Family law resources

Changes to the Family law guidelines

A video resource will walk you through the July 2017 changes to the guidelines, ATLAS and the Notes to the guidelines. 

Read an overview of the changes – Ready reckoner – Overview of Commonwealth family law guideline changes

Forms

• Download the Information for the independent children's lawyer (pdf, 69.44 KB) or read the accessible Word version (161.07 KB)
  This form is for independent children's lawyers to gather information about parents and children in a case. See also our fact sheet for clients The role of an independent children’s lawyer.

Guide for lawyers at Victoria Legal Aid Family Dispute Resolution Service

Lawyers representing clients at Victoria Legal Aid Family Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS) should refer to our Guide for lawyers at Victoria Legal Aid Family Dispute Resolution Service (docx, 127.85 KB) to ensure parties come prepared to have respectful, child-focused and future-focused discussions.

Case note

• Case note: Hargreaves and Hargreaves [2017] FCCA 33 (20 January 2017) (docx, 134.17 KB)
  This case note summarises how Victoria Legal Aid's specialised child support team represented the claimant parent of an adult child in what we understand to be the first case confirming adult child maintenance is available to support children receiving NDIS.
• Case note: Re Kelvin [2017] FamCAFC 258 (30 November 2017) (docx, 138.31 KB)
  Summary of landmark decision of the Full Court of the Family Court which removes the need for trans-gender people under the age of 18 to seek court authorisation to commence stage 2 hormone treatment in non-controversial cases. Case note includes useful definitions of terms and commentary on the circumstances in which court authorisation is still required.  
• Case note: Re Isaac [2014] FamCA 1134 (17 December 2014) (docx, 135.53 KB)
  Case note on Re Isaac [2014] FamCA 1134 (17 December 2014) including facts, decision and commentary regarding whether Isaac was competent and capable of making an informed decision about his own medical treatment for gender dysphoria.
• Case note: when there is family violence in a family law litigation (docx, 137.96 KB)
  This case note details how we helped a woman keep herself and her children safe from her violent ex-partner throughout the family law litigation.

Conference papers and articles

A selection of conference papers, articles and guides written by our lawyers are provided for other lawyers to use.

• Affidavits: the good, the bad and the very ugly (doc, 193.91 KB)
  A guide describing the ins and outs of drafting a quality affidavit of evidence in support of your family law case.
• Contravention of orders affecting children (doc, 184.76 KB)
  A guide to making sense of the regime for enforcing parenting orders.

Other websites

• Independent Children's Lawyers
  A website developed by National Legal Aid to support independent children's lawyers across Australia.