EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Proclamation
Issued by the authority of the Attorney-General
Family Law Amendment (De Facto Financial Matters and Other Measures) Act 2008
Subsection 2(1) of the Family Law Amendment (De Facto Financial Matters and Other Measures) Act 2008 (the De Facto Act) provides that certain items of Schedule 1 and Schedule 2, and item 1 of Schedule 4 commence on a day to be fixed by Proclamation. However, if any of those provisions do not commence within six months of the date the Act receives the Royal Assent, then those provisions commence on the first day after the end of that period. The Act received Royal Assent on 21 November 2008.
The purpose of the Proclamation is to fix the date of 1 March 2009 as the commencement date for:
- the Commonwealth de facto property scheme in Schedule 1 to the De Facto Act (items 1 to 4 of Schedule 1), and
- amendments to family dispute resolution requirements in subsection 60I(8) of the FLA (item 1 of Schedule 4).
The commencement of items 1 to 4 of Schedule 1 also triggers the commencement of other provisions in the De Facto Act, including amendments to other Acts consequential on the operation of the Commonwealth de facto property scheme.
The De Facto Act amends the Family Law Act 1975 (FLA) to confer jurisdiction on the federal family courts to hear and determine matters related to the breakdown of de facto relationships. This will apply to both same sex and opposite sex de facto couples. The De Facto Act creates a uniform and consistent Commonwealth de facto property scheme that applies in all States other than South Australia and Western Australia, and also applies in the Territories.
To give effect to the amendments in the De Facto Act, the family courts have needed to prepare to hear these new types of matters and particularly to update their Court rules. These changes will be finalised by 1 March 2009.
Consultation on the content of the Proclamation was undertaken under section 17 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 with the Family Court of Australia, the Federal Magistrates Court, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Department of Human Services, the Insolvency Trustee Service Australia, The Treasury and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.