Australia

As businesses shut down or reduce their operations due to the spread of COVID-19, parties to commercial contracts may be seeking to resile from their contractual obligations. One way a party to a commercial contract may be excused from performing all or some of its obligations is through reliance on a force majeure clause. This…

The Child Visa (Subclass 101) allows a dependent child to enter Australia to live with their parent or parents. It covers biological children as well as adopted children and stepchildren. The dependent child must be sponsored by a parent or the parent’s spouse and must be outside of Australia when the application is made. A…

The use of drones for recreational, as well as commercial, purposes in Australia is becoming more and more common. Drones have been used in Australia for law enforcement, by the media and by scientists.  The laws surrounding drone use are set out in the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations. However, some aspects of drone use raise…

When a person seeks child support from another person, they must establish that the person is indeed a parent of the child or children in question. In most cases, parentage is not in dispute. However, when issues arise around parentage, an application will sometimes need to be made under Section 106A of the Child Support…

Whether or not a relationship would be considered to be a short relationship depends on all the circumstances. However, if a relationship lasts less than five years, it will likely be categorised as short. When the court makes orders for the division of property after short relationships, the financial contributions made by each party are…

Upon separation, couples will usually seek property settlement. A property settlement is a binding legal arrangement dividing the assets and liabilities of parties to a relationship. Parties to property settlements often overlook the impact capital gains tax will have on the outcome. As part of a settlement, one party will often be obligated to transfer…

The Family Law Act 1975 governs the division of assets, liabilities and superannuation in the event of separation after a de facto relationship or marriage. The court has a wide discretion under the Act to decide the property settlement entitlements of each party based on the facts of the individual case. Parties’ entitlements to an…

When parties seek to finalise their financial relationship following a separation, there are a number of important factors to consider and steps to take. One of these is to obtain a valuation of the property owned by the parties. Courts dealing with family law matters have a discretion to make any orders which are just…

Stepparent adoption is the process by which a stepparent becomes the legal parent of their spouse’s or de-facto partner’s child. Before a court considers an application for adoption of a child by a stepparent, the Family Court of Australia must first give its approval for the adoption to proceed (section 60G Family Law Act 1975). Adoption…

On 11 February 2020, the High Court delivered its much-anticipated judgement in the matter of Love & Thoms v Commonwealth. The court ruled in a majority judgment that the Commonwealth does not have the power to deal with Aboriginal non-citizens as ‘aliens’ under Section 51(xix) of the Constitution. In effect, the decision means that immigration…

Courts have an obligation at law to accord procedural fairness to any person who is being sentenced before a court. This obligation exists to ensure fairness and transparency in the sentencing process. Procedural fairness essentially imposes two fundamental rules. Proceedings must take place in open court where both parties are allowed the opportunity to be…

Family law matters can be time-consuming as well as expensive to litigate. The wait time for a court to determine a family law matter on a final basis can be over two years from when the Initiating Application is filed. In order to resolve matters efficiently, parties should consider alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as…

In 2017, in the wake of the same-sex marriage poll, the federal government announced its intention to look into the need to pass laws protecting against religious discrimination. In December 2019, the second draft of the Religious Discrimination Bill was released. The Bill contains provisions that guard against discrimination on the basis of religion, but…

If one parent prevents the other parent from having contact with the child or children, it may be necessary to make an application for a recovery order and/or a location order. Location Orders and Recovery Orders are governed by Sections 67J and 67Q of the Family Law Act 1975 and address circumstances where a person is prevented…

The Federal Circuit Court of Australia and the Family Court of Australia jointly make up the Australian Family Law Courts. The two courts deal with a range of matters, including care of children, divorce and property settlement. Both courts operate under the same Commonwealth legislation, the Family Law Act 1975. It’s not uncommon for adults…

The Family Law Act applies to de facto relationships as well as to marriages. This means that court orders can be made regarding the division of property, spousal maintenance and other matters that arise following a separation whether the parties were legally married or in a de facto relationship. However, it is not always easy…