ByLawyers News and Updates

Expert evidence – Family law – FED

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A new precedent for use when obtaining expert evidence has been added to the Family Law guides.

When the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) commenced operation on 1 September 2021, it did so with a new set of rules: the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (the Family Law Rules 2021). The rules apply in all family law matters across both divisions of the court.

Part 7.1 of the Family Law Rules 2021 makes provision for expert evidence. Rule 7.13 provides that experts must be given a recent copy of Divisions 7.14, 7.15, and 7.16. These rules cover requirements for instructions to experts, information about disclosure by experts, their duties and obligations, as well as clarification of the requirements for a single expert report.

A new enclosure has been created which conveniently includes all of the rules in these divisions. The enclosure can be given to the expert witness when they are instructed, thereby making it easy for practitioners to comply with the requirements under the rules. This enclosure has been added to these Family Law matter plans – Property settlement, Children and Financial agreements, for use when obtaining expert evidence. There are corresponding precedent letters to experts on each matter plan.

For Property settlement matters, the new precedent enclosure is located in the Going to court folder under If required – Valuer. There is also a Letter to the valuer for single expert valuation.

For Children matters, the new precedent enclosure is located in the Going to court folder under If required – Single expert witness report. There is also a Letter to single expert witness.

For Financial agreements matters, the new precedent enclosure is located in the Enforcement folder under If required – Single expert witness report. There is also a Letter to single expert witness.

The By Lawyers Family law publication is up to date with all of the recent changes to the family law system after the merger of the two courts into the FCFCOA.

Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia – FED

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The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) commences operation on 1 September 2021.

The FCFCOA is an amalgamation of the former Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

The new court has two divisions:

  • Division 1 is a superior court of record that includes the judges from the former Family Court. It deals with the most complex matters and exercises appellate jurisdiction.
  • Division 2 is a court of record that includes the judges from the former Federal Circuit Court, which is the single point of entry for all family law and child support matters.

There is a common set of forms and rules across the two divisions. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (the Family Law Rules 2021) apply in all family law matters, except in Western Australia where the Family Court Rules 2021 (WA) apply. Western Australia also has its own dedicated portal – the eCourts Portal of Western Australia.

They provide for the practice and procedure in both divisions of the FCFCOA except for a few matters such as transfer from Division 2 to Division 1 as set out in the Family Law Rules 2021.

The new court’s website is available: www.fcfcoa.gov.au.

A practice direction deals with Transitional arrangements.

Division 2 of the new court also has a general federal law jurisdiction, like the former Federal Circuit Court.

All By Lawyers Family law publications – Children, Divorce, Financial Agreements, and Property Settlement – are being updated for the commencement of the new court. This includes a full review of the:

  • commentaries, for the new terminology, procedures and hyperlinks to the new rules;
  • matter plans, with a single Going to court folder reflecting the new process; and
  • precedents, to incorporate all necessary changes.

There is a 90 day grace period for using the old forms in the new court. The new court forms will be added to the By Lawyers matter plans as they become available.

By Lawyers always keep our subscribers up to date!

Immigration status – Divorce – FED

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A new section ‘Immigration status’ has been added to the Divorce section of the By Lawyers reference manual 101 Family Law Answers.

This new section provides guidance on establishing whether a party is ‘habitually resident’ in Australia when both the applicant and the respondent hold a temporary visa.

Section 39(3) of the Family Law Act 1975 provides that for the court to have jurisdiction to grant a divorce order, either the applicant or the respondent must be:

  1. an Australian citizen;
  2. a person domiciled in Australia; or
  3. ordinarily resident in Australia for one year immediately preceding the filing date.

Section 4(1) of the Family Law Act 1975 provides that ‘ordinarily resident’ includes ‘habitually resident’.

If both the applicant and the respondent hold a temporary visa, and either has been living in Australia for 12 months, the next step is to establish whether they are habitually resident. The applicant or respondent will need to establish they have settled, or intend to settle, in Australia by providing evidence of accommodation, employment and other community connections. The type of visa currently held and an intention to apply for permanent residency will also be relevant.

The claim to habitual residence is best addressed in an affidavit in support of the divorce application. This will avoid the application being adjourned or listed for submissions on the residency issue.

101 Family Law Answers provides practitioners with valuable information on the more unusual and detailed aspects of family law and includes many helpful links to cases and legislation. It can be found in the Reference Materials folder on all of the matter plans in the Family Law publication.

For more information on temporary visas, see the By Lawyers Immigration publication.

 

New family law court – FED

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The new family law court, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA), commences 1 September 2021.

The FCFCOA will have 2 divisions. Essentially Division 1 replaces the existing Family Court and Division 2 replaces the existing family law functions of the Federal Circuit Court. There will be a single point of entry to the new family law court through Division 2.

Summary of the changes

  • There will be harmonised rules, new practice directions, updated forms and one website.
  • The new court’s website will be launched on 1 September 2021 with simplified access and navigation.
  • All forms will be updated. An Application in a Case will become an Application in a Proceeding.
  • Transitional arrangements will allow for the use of new forms, with a 90 day grace period for old forms.
  • Existing matters will generally remain in the existing courts, unless the parties are advised otherwise.
  • Division 2 will have a general federal law jurisdiction similar to that of the Federal Circuit Court currently.
  • Division 1 will have jurisdiction to hear family law appeals and there will be a single national appeals filing registry.
  • A National Contravention List will be introduced and a practice direction will accompany the commencement of the list.
  • The new court will have Senior Judicial Registrars, Judicial Registrars, and Deputy Registrars. While the titles change, their powers and roles will be the same as existing Registrars.
  • Child Disputes Services will be known as the Court Children’s Service. Family Consultants will be known as Court Child Experts.
  • Parties in children’s matters will receive assistance earlier, with a greater emphasis on expert guidance.

Updates for the FCFCOA commencement on 1 September 2021

All By Lawyers Family law guides – Children, Divorce, Financial Agreements, and Property Settlement – will be updated to reflect the commencement of the new court. This will include a full review of the:

  • commentaries for the new procedures and rules;
  • matter plans with a single Going to court section reflecting the new process;
  • forms – with all new forms on the matter plans; and
  • precedents, to incorporate the changes where necessary.

By Lawyers always keep our content – and our subscribers – up to date!

Family law property dealings – FED

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For the assistance of practitioners conducting family law property dealings, a new folder has been added to the By Lawyers Family Law publication. Commentary and precedents are available to assist family law practitioners at the point of a matter where real property needs to be transferred between the parties.

The new folder is called If required – Real property dealings. The commentary and precedents within the new folder are extracted from the By Lawyers Conveyancing and Property publications. They provide guidance and the necessary forms and precedents to verify the client’s identity to the relevant standard for electronic lodgments of transfers and dealings with real property.

The new folder contains the following precedents and commentary required for the electronic settlements process:

This useful content has been added to the Property Settlement guide and the Financial Agreements guide. The new folder can be found in Finalising the matter on both matter plans. The location of this new content reflects the fact that family law property dealings are typically effected upon finalisation of the matter.

Family law practitioners are reminded that the commentary in both the Family Law Property settlement and Financial agreements guides cover the considerations and procedure for transfers of real property in family law matters. The By Lawyers 101 Family Law Answers reference guide also provides helpful information which includes valuing real property in the family law context, stamp duty implications of real property transfers in family law, together with coverage of capital gains tax and foreign resident withholding payments.

This enhancement arises from feedback from a By Lawyers subscriber. We value such feedback and always love to hear our users. Don’t hesitate to get in contact: askus@bylawyers.com.au

Children – Family Law – FED

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The By Lawyers Family Law Children publication has been reviewed. Resulting updates and enhancements to the commentary and precedents include:

  • Parenting Orders commentary re-ordered and streamlined, with consequent amendments to the matter plan and new section on applications by ‘Other persons’.
  • Transfer of less frequently used forms and precedents into ‘If required’ folders, for example, subpoenas.
  • A new top-level folder on the matter plan dedicated to the final hearing.
  • New commentary on Undertakings.
  • Restructure of the enforcement/contravention section of the matter plan into Dealing with breaches of orders with detailed commentary on both applications.
  • Updated case summaries in 101 Family Law Answers for binding child support agreements, applications by grandparents, and the variation of parenting orders.

This review is part of our current preparation for the commencement of the new court structure. Practitioners will be aware that the Commonwealth parliament has passed the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021 and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2021, commencing 1 September at the latest. The new Acts create an amalgamated Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCA) with two divisions. The FCFCA will be the single point of entry for family law and child support cases.

The new court will continue to have a statutory obligation to protect the rights of children, promote their welfare, and protect them from family violence.

All four of the By Lawyers Family Law publications – Children, Property Settlement, Financial Agreements, and Divorce – will be revised and updated as required when the new court commences. Going forward, relevant decisions of the FCFCA will also be added to 101 Family Law Answers as they are published.

Family law cases – FED

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A number of recent family law cases have been added to 101 Family Law Answers.

These new family law cases are located in the following sections of this helpful reference manual:

Costs orders

For a discussion of interim lump sum payments see Russo and Russo & Ors [2020] FCWA 182 at [61]-[66].

Settlement offers

In Paradin & Paradin [2020] FamCAFC 245 an order that the husband pay the wife’s costs was set aside. The husband had rejected the wife’s Calderbank offer because it was ambiguous and was not specific as to breakdown of payments. Strickland J stated at [57]:

… I am reminded … of what the Full Court said in Pennisi, namely, it is critical to consider the context in which an offer is made … And, as was said by the Full Court in Cross & Beaumont [2008] FamCAFC 68 … at [51] that context can be that ‘[i]f the recipient of the offer is demonstrably unable to comply with his or her obligations under the proposed settlement, it is difficult to see how the offer could be relied upon in support of an application for costs’.

Contributions – Conduct and family violence

Benson & Drury [2020] FamCAFC 303 saw the Full Court dismiss an appeal by the de facto husband against a 5% adjustment in the de facto wife’s favour. The adjustment had been made due to the impact of family violence upon her contributions, based on the arguments raised in Kennon. However, the Full Court stated that the primary judge was in error for not considering the Kennon argument in a holistic way. At [35] they stated:

…The contributions which have been made significantly more arduous have to be weighed along with all other contributions by each of the parties, whether financial or non-financial, direct or indirect to the acquisition, conservation and improvement of property and in the role of homemaker and parent. All contributions must be weighed collectively and so it is an error to segment or compartmentalise the various contributions and weigh one against the remainder.

101 Family Law Answers is available as a related guide and also in the reference materials folder in all By Lawyers Family Law publications. It provides more detailed information and relevant family law cases. It is separated into the various Family Law matter types – Property Settlement, Children, Financial Agreements and Divorce. It also covers general procedural issues and the enforcement of orders.

The Lighthouse Project – FED

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The Lighthouse Project is a new family-violence and risk screening initiative that will run in both the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court for parenting matters. The legislative framework is provided by the recent Family Law Amendment (Risk Screening Protections) Act 2020.

The project will be initially available in the Adelaide, Brisbane and Parramatta registries of the courts. It is scheduled to commence before the end of 2020.

The Lighthouse Project includes:

  • early risk screening through a secure online platform;
  • early identification and management of safety concerns; and
  • assessment and triage of cases by a specialised team, who will provide resources and safe and suitable case management.

All cases identified as high-risk following the screening process will be referred to a dedicated list in the court. The specialist list will be known as the Evatt List. This will be a judge-managed list which will focus on early information gathering and intervention through a judge-led, dedicated support team in appropriate cases.

Both courts have a dedicated page on their websites with information about the Lighthouse Project.

The By Lawyers Family Law Children publication has been updated accordingly. Information on The Lighthouse Project has been included under Pre-Action procedures in the full commentary and on the matter plan. Practitioners are also reminded of the related information on family violence and cross-examination of parties, in the Going to court folders.

101 Costs Answers – ALL STATES

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101 Costs Answers is the latest addition to the By Lawyers ‘101’ series of helpful reference materials.

Located in the Reference materials folder on every By Lawyers matter plan, this publication contains valuable commentary and precedents on all aspects of legal costs.

The precedents include all of the By Lawyers costs agreements/client services agreements and costs disclosures, drawn together from all By Lawyers publications into a convenient single publication.

The By Lawyers costs agreements are compliant with the strict requirements of the various state laws. They cater for all areas of law, with detailed recitals of the scope of work usually undertaken in each type of matter. This not only defines the retainer but makes it easy for practitioners to produce documents quickly upon engagement.

The 101 Costs Answers commentary includes:

Disclosure requirements

The commentary helps practitioners to navigate some of the more complicated disclosure requirements including regulated costs and the specific obligations for different types of litigation matters. The effect of non-disclosure is also covered.

Disbursements

Commentary on defining and recovering disbursements includes relevant case law and examples. The By Lawyers costs agreements are drafted to clearly identify usual disbursements.

Counsel’s fees

The commentary deals with the contractual relationship between solicitors and barristers as well as disclosure requirements. With the solicitor responsible for payment of counsel’s fees regardless of the solicitor’s agreement with the client, the By Lawyers costs agreements include counsel’s fees as specific disbursements which the client is obliged to pay.

Debt recovery

Where debt recovery is necessary, 101 Costs Answers contains letters of demand and example pleadings to assist with the recovery of costs. There is also detailed commentary on costs assessment procedures and the relevant forms for each state are available on the matter plan.

Like all By Lawyers publications, 101 Costs Answers contains interactive links to relevant legislation and cases, which are always kept updated.

Notice of risk – FED

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A new Notice of risk form has been released for use in the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court.

The new form is called ‘Notice of Child Abuse, Family Violence or Risk’. It harmonises the approach taken to risk notification in parenting matters. It is intended to assist in ensuring that families receive appropriate and targeted intervention within the family law system.

The new form replaces and consolidates the three previously prescribed forms, being:

  • Notice of Risk,
  • Notice of Child Abuse, Family Violence or Risk of Family Violence (Current Case), and
  • Notice of Child Abuse, Family Violence or Risk of Family Violence (Application for Consent Orders).

The new form must be completed by all parties filing an Initiating Application, Response or Application for Consent Orders where a parenting order is sought from 31 October 2020.

Applications that are part completed but have not yet been lodged for filing on the Commonwealth Courts Portal by 31 October 2020 will also need to have the new form completed.

If an allegation of child abuse or family violence, or risk of same, is made in the Notice then an affidavit must be filed setting out the evidence on which the allegation is based. In the Federal Circuit Court, this may be done within the affidavit filed with the Initiating Application or Response.

The Notice must be served on all other parties and any other relevant person as outlined in the form. The Notice of Risk should be eFiled where possible using the Commonwealth Courts Portal.

The new form enables a Judge or Registrar to consider multiple risk issues in addition to child abuse or family violence, at an earlier stage in proceedings. Multiple risk issues include mental health, substance abuse and threats of harm. The Notice will be referred to the relevant child welfare agency where appropriate.

This form is available on the matter plan of the By Lawyers Family Law – Children publication. The commentary has been updated to include some practical information on the use of the form.

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