Our family law specialists can help you with all parenting matters, including making parenting arrangements, resolving disputes and legal representation where necessary.
If you have recently divorced or separated and have children, or are having ongoing conflict with your ex-partner regarding co-parenting, our team can expertly guide your matter to a resolution. We understand that the family law system can be overwhelming to manage on your own, and provide exceptional support and advice for all legal matters related to raising children.
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When it comes to any family law matter, it is always best to resolve them without resorting to going to court. There are many other legal avenues for successfully resolving the majority of situations, which are much less stressful, more affordable, and more efficient.
While making arrangements for the care of your children can be stressful, it’s really important to make a genuine effort to reach an agreement where possible.
At our initial appointment, we’ll take time to understand your particular circumstances and discuss your options for resolving your parenting matter. We can help you arrive at an informal arrangement with the other parent or formalise a parenting arrangement through Consent Orders or a Parenting Plan.
If you are having issues after a Parenting Plan or Consent Order has been put into place, we can assist with dispute resolution, mediation or parenting coordination services.
Get started today by reaching out to our friendly team. We offer a Free 15-minute consultation to discuss your specific circumstances.
A Parenting Plan is a less formal option for documenting an agreement on care arrangements for children upon separation.
It is a written document signed and dated by both parties, covering living arrangements and other matters related to your child, like education and medical care. No legal advice is required, and a Parenting Plan does not need to be prepared or signed by a solicitor.
However, it’s strongly recommended that you seek legal advice before signing a Parenting Plan to ensure it is in your and your child/ren’s best interests. A Parenting Plan is not legally binding and cannot be enforced in the same way that Consent Orders can be.
The Court will consider a Parenting Plan when making a Consent Order concerning the care arrangements for the child/ren, and a Parenting Plan can override a previous Court Order.
Take the first step towards resolving your parenting matters with expert legal support. Contact us today for a Free 15-Minute fee initial consultation and let our family law specialists guide you.
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A Consent Order is a legal document that sets out the specific Orders that parents have agreed to about their children’s care arrangements or other particular issues concerning the children, such as schooling and travel.
It’s made up of specific lists detailing things like changeover times, care percentages and possibly even who will have care on school holidays or annual celebrations.
Once a child’s parents agree on the terms outlined in the parenting order, it’s generally prepared by a family law solicitor and filed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court Registry along with a second document called an ‘Application for Consent Orders’.
We strongly recommend you make an appointment to see us if you are considering signing or entering into a Consent Order, as they need to be carefully considered and can be hard to change once made.
In our experience, it is best if an experienced Family Law solicitor prepares these documents. This will ensure that Orders you enter into with the other party are drafted accurately, reflect the agreement made, and are in a format that the Court will accept.
Please be aware that all information provided on this page is general advice only. We aim to ensure that you are provided with detailed advice relevant to your individual circumstances.
If you would like to discuss any of the above matters in more detail, please do not hesitate to make a Free 15-Minute initial appointment to discuss your matter further.
We understand that it is not always possible to reach an agreement with the other person you are parenting with. In some circumstances, attempts to reach an agreement have failed; in other instances, urgent action is required. At our initial consultation, we can advise you about the Court process and assist you in deciding whether a Court decision is preferable or required. We will also outline your alternatives to see if there is a better way to negotiate a resolution with the other party.
If your matter is one where you believe a Court Application is necessary or may be required in the near future, then it is likely you will need to obtain a Section 60I Certificate (details below) before you can commence Court proceedings. This certificate shows that you have attempted mediation with the other parent, and you either could not reach an agreement or the other party has declined to attend.
A Section 60I Certificate is not required if your circumstances are urgent, such as with matters related to child abuse, family violence, passport issues or kidnapping. Please speak to our team today if you require legal representation or urgent assistance with issues related to your safety and the well-being of you and your child/ren.
Mediation and Family Dispute Resolution are an essential part of the family law process in Australia today and a required course of action for most family law matters before commencing court proceedings. A Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner can issue a Section 60I Certificate when parents are unable to agree at mediation as to what is to happen with the care of their children (or any other specific issues regarding the children, such as which school they should attend) or in circumstances where one party refuses to attend mediation or mediation is not appropriate.
There are two options for FDR and Mediation in Australia, and one is government-run. It can take several weeks to obtain an appointment with these FDR Centres and undertake the Family Dispute Resolution process (and, if no resolution is reached at the Centre, to obtain a Certificate).
Another option is to attend Family Dispute Resolution with a private Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP), which is a service we provide. Although the costs involved may be higher, the process is usually much quicker, and you can have your own solicitor present if you wish.
Once you have a Certificate and assuming no agreement or resolution was reached through the Dispute Resolution process, then either party can apply to the Court seeking Orders concerning the children. Once again, it’s important to note that there are circumstances where the Court waives the need for a 601 Certificate. This usually occurs when there is some urgency or a safety risk involved, requiring an immediate Court Order, such as a Recovery Order if children have been withheld.
If you and your children are currently facing family and domestic violence matters, we understand how overwhelming and distressing it can be to navigate the legal system. Experiencing mental, sexual, physical or psychological harm within the family unit or after a relationship breakdown can seriously impact family law matters, and a protective order issued by the courts may be necessary to ensure the safety of you and your children.
Similarly, if you believe your child is at risk of harm from the other parent, it’s imperative to seek legal assistance and support as soon as possible.
If you and your child’s other parent live in different countries, you’ll need to make parenting (child custody) arrangements that are legally recognised and valid in both countries. It’s also wise to understand the Hague Convention, an international agreement between many countries to oversee the legal aspects of international parenting matters. You can read the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction here.
If you have a legal matter related to making cross-jurisdictional parenting arrangements or organising property settlement, please get in touch. We’ll help you understand your options and obligations.
Our team can help you understand the different types of child support arrangements available after a divorce or separation and assist you and your former partner in drafting a financial agreement covering child support.
If you are paying or receiving child support privately or through a Service Australia Child Support Agency, you may experience issues related to non-payment or recovery of overdue or overpaid amounts. There may also be disputes, limited or binding child support agreements, or financial matters such as private education, or you may wish to alter or terminate an existing legal arrangement due to changed circumstances.
These matters can often be resolved in a Family Dispute Resolution setting, but at other times, it may be necessary to pursue legal action, especially for complex matters like Child Support Agency Appeals, parental testing when in question or if you cannot locate the child’s other parent. Additionally, same-sex couples may require assistance with child support if they are not legally recognised as a parent.
While most parenting matters can be resolved without the need to go to court, some circumstances will require a Court proceeding. Our team will provide legal advice and representation if you initiate or respond to applications made in the Family Law Courts. Below, we’ll explain some common terms related to going to court regarding parenting matters.
It’s worth noting that for most parenting matters, there are multiple legal avenues for reaching an agreement that do not involve going to court. You will be required to attempt mediation or other options that the court considers helpful prior to making an application for your matter to go to court, unless your matter is urgent or related to serious safety concerns. If you need representation, or want to explore some other option, please get in touch with us today.
“Whether you need a parenting plan formalised into consent orders, family court representation or assistance addressing more serious matters such as family violence, we can help and have extensive experience doing so. We will always prioritise your wellbeing and the best interests of your child/ren throughout your time working with us.”
– Stewart Family Law
It is usual in your Court Application to seek both Interim and Final Orders.
The first hearing you will have at Court will be an Interim Hearing. The Interim Hearing may occur on the first Court date or another allocated date after the first Court date.
An Interim Hearing is a shorter hearing where the Court makes an “interim” decision that stays in place until there is a further Order, for example, at a Final Hearing or until the parties resolve the matter by consent. In our experience, often, once an Interim Order is made, it can assist the parties in reaching an agreement without needing to have a Final Hearing.
An Interim Hearing is conducted ‘on the papers’. This means that the Judge will make a decision once they have read all of the evidence filed on behalf of the parties and made submissions. This evidence includes the parties’ Affidavits and any subpoenaed documents.
Usually, there is no cross-examination or evidence given in the witness box at an Interim Hearing (except in exceptional circumstances). In some matters, a Family Report may be needed to assist the Court in making a decision, or an Independent Children’s Lawyer may be appointed (however, this depends on the issues involved in the matter).
We can advise you regarding whether your matter is likely to be one in which the Court considers the need for a Family Report or Independent Children’s Lawyer. At an Interim Hearing, the Judge will read the material and hear submissions from legal representatives (or the parties if they are self-represented). The Court will then make an Interim Decision/Order.
Once there is an Interim Order, the Court will make directions for the future progress of the matter in the Court system – to allow the matter to proceed to a Final Hearing (a Trial). These directions could be issued at the same time as the Interim Order or at a later date (that date being decided by the Court).
Due to the extremely large number of cases before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, a Final Hearing is usually not listed for several months after the Interim Hearing (this could be up to or longer than 12 months later).
A Final Hearing is where the evidence that has been placed before the Court in the matter to date, by way of an Affidavit, is “tested.” This means that the parties and any witnesses, including any expert witnesses such as a Family Report Writer, are cross-examined. A Final Hearing can take anywhere from one day to several days, depending on the complexity of the issues involved and the number of witnesses who need to be cross-examined.
You should be aware that if you have a Final Hearing you may not get a decision from the Court immediately at the conclusion. Sometimes a decision may not be issued for some time after (weeks after, or in some matters, months after the Hearing).
A lot of preparation is necessary in the lead-up to a Final Hearing to ensure that all evidence supporting your case is before the Court. If you are preparing for a Final Hearing, we strongly recommend you make an appointment to see one of our experienced family law solicitors well before the Hearing date.
We can provide you with advice about what specific Orders you should be seeking in your matter – for example, whether it be an Order to spend time with a child/ren or an Order for a child to live with you (either in a shared situation or full-time).
Where parenting matters are in dispute, parents can agree to obtain a Family Report, or the Court may order one to assist in resolving the parenting dispute. The Family Report process involves the parents and the child/ren (and other important people in the child/ren’s lives, such as partners of the parents) being interviewed by a Family Report Writer who will assess the family dynamics and make recommendations.
Those recommendations will usually include recommendations for the child/ren’s living and care arrangements but may also include other types of recommendations (for example, that one or both of the parents be psychiatrically assessed or undertake drug and alcohol testing). If a Family Report is needed then it will usually be obtained before the Court makes an Interim decision. It may later be updated before a Final Hearing, depending on the issues and the time between an Interim and Final Hearing.
Family Report Writers are experienced Social Workers or Psychologists who know family law and the Court process. The Report Writer interviews everyone involved in the matter and then prepares a Family Report. Once prepared, the Family Report will be released to the parents and any Independent Children’s Lawyer involved in the matter. If the matter is in Court, the judicial officer hearing the matter will read and be informed by the Family Report.
We can advise you if your matter will require a Family Report and provide you with further information about that process and what to expect. We can also assist you in preparing for the Family Report process, which is likely to significantly impact the outcome of your family law matter.
One of our other services offered is Parenting Coordination, which is not generally as well known in family law matters. Parenting Coordination is designed to help parents who are unable to communicate effectively minimise disputes and resolve matters related to their child’s life, with the assistance of a Parenting Coordinator.
This can be a choice made if both parents agree and wish to have some extra support to communicate effectively, or it may be court-ordered if a family law case involves high-conflict dynamics. To be able to work with a Parenting Coordinator, there must be an existing Parenting Plan or Consent Orders in place.
“I wanted to let you know, Temika – how very grateful I have been to have you represent me over the past few years. You have certainly seen my worst side and kept me sane when I have really needed it! Your professionalism is second to none and I couldn’t have asked for any one better to be on my side! So from the very bottom of my heart thank you!!”
– KD
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