Changes to the Family Law Act

On 29 November 2024, the Family Law Amendment Bill 2024 was passed by both Houses of Parliament with a start date expected to be in May or June 2025.

This piece of legislation is the final part of proposed amendments to the Family Law Act. The first part, which came into effect on 6 May 2024, made substantial changes to  disputes relating to children.

A brief summary of the changes is as follows:

a. enable the Court to control and manage the conduct of property and other non-child-related proceedings, including to address family violence and ensure appropriate evidence is before the Court;

b. codify the duty of disclosure relevant to financial information required to be provided by the parties to each other;

c. amend the arbitration regime for Court-ordered or privately arranged family law arbitrations;

d. provide a regulatory framework for Children’s Contact services;

e. safeguard against the disclosure and adducing of evidence arising from communications made in the course of professional confidential relationships;

f. removes the necessity for counselling if the marriage was less than 2 tears;

g. allows orders to be made with respect to companion animals;

h. introduces a new concept of economic or financial abuse into the Act;

i. introduces various other provisions about case management, procedure and costs;

j. clarifies various aspects of family law and supports the operation of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and the Family Court of Western Australia.

k. provides for a review of these amendments.

We welcome the changes to the Family Law Act, and in particular, the prioritisation of Family Violence and codification of the relevance of Family Violence in Financial Matters, and providing a much needed framework for the regulation of Children’s Contact Services.

The changes will have significant consequences for all of the stakeholders, including the parties and, importantly, the children to the proceedings, as well as the professionals assisting the parties to navigate through their separation, including the lawyers, the Children’s Contact Services/Supervision providers, and the professionals who provide the parties, family and/or children support and how communications made in that confidential relationship are treated.

For more information on the proposed changes, see the following useful links:

• https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r7234
• Family Law Amendment Bill 2024 – Parliament of Australia

If would like to discuss these changes and how it may affect your Family Law matter, please contact our Family Law Team on 8525 2700, or click here to request an appointment with one of our Team. Our experienced team of Family Law Solicitors include Riccarda Stock, Nicole Quirk, Shweta Kumar, Nikita Ward and Kirstin Attard.

Article by Nicole Quirk
Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash, created in Canva