Attorney-General George Brandis embarks on the most ambitious reform of the Family Law Act since its inception in 1975.

John Pascoe will become Chief Justice of the Family Court and serve until December 2018. Credit:Rob Homer

John Pascoe, the 68-year-old Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit Court, will take up his new role from Friday and will serve only until December 2018 when he turns 70, the retirement age for judges.

In that time, Judge Pascoe is expected to work "creatively" to drive significant structural reform to the system – the kind of root-and-branch change thought impossible of a judge at the beginning of their 15-year tenure.