EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Attorney-General
Family Law Act 1975
Family Law (Part VII order application – Phase 2 date) Proclamation 2008
The Family Law Act 1975 (the Act) was amended in 2006 to encourage a culture of agreement making and avoidance of an adversarial court system to resolve family disputes about children’s matters. The intention behind the changes was to improve outcomes for children involved in family breakdowns.
The 2006 amendments included the insertion of new section 60I into Part VII of the Act which provides for attendance at family dispute resolution in a range of circumstances, prior to lodging an application with the court. The object of section 60I is to ensure that parties attempt to resolve disputes about children’s matters that can be dealt with under Part VII of the Act before commencing a court process.
There is a staged commencement of the requirement for people to attend a dispute resolution process before applying for a Part VII order under the Act. The three phases are set out in subsections 60I(2) to (6) of the Act.
Phase 1 is for proceedings filed from 1 July 2006 to 30 July 2007. It provides that during that time, people who have a dispute about matters which may be dealt with by a parenting order must comply with the dispute resolution procedures relevant to a parenting order that are set out in the Family Law Rules 2004. That phase is now completed.
Phase 2, as set out in subsection 60I(5), provides that subsections 60I(7) to (11) apply to an application for a Part VII order in relation to a child if: (a) the application is made on or after 1 July 2007 and before the date fixed by Proclamation; (b) and none of the parties have applied for a Part VII order in relation to the child before 1 July 2007. Subsections 60I(7) to (11) sets out the framework for attendance at family dispute resolution before commencing a court process. The Proclamation fixes 1 July 2008 as the date on which Phase 2 ends.
Phase 3, as set out in subsection 60I(6), applies subsections 60I(7) to (11) to all applications for a Part VII order that are made on or after a further Proclamation. That Proclamation fixes 1 July 2008 as the date on which Phase 3 commences.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Consultation was unnecessary for this legislative instrument, as this instrument is of a machinery nature. It does not substantially alter existing arrangements.