Family Law Act 1975
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 11D — Immunity of family consultants
(1) A family consultant has, in performing his or her functions as a family consultant, the same protection and immunity as a Judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1)…
Section 11E — Courts to consider seeking advice from family consultants
(1) If, under this Act, a court has the power to: (a) order a person to attend family counselling or family dispute resolution; or (b) order a person to participate in a course, program or other…
Section 11F — Court may order parties to attend, or arrange for child to attend, appointments with a family consultant
(1) A court exercising jurisdiction in proceedings under this Act may make either or both of the following kinds of order: (a) an order directing one or more parties to the proceedings to attend an…
Section 11G — Consequences of failure to comply with order under section 11F
(1) If a person who is ordered to attend an appointment with a family consultant under section 11F fails to comply with: (a) the order made by the court; or (b) any instruction the consultant gives…
Section 11H — Family report writers
Any individual who prepares a designated family report (see section 11J) is a family report writer.
Section 11J — Designated family reports
(1) A report that relates to a child is a designated family report if: (a) the report is prepared following a family assessment (which usually includes the report’s preparer meeting with the child…
Section 11K — Regulations prescribing standards and requirements for family report writers
Regulations prescribing standards and requirements for family report writers (1) The regulations may make provision for, and in relation to: (a) standards and requirements that family report writers,…
Section 11L — Disclosure by court to regulator
The court may disclose any of the following to a regulator, for the purposes of the regulator performing the regulator’s functions under the regulations: (a) a designated family report prepared for…
Section 11M — Immunity of regulator
A regulator is not liable in civil or criminal proceedings for or in relation to anything done or omitted to be done, in good faith, in the performance or exercise, or purported performance or…
Section 12A — Objects of this Part
The objects of this Part are: (a) to ensure that married couples considering separation or divorce are informed about the services available to help with a possible reconciliation, in situations…
Section 12B — Prescribed information about non-court based family services and court’s processes and services
(1) The regulations may prescribe information that is to be included in documents provided to persons under this Part, relating to non-court based family services and court’s processes and services.…
Section 12C — Prescribed information about reconciliation
The regulations may prescribe information that is to be included in documents provided to persons under this Part, relating to services available to help with a reconciliation between the parties to…
Section 12D — Prescribed information about Part VII proceedings
(1) The regulations may prescribe information that is to be included in documents provided under this Part to persons involved in proceedings under Part VII. (2) Without limitation, the information…
Section 12E — Obligations on legal practitioners
(1) A legal practitioner who is consulted by a person considering instituting proceedings under this Act must give the person documents containing the information prescribed under section 12B (about…
Section 12F — Obligations on principal executive officers of courts
Obligation to give prescribed information (1) The principal executive officer of a court that has jurisdiction under this Act must ensure that any person who is considering instituting proceedings…
Section 12G — Obligations on family counsellors, family dispute resolution practitioners and arbitrators
(1) A family counsellor, family dispute resolution practitioner or arbitrator who deals with a married person considering instituting: (a) proceedings for a divorce order in relation to the marriage;…
Section 13A — Objects of this Part
(1) The objects of this Part are: (a) to facilitate access to family counselling: (i) to help married couples considering separation or divorce to reconcile; and (ii) to help people adjust to…
Section 13B — Court to accommodate possible reconciliations
(1) A court exercising jurisdiction in: (a) proceedings for a divorce order; or (b) financial or part VII proceedings instituted by a party to a subsisting marriage; must consider, from time to time,…
Section 13C — Court may refer parties to family counselling, family dispute resolution and other family services
(1) A court exercising jurisdiction in proceedings under this Act may, at any stage in the proceedings, make one or more of the following orders: (a) that one or more of the parties to the…
Section 13D — Consequences of failure to comply with order under section 13C
(1) If a party fails to comply with an order of a court under section 13C, the family counsellor, family dispute resolution practitioner, CCS business or provider of the course, program or other…
Section 13E — Court may refer certain proceedings to arbitration
(1) A court exercising jurisdiction in proceedings that are referable to arbitration within the meaning of subsection (1A) may, with the consent of all of the parties to the proceedings, make an…
Section 13F — Court may make orders in relation to family law arbitration
(1) A person who is a party to, or an arbitrator of, family law arbitration may apply to a court that has jurisdiction under this Act for orders under subsection (3) in relation to the arbitration.…
Section 13G — Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia may determine questions of law referred by arbitrator
(1) An arbitrator of family law arbitration may, at any time before making an award in the arbitration, refer a question of law arising in relation to the arbitration for determination by: (a) the…
Section 13H — Awards made in arbitration may be registered in court
(1) If a party to an award made in family law arbitration applies to: (a) for family law arbitration ordered under subsection 13E(1)—the court that ordered the arbitration; or (b) for other family…
Section 13J — Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia can review registered awards
(1) A party to a registered award made in family law arbitration may apply for review of the award, on questions of law, by: (a) the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia; or (b) a single…
Section 13K — Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia may set aside registered awards
(1) If an award made in family law arbitration, or an agreement made as a result of such arbitration, is registered in: (a) the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1); or (b) the…
Section 39 — Jurisdiction in matrimonial causes
(1) Subject to this Part, a matrimonial cause may be instituted under this Act: (a) in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2); or (b) in the Supreme Court of a State or a…
Section 39A — Instituting proceedings
Instituting proceedings under this Act (1) A de facto financial cause may be instituted under this Act in: (a) the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2); or (c) the Supreme Court…
Section 39B — Jurisdiction in de facto financial causes
(1) Jurisdiction is conferred on: (a) the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2); and (c) the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory of Australia; and (d) each court of summary…
Section 39C — Ceasing jurisdiction of Supreme Court of the Northern Territory of Australia
(1) The Governor-General may, by Proclamation, fix a day as the day on and after which a de facto financial cause: (a) may not be instituted in, or transferred to, the Supreme Court of the Northern…
Section 39D — Ceasing jurisdiction of State or Territory courts of summary jurisdiction
(1) The Governor-General may, by Proclamation, fix a day as the day on and after which a de facto financial cause may not be instituted in, or transferred to, a court of summary jurisdiction in a…
Section 39E — Revoking Proclamations ceasing jurisdiction of State or Territory courts
(1) The Governor-General may, by Proclamation, declare that a Proclamation under section 39C or 39D is revoked on and from a specified day. (2) If, under subsection (1), the Governor-General declares…
Section 39F — Territory court does not have jurisdiction unless a party is ordinarily resident in the Territory
A court of a Territory must not hear or determine a de facto financial cause unless at least one of the parties to the proceedings is ordinarily resident in the Territory when the proceedings are…
Section 39G — Jurisdiction in relation to transferred matters under other Commonwealth laws
If proceedings in relation to a matter arising under a law of the Commonwealth are transferred under this Act or the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021 to a court that has…
Section 39H — Instituting proceedings
Instituting proceedings under this Act (1) Proceedings in relation to matters arising under Part VIIIC may be instituted under this Act in: (a) the Family Court of Western Australia; or (b) the…
Section 39J — Jurisdiction in matters arising under Part VIIIC
(1) The following are each invested with federal jurisdiction with respect to matters arising under Part VIIIC: (a) the Family Court of Western Australia; (b) the Magistrates Court of Western…
Section 40 — Limitations on jurisdiction of Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) and of State and Territory Supreme Courts
(1) The regulations may provide that, from a date specified in the regulations (not being a date before the regulations are registered under the Legislation Act 2003), the jurisdiction of the Federal…
Section 41 — Establishment of State Family Courts
(1) As soon as practicable after the commencement of this Act, the Commonwealth Government shall take steps with a view to the making of agreements with the governments of the States providing for…
Section 42 — Law to be applied
(1) The jurisdiction conferred on a court, or with which a court is invested, by this Act shall be exercised in accordance with this Act and the applicable Rules of Court. (2) Where it would be in…
Section 43 — Principles to be applied by courts
(1) A court exercising jurisdiction under this Act must, in the exercise of that jurisdiction, have regard to: (a) the need to preserve and protect the institution of marriage as the union of 2…
Section 44 — Institution of proceedings
(1) Except as otherwise prescribed by the regulations or by the applicable Rules of Court, proceedings under this Act shall be instituted by application. Proceedings in relation to marriages (1A)…
Section 44A — Proceedings for divorce order
The regulations may provide that proceedings for a divorce order may not be instituted in, or transferred to, a court of summary jurisdiction other than a prescribed court.
Section 45 — Stay and transfer of proceedings
(1) Where there are pending in a court proceedings that have been instituted under this Act and it appears to that court that other proceedings that have been so instituted in relation to the same…
Section 46 — Transfer of proceedings from court of summary jurisdiction in certain cases
(1) Where proceedings are instituted in or transferred to a court of summary jurisdiction in a State or Territory, in relation to property of a total value exceeding the amount referred to in section…
Section 46A — Prescribing value of property for the purposes of section 46
(1) For the purposes of subsection 46(1), the amount is: (a) $20,000; or (b) if a higher amount is prescribed by regulations for the State or Territory in which the court of summary jurisdiction…
Section 47 — Courts to act in aid of each other
All courts having jurisdiction under this Act shall severally act in aid of and be auxiliary to each other in all matters under this Act.
Section 47A — Appeals from courts of summary jurisdiction
(1) Subject to section 47B, an appeal lies from a decree of a court of summary jurisdiction of a State or Territory exercising jurisdiction under: (a) this Act; or (b) the Child Support (Assessment)…
Section 47BA — Appeals relating to matters arising under Part VIIIC
(1) An appeal lies to the Family Court of Western Australia from: (a) an interlocutory order of the Magistrates Court of Western Australia constituted by a Family Law Magistrate of Western Australia;…
Section 47B — Leave to appeal needed for child support matters
(1) Leave of a single Judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) is required to appeal to the Court from a decree of a court of summary jurisdiction of a State or…
Section 47C — Appeal may be dismissed if no reasonable prospect of success
(1) If: (a) an appeal has been instituted in a court under this Division; and (b) it appears to the court that the appeal has no reasonable prospect of success; the court may, at any time, order that…