Family Law updates are included in the Civil Law and Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2018, which provides for amendments to numerous statutes, including the Family Law Act 1975 and the Marriage Act 1961.

These updates have been incorporated in the commentaries for Property Settlement and Divorce in the By Lawyers Family Law Guide.

Final property division orders being made out of time by consent – de facto couples

Section 44(5) of the Family Law Act 1975 now provides that de facto couples may consent to final property division orders being made out of time, without the necessity for a judge to grant leave. This means that de facto couples who reach agreement to a property division more than two years after separation can now have orders made using the Application for Consent Order process. This will be done by including an order that they consent to the making of orders out of time, rather than having to issue proceedings to seek the leave of the court.

Renumbering Superannuation Interests sections in the Family Law Act

Effective 22 November 2018 Part VIIIB of the Family Law Act, being the Superannuation Interests sections, will be re-numbered in a more logical sequence. Section 90MA will become s 90XA and so on down to s 90MZH being replaced by s 90XZH.