Consent Orders

What happens when you reach an agreement about property/financial, parenting, superannuation and spousal maintenance?

1. File Consent Orders with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia or Family Court of Western Australia; or
2. Sign a Binding Financial Agreement – both parties need independent legal advice for the agreement to be binding; or
3. Do nothing.

What are Consent Orders?

If you have reached an agreement and you want to formalise that agreement and make it legally binding, you can apply to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia or Family Court of Western Australia. Consent Orders are used to formalise arrangements about:

• the care, welfare and development of your children (known as parenting orders);
• the division of property/financial (known as property/financial orders); and/or
• maintenance for a spouse/de facto spouse (known as spousal maintenance).

Consent Orders can also be used if you are applying to vary or discharge existing court orders.

Consent Orders have the same legal effect as an order made after a court hearing.

What the court does?

A Registrar of the Court will review your Consent Orders administratively.  This means your Consent Orders do not go before a Judge and you do not attend court.

The Registrar has to be satisfied that the agreement is just and equitable and/or in the best interests of the children before they will approve your Consent Orders.

Time Restrictions

Applications can be filed any time after separation but should to be filed within 12 months of a divorce or 2 years of the breakdown of a de facto relationship if parties wish to seek orders from the court.

If you are seeking orders for a property/financial settlement or spousal maintenance and more than 12 months has lapsed since your divorce became final, you need permission from the court to file the application. We can assist you if you are out of time.

For de facto relationships, if you have reached an agreement for a property/financial division more than 2 years after separation, you need permission from the court to file the application. We can assist you if you are out of time.