Section 142 — Family Proceedings Act 1980: Discharge or variation of registered or confirmed order

142 Discharge or variation of registered or confirmed order (1) If a maintenance order has been registered or confirmed in New Zealand, a District Court may, at any time, on the application of any person, make any of the following orders under section 99 : (a) an order discharging a maintenance order: (b) an order varying a maintenance order: (c) an order suspending the operation of a maintenance order for the purposes of New Zealand law: (d) an order remitting or suspending arrears due under a maintenance order for the purposes of New Zealand law: (e) an order varying or extending an order for the giving of security for the payment of maintenance (whether by altering the term of the order, or the nature of any security, or by increasing or diminishing the amount of any security, or otherwise): (f) an order discharging an order for the giving of security for the payment of maintenance. (1A) If the Court makes an order referred to in subsection (1)(d) ,— (a) the remittance or suspension may be in respect of all or any part of the arrears; and (b) the remittance or suspension may be in respect of any maintenance order, whether or not it has ceased to be in force; and (c) any suspension may be on any terms and conditions that the Court specifies. (1B) This section does not apply to a child maintenance order (as defined in section 142A ). (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, where it appears to the Court that the order that it proposes to make is one that, if made provisionally, may be confirmed under the law of the country in which the maintenance order was made, the New Zealand Court may, instead of making the proposed order, make a provisional order that shall have no effect unless and until confirmed by a competent Court in that country, and subsections (5) to (9) of section 147 of this Act shall apply accordingly, except that instead of being accompanied by a statement of the grounds on which the order might have been opposed the certified copy of the order shall be accompanied by a statement of the grounds on which the provisional order has been made. (3) Where a person makes an application under subsection (1) of this section in respect of a maintenance order registered in New Zealand, for a variation of the order under section 99 of this Act, the application shall be dealt with as if the maintenance order had been made under this Act on the date when it was made outside New Zealand. (4) Where on the hearing of an application under subsection (1) of this section, it appears to the Court to be necessary to remit the case to the Court that made the maintenance order for the purpose of taking any further evidence, the Court may so remit the case and adjourn the proceedings for the purpose. (5) Where a maintenance order has been either registered or confirmed in New Zealand, and at any time thereafter the person in whose favour the order was made and the respondent are resident in New Zealand, a District Court may on the application of any person make an order under section 99 of this Act substituting a new order for the registered or confirmed order. (6) An order under subsection (5) of this section may be made in any case where the Court considers it just, whether or not there would be jurisdiction to make an order by reason of section 99 of this Act. (7) On an application under this section, notice of the application shall be given to such person or persons as the Court directs. Compare: 1968 No 62 s 68 Subsection (1) was substituted and subsections (1A) and (1B) were inserted, as from 15 November 2000, by section 5 Family Proceedings Amendment Act 2000 (2000 No 66).