A Whole New World (The New Family Law Legislation Is Here)

The team at Rafton Family Lawyers have been appraised and updated in relation to recent changes to the legislation. The new legislation for the family law system came into effect on 1 September 2021 and is heralded to bring sweeping changes to a system that has been listed as broken and ineffective for many years.

Our team at our offices in Hawkesbury and throughout Western Sydney including our new offices at Penrith and St Marys are available to assist any parties with questions in relation to the legislation or to help provide updates. Our team is available to provide assistance to parties in disputes.

Some of the changes that we hope will see an improvement to the system include:

1. A focus on an efficient and cost effective progress through the legal system.
2. A promise that we hope comes into effect by the Chief Justice of a time frame of no more than 12 months litigation from the date of filing.
3. A positive requirement on each party to effectively deal with their matter and not cause unnecessary delays and adjournments.
4. A requirement that solicitors fully advise their clients of costs in matters and their ongoing disclosure obligation in relation to financial and parenting matters.
5. A new introduction of a special contravention list which will deal specifically with matters where one or both parties are not complying with orders.
6. It has been indicated that there will be serious consequences for non compliance.

Our team is very pleased to see these changes as we have been assisting clients in Western Sydney, Parramatta, Penrith and our offices in the Hawkesbury region in Richmond to deal with matters that are often facing significant delays. Our specialist family law solicitors hope that moving forward that these changes will have a positive impact.

Some other areas where assistance can be provided include:

Family Relationships Advice Line www.familyrelationships.com.au
Attorney General’s Department Family Law Assistance www.ag.gov.au
Family and Federal Court of Australia www.fafcoa.gov.au
Legal Aid NSW www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au