Family Law

Coercive Control A little over a year has passed since Hannah Clarke and her three children had passed away.[1] This event has captured significant public attention which has led to discussions regarding the need to make legislative changes to prevent the recurrence of such a horrific act of violence. A particular point of discussion raised … Read more

There is no question that going through a divorce can be a difficult period of time in an individual’s life. Whether the decision for separation was unilateral or mutual, or if there are children involved, these circumstances can certainly cause significant emotional and financial strain. On top of this, come the legal aspects of finalising … Read more

The Lighthouse Project is an initiative of the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia (“the Courts”) to better protect parties and children involved in family law proceedings who are experiencing family violence and/or other safety risks.   How does it work?  The Lighthouse Project involves the following process:  Screening  When a party files an Initiating … Read more

The Legislative reforms in 1996 removed the words ‘custody’, ‘access, and ‘guardianship’ from the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (“the Act”) to further discourage parents to view children as possessions and to encourage them to focus not on legal intervention but on the fundamental need for children to develop a close and meaningful relationship with both parents whenever … Read more

A primary carer in family law is the person with whom the child spends the most time with. Most often, this is a parent, however, a primary carer can also be a child’s grandparents, aunts, and uncles.   In some parenting matters, the court may need to assess who a child’s primary carer is as this may assist the court in determining … Read more

The case of Biondi & Koen [2020] FamCA 201 was urgently listed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Background The Mother was an international student who arrived in Australia from Brazil in 2015. The parties had a brief and casual sexual relationship in April 2016. The Mother fell pregnant with the parties’ child. The … Read more

The Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court of Australia have recently introduced the National Arbitration List, where family law matters in the Courts will be sent to an external Arbitrator to be finalised. This is good news for parties in the Court system, as preparation for and attendance at an arbitration can often … Read more

In the case of Ritter & Ritter and Anor [2020] FamCAFC 86 the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia allowed an appeal after finding that the husband had not been afforded procedural fairness. In 2012, Mr Ritter and Ms Ritter obtained consent orders resolving their property settlement matter. In 2018, the husband made … Read more

Long & Peng Case Note Recently, the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia at Brisbane (“Family Court”) decided an interesting case involving property matters. In this case, the Family Court dismissed an appeal from the Federal Circuit Court on the basis that there was not sufficient evidence to sustain the appeal, the original … Read more

COVID-19 has certainly thrown parents some ‘curve-balls’. Amongst these are an increased need for separated parents to negotiate on temporary alterations to parenting arrangements, in what might otherwise have been a settled situation. For other parents, COVID-19 has been used an excuse to stop children from spending time with their other parent, or for one … Read more