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  • “The Road Ahead: What the New Family Law Act Amendments Mean for Families”

    Major amendments to the Family Law Act 1975 (“the Act”) were passed by the Commonwealth Parliament on 19 October 2023 (“the Amendments”). The Amendments have not yet come into effect but are expected to roll out imminently.

  • The Owies Trust Controversy: When Family and Finances Collide

    Trusts can be a powerful tool for preserving and distributing family wealth. The Owies Family Trust, with its generous asset base and complex beneficiary structure, appeared to be a model of financial planning. However, the estrangement of key family members in 2011 set off a chain of events that challenged the very essence of trust law.

  • OSD Presents… Handy Hints

    Handy Hints about family law. Find links here to useful information. [...]

  • OSD Questions and Answers

    Common questions answered about family law. Find links here to useful information. [...]

  • Essential requirements of informal post-separation parenting plans

    It’s not unusual for parties who have separated to make their own private parenting arrangements in relation to their child. Private parenting arrangements are an attractive option because they are cost effective and relatively easy to produce. They may also be less emotionally intensive than dealing with the formal legal system.

  • Necessary legal requirements to establish separation

    For parties to a marriage who have made the decision to separate, there are a number of conditions that must be met in order to establish separation.

  • A Tale of Two Forums: Administrative Tribunals and Family Courts in Incapacity Matters

    Andrew Davies examines the tensions that can arise between administrative tribunals and family courts in incapacity matters.

  • Confidentiality and the Independent Children’s Lawyer

    The unique role played by an Independent Children’s Lawyer (“ICL”) (particularly when both parents are self-represented), and the ongoing developments in information sharing protocols between agencies, appear to have contributed to some confusion as to the obligations on ICLs to keep confidential information which they obtain in that role.

  • Family Reports / Expert Reports / Disclosure / Cross Examination

    There is a distinction between Family Reports and Expert Reports in Family Law proceedings.

  • The treatment of monies advanced to a party: gift or loan

    Family members commonly help out their adult children or grandchildren through the provision of financial assistance, and this is likely to continue during fraught economic times.