By Anita Petrovic. In most parenting cases that come before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia ('the Court'), the Court makes orders for the preparation of a Family Report. This is a report by a qualified expert who meets with the family, reviews the Court documents and makes recommendations [...]
In urgent situations, you can ask the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia to make an urgent Order, and in extremely urgent circumstances, you can even request that your application be heard ex parte. This means that the Court will deal with the matter immediately and without notice to the [...]
By Anita Petrovic. In January 2023, the government issued a proposal to shift the legal framework underpinning how the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia determines parenting disputes. At the moment, the Court presumes that it is in a child’s best interests for their parents to have equal shared parental [...]
By Emily Austin The underlying premise of child support is to ensure that children of separated parents continue to be supported by both parents financially. The quantity of a parent’s child support obligations is calculated using a legislated formula comprised of 8 steps that take into account the parent’s income and [...]
By Anita Petrovic. There can be lots of reasons for time between children and a parent to be supervised, but it isn’t always easy to make arrangements for supervised time during the Christmas period or other public holidays. The Family Hopes Supervised Contact Service is Australia-wide and open 365 days a [...]
We plan for birthdays, holidays, weddings, so why not Christmas? If you are a separated parent, you need to consider what is to occur with parenting arrangements for the children over Christmas. Your planning should include: Will the current arrangements work for Christmas this year? How will we as parents [...]
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia announced this week the launch of their new pilot program, the Court Facility Dog Program. Running exclusively (for now, hopefully!) in the Melbourne Registry the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia have on loan Court Dog Lucy and her expert handler from [...]
Families going through a separation can experience significant changes in circumstances, including living circumstances and very often financial circumstances. The family changes from an intact entity, where parents who are living together often spending substantial time with the children, to a family that often must maintain two households, where one parent [...]
Parenting across separate households can be a difficult challenge. It is always better for parents to come to an arrangement that is child-focused. Here are some tips to ensure this Christmas is memorable for your children for all the right reasons: 1) Have a plan Whether these are agreed in writing [...]
There are only 10 weeks left until Christmas and clients arriving at our office in Darlinghurst this week have been in for a pleasant surprise as our multiple office Christmas trees and life-sized snowman, affectionately referred to as ‘Frosty’, greets them as they come up the stairs into our office. It [...]