When married couples and couples whose de facto relationship falls under the Family Law Act separate and undertake their property settlement, they do so under the Family Law Act (“Act”) (noting any differences in WA). The Act requires that the parties disclose their financial circumstances and agree on a balance sheet to reflect the assets and liabilities and resources. To determine how the net assets are to be divided or retained, an historical assessment of their various contributions is made to determine what percentage of the net asset they contributed to. That percentage as a final settle ..read more

The start of the school year raises many emotions for families. However, for separated or separating families the issue of if and how private school fees are to be paid is a common source of concern. For families who receive child support as assessed, the child support assessment is insufficient to cover the child’s basic costs and private education and/or extras such as tutoring and extracurricular activities. Some options in this instance include: Applying to Child Support- Services Australia to change the child support assessment (called a departure application). Provided that you can sati ..read more

For many families the summer holidays can be stressful and often the stress is exacerbated for separated families. Some tips to make the festive days and summer holidays memorable for the right reasons for your children include: if you have a parenting plan or consent orders, checking it to ensure you are certain which parent has the care of the children on what days; being punctual at changeover particularly on days where a parent is transporting the children to have time with members of their extended family; If other agreements are reached – keep a written record of the agreed dates and t ..read more

In September 2021, the Family Law Act, rules and regulations changed with the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court of Australia restructure. The overarching purpose of these changes is intended to reduce unnecessary costs and delay in family law proceedings, so that proceedings in the court can be conducted with the least acrimony and to minimise harm to children and families to ensure their safety. For those who are seeking family law settlements, whether it be parenting or financial, it is expected that provided it is safe to do so, that each party make a genuine effort to resolve their di ..read more

For many people, the term Coercive Control may be a new one.  We see this term more in the media and the UK has made it a criminal offence. However, coercive control has been recognised in our Family Law Act as one of the forms of family violence since 2012. The current definition of family violence states that for the purpose of the Family Law Act, family violence means violent, threatening or other behaviour by a person that coerces or controls a member of the person’s family, or causes the family member to be fearful. Coercive control includes physical, emotional and psychological abus ..read more

The answer to this depends on the circumstances as to whether maintenance could be paid to you or paid by you. The question of whether maintenance should be paid or received is generally considered once the terms of the property settlement are known. It can be payable when the party seeking it is unable to be self-supporting and the liable party can, after paying their own reasonable expenses, afford to pay it. Spousal maintenance can be in the form of a lump sum or in the form of payments over a period of time or up to a specific amount. Maintenance can also be useful in asset poor or income ..read more

Those currently embroiled in family law processes will be aware that effective 1 September this year, major changes were introduced to Australia’s complex family law system.  These changes had to happen; the long delays of up to 2 and even 3 years to get a disputed matter heard by the court have been causing untold emotional and financial damage to families for far too long, and a major overhaul was absolutely necessary. A lot of media attention has been on the fact of the merger of the family court and the family law division of the federal circuit court to create the “Federal Circuit an ..read more

In September 2019, the Federal Government announced the formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to conduct a wide-ranging inquiry into the Family Law system.  The review intended to look at how the Family Law system could be improved and provided for Parliament to hear directly from families about how the current system had impacted their lives. At the time, the Government had already proposed a merger of the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court. In March 2021, the Committee tabled its second interim report setting out the committee’s views and 29 recommendations ..read more

As COVID-19 continues to affect our personal and professional lives, many clients ask whether the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia remain open for business. The answer is “yes”. Like many other businesses, schools and universities the Court has entered the virtual age and has begun conducting hearings electronically using Microsoft Teams. Whilst the courtroom is virtual, the usual Rules of Court with respect to Court procedures, courtesies and formalities still apply. Our Family Law Division has run a number of Court events during COVID-19 restrictions inclu ..read more