Publications

Handy Hints about family law.

In Australia, 25.64 million people use social media, that’s 80% of 16 to 64 year olds. The Australian average is that people spend close to two hours on social media every single day (1:46 hours) and have 7.2 social media accounts. The biggest social media platform by far is Facebook, that has 87% of social media users.

Our Andrew Davies has been awarded “Family Disputes Lawyer of the Year” in the 2021 Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards.

In this edition of the O’Sullivan Davies newsletter, we discuss the continuing uncertainty resulting from COVID-19, legislative and structural changes in the Australian family law system and key events from 2021.

Pursuant to the Public Health Act 2016, directions were issued on 31 January 2022 which will affect all practitioners and support staff attending at the Family Court of Western Australia and other courts and tribunals in WA from 5 February 2022.

If you are married, despite common misconceptions, you do not have to wait until you divorce to commence property proceedings if you have finally separated from your significant other. Similarly, if you are in a de facto relationship and you separate, there is no minimum time you do not have to wait to sort matters out.

The Australian family law system has been criticised by the media, politicians, the wider community and unsurprisingly, the litigants who have had the unfortunate experience of being exposed to it for many years.  The legal profession has also at times been critical of the lack of resources allocated to the system which has led to an inadequate amount of judicial officers and caused significant delay for litigants.

The High Court of Australia today handed down an important decision on the issue of apprehension of judicial bias.

Guests at O’Sullivan Davies Presents on Thursday evening were rewarded with an insight into cutting-edge science in genetic screening and sequencing developed at the Harry Perkins Institute in Western Australia.