News and Insights

Reducing domestic and family violence (DFV) is one of our three pro bono priority areas. We have a long history of working with victim/ survivors of DFV and are focused on prevention, empowerment, increased access to justice and perpetrator accountab

To vax, or not to vax, that is the question.  The legal, medical, and ethical minefield surrounding the question of vaccinations is not going away any time soon. With reports from overseas on lowering the ages at which children should be receiving

There has been a profound shift in Australian society towards the attitude and recognition of domestic violence. This has been echoed in the Australian courts, with coercive control recently in the spotlight.  In this article, we discuss what coerc

Obtaining a divorce To obtain a divorce, an application for divorce is filed in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. You can apply for a divorce if: Your marriage has broken down irretrievably. There is no reasonable likelihood of resuming coha

In this article, Partner, Lisa Lahey and Law Graduate, John Hickey outline the recent court decision Xiu v Hodges [2020] FamCA 225 and discuss the Court’s unpreparedness to entertain parents’ efforts to capitalise on the COVID-19 pandemic as

Update: March 2021 On 12 March 2021 the Family Law Courts announced they are expanding the criteria for the COVID-19 List (a list created at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to address any disputes that arise as a direct or indirect result of the C

On 28 April 2020, the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court of Australia released the third joint practice direction of 2020 enabling you to make an urgent application for issues arising as a direct result of the COVID19 pandemic. In this article we

Last week, the Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia released a media statement providing general guidance to families and the Australian community as we continue to navigate these uncertain times amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. Partner, Lisa

The Federal Government has announced implementing a level-four travel ban for the entire world, advising all Australians to not travel overseas at this time. It has also recommended that Australians already overseas who wish to return to do so as soo

Disputes often arise about the existence of a de facto relationship as, unlike marriage, there is no formal marker of the relationship, which a marriage certificate provides. Colloquially, a de facto relationship evokes ideas of murky uncertainty and

Who is a party to family law proceedings? Usually, only two persons are parties to a dispute in the Family Court or the Federal Circuit Court. They are the spouses or de facto spouses in a property dispute, and the parents of a child or children in

How shared parenting responsibility is determined under the Family Law Act 1975  Section 61DA of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) contains a presumption that it is in the best interests of the child for the child’s parents to have equal shared pare