Whilst at first glance, the area of Family Law would appear to be relatively simple, a closer examination reveals a very different situation. It is one of the most complex areas of law, involving as it does the blunt intrusion of the law into personal, family and financial relationships.

More often than not, Family Law issues arise at times of personal upheaval when stress and emotions run high. The aim of this publication is to provide you with an overview of Family Law that may be applicable to your current situation or those around you.

Every Family Law matter is unique. Each relationship/family dispute has its own unique facts and circumstances that need to be considered and advice appropriate to that situation provided. However, there are general areas that are applicable to most matters.

Our goal in providing this publication is to give a guide to the interplay of Family Law and other areas of law that relate to family relationships.

Family Law is not simply property settlement, parenting and divorce. Family Law matters also invade other areas of both family and financial life including:

• » taxation;
• » bankruptcy and insolvency;
• » trusts and corporate structures;
• » estate planning and structuring;
• » property law; and
• » the often more complex psychological issues of child development and need.

As a central theme, the work we do is related to personal and financial relationships including:

the structuring of property interests to minimise risk consequent upon the breakdown of a marital or de facto relationship (sometimes called “Preventative Family Law”);

• » pre-nuptial or pre-cohabitation financial and superannuation agreements;
• » surrogacy agreements and transfer of parental responsibility;
• » adoption;
• » the ratification of parental rights in relation to children of same-sex relationships;
• » questions of paternity;
• » financial matters arising from the breakdown of personal relationships (marital or de facto) including divorce, property settlement, spousal maintenance, and child support;
• » the resolution and determination of parenting disputes both immediately following separation and thereafter;
• » the investigation and litigation of allegations of domestic or family violence including abuse, neglect and associated risk to children in the context of parenting disputes;
• » domestic and family violence protection issues including making application for or defending protection orders; and » the recovery of monies or property by third parties following the breakdown of a marital or de facto relationship.

This is the ninth edition of Women and Family Law. It states the law as at November 2009 that applies to married and de facto couples (including same sex de facto couples) after relationship breakdown.

This booklet provides a starting point for finding out information about the law. It provides some answers to common questions and also sets out where you can go for further help.

You should not use this booklet as a substitute for seeing a solicitor and getting legal advice.

When reading this booklet, please note:

• l The terms ‘partner’ or ‘ex-partner’ are used to describe a person’s
• husband or de facto partner, including a same sex de facto partner.
• l Words and phrases are printed in bold for a number of reasons:
• l A term that is defined in Chapter 8 (definition section) is
• printed in bold the first time that it appears in each chapter.
• l The first time a term is abbreviated in each chapter, it is
• printed in bold.
• l Time limits are printed in bold.
• l Cross references to other sections of the booklet are printed in bold.

If you’re reading this, chances are that you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of Australian parents who simply want the best for their child and to move forward with their lives – but are faced with the frustrating struggle of drawn-out, costly and stressful dealings with the Child Support Agency.

We’ve written this report especially for You – an Australian parent frustrated from your dealings with the Child Support Agency.

We have done this because we too have become frustrated and are now committed to being a part of the solution. We are Child Support Help Australia, and we help families like yours get the best possible outcome from the Child Support Agency system.

Our experience means you don’t have to know the lingo, the loopholes and the tricks of the Child Support Agency and its vast workings.

This report is a gift from Child Support Help Australia to You.

It contains all the knowledge you’ll need to eliminate a lot of the headache of haggling with a government organization. Read on, and arm yourself with the secrets of how to save money, time and stress when dealing with the CSA… because as an Aussie parent you have more important things in life to invest yourself in.

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We are a specialist service which is part of Legal Aid NSW. We are not part of the Child Support Agency (CSA) or Centrelink. We can give you independent legal advice.

Our service is completely confidential.

We only provide information about you or your case to other people or organisations (like the CSA or Centrelink) with your permission.

We can help you with things like proof of parentage, working out or changing child support assessments and agreements, CSA decisions, Centrelink requirements about child support, over 18s maintenance, and court proceedings concerning child support legal issues. In certain cases we can assist you to follow up your case with the CSA or by writing to the other parent.

Centrelink may have advised you that your benefits will be reduced unless you take reasonable action to obtain child support from the father of your child. You have been referred to the Child Support Service of Legal Aid NSW for help with this action.

What if you don’t think you are the father of the child ?

The Child Support Agency (CSA) must be satisfied that you are the father of the child before it can make a child support assessment.

The CSA cannot be satisfied that you are the father unless at least one of the following applies:

• your name is on the birth certificate
• you have sworn a statutory declaration that you are the father of the child
• you were married to the mother at the time the child was born
• a court has made an order that you are the father of the child
• you were living together at any time from 44 weeks to 20 weeks before the birth of the child
• you have adopted the child