Australian family law associations and resources

The associations

Start with the bodies you can join.

National. The Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia is the national professional association for family law practitioners, and you join it directly. Its membership categories reach beyond established practitioners to lawyers admitted for less than four years, community legal centre and government lawyers, full-time law students, and judicial and court employees. Members receive the journal Australian Family Lawyer twice a year, monthly case updates, a fortnightly bulletin and discounted registration for the biennial National Family Law Conference.

State associations. Four states have their own practitioner association.

Victoria: the LIV Family Law Section. The Law Institute of Victoria's Family Law Section is a practice section for practitioners working in, or interested in, family law. Any LIV member can join it at no cost through their member profile. Its committees take new members by application.

The Bar. In Victoria the Family Law Bar Association represents members of the Victorian Bar practising in the family law jurisdiction. It organises conferences and accredited CPD lectures. The Children's Court Bar Association is made up of counsel who specialise in children's law, appearing in both divisions of the Children's Court and in child welfare matters elsewhere. Any member of the Victorian Bar may join either.

Law society committees. The Law Society of New South Wales and the ACT Law Society each have a Family Law Committee. These are policy and liaison committees with appointed members, so the way in is to nominate or lodge an expression of interest. Queensland Law Society's policy committees take applications from members at any time.

Dispute resolution. The Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators (AIFLAM) accredits mediators as a Recognised Accreditation Provider under the national AMDRAS standards. Its site has a search for mediators, arbitrators and FDR practitioners.

Collaborative practice. The Australian Association of Collaborative Professionals represents collaborative practitioners nationally. It lists state organisations in six jurisdictions, including the Queensland Association of Collaborative Practitioners.

International. The International Academy of Family Lawyers is a worldwide association of practising family lawyers with an Asia Pacific Chapter. Membership is by invitation only.

The courts

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia commenced on 1 September 2021 under the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021 (Cth). It is two separate courts with a single point of entry and one set of family law rules and forms. Division 1 continues the Family Court of Australia. It is a superior court of record and hears the most complex family law trials and appeals. Division 2 continues the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. It is an intermediate court whose jurisdiction includes family law and migration.

Western Australia has its own court. The Family Court of Western Australia publishes its own decisions and takes lodgement through the WA eCourts Portal. It states that property law for married couples is in the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), and for de facto couples in the Family Court Act 1997 (WA).

In the federal court the working documents are the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 and the Central Practice Direction: Family Law Case Management. The Practice Direction sets ten core principles and a national case management system for both divisions. Apart from the core principles, it does not apply to appeals, matters arising from arbitration, applications for divorce or applications for consent orders (paragraph 2.2).

Two amending Acts to keep close

Two Commonwealth Acts have recently amended the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). The commencement dates below come from section 2 of each Act.

The application rules differ from Schedule to Schedule. Read the application item for the provision you rely on, starting from the Court's two summary pages.

In Western Australia, the Family Court Amendment (Commonwealth Reforms) Act 2024 (WA) brought the 2023 parenting provisions into the Family Court Act 1997 (WA). The balance of that Act commenced on 10 February 2025.

Accreditation, registers and appointments

Specialist accreditation. Family law is an area of specialist accreditation at the Law Institute of Victoria, the Law Society of New South Wales, Queensland Law Society and the Law Society of Western Australia. Each asks for five years' full-time practice or equivalent and substantial family law work over the preceding three years. Programs do not run every year, so check the current intake.

Family dispute resolution practitioners. Accreditation is governed by the Family Law (Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners) Regulations 2025 (Cth), which commenced on 1 April 2025 and repealed the 2008 regulations. The Secretary of the Attorney-General's Department decides applications (s 11) and keeps the Family Dispute Resolution Register (s 12). Under s 60I(7) of the Family Law Act 1975, a court must not accept an application for a Part VII order for filing unless a certificate from a family dispute resolution practitioner is filed with it, or the court grants an exemption. The grounds in s 60I(9) include family violence, child abuse and urgency.

Independent Children's Lawyers. The court may order independent representation of a child's interests under s 68L of the Family Law Act 1975. It then asks the legal aid commission in that state or territory to appoint the ICL. Under s 68LA(5A) the ICL must meet the child and give the child an opportunity to express views. Section 68LA(5B) lifts that duty where the child is under five, does not want to, or exceptional circumstances apply. The Court states that it is generally inclined to order parties to contribute to the cost. National Legal Aid developed the ICL website.

Arbitration. Family law arbitration is confined to financial matters, and parenting disputes cannot be arbitrated. Under s 21 of the Family Law Regulations 2024 (Cth), an arbitrator's name must be on a list kept by the Law Council of Australia or a body it nominates. AIFLAM states that it now maintains that list. For at least five of the previous six years the person must have practised as a legal practitioner or held listed judicial office, with at least 25% of that time on family law matters. Specialist arbitration training is also required.

Services practitioners refer to

• Family Relationships Online and the Family Relationship Advice Line (1800 050 321): information on separation and parenting arrangements, and referral to local services.
• Family Violence Law Help: National Legal Aid's site, which also points to the Family Advocacy and Support Service at the family courts.
• Legal aid commissions in each state and territory, listed in the Atlas under Legal aid & community legal.

Research and publications

The Australian Institute of Family Studies is the Australian Government's research agency on family wellbeing. The Australian Law Reform Commission's report Family Law for the Future: An Inquiry into the Family Law System (ALRC Report 135) is the Commission's final report on its family law inquiry. The Australian Journal of Family Law is published by LexisNexis in three issues a year.

Pro bono in the family courts

The Victorian Bar operates the Victorian Bar Pro Bono Court Referral Scheme in conjunction with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Judicial officers identify matters where a litigant cannot afford representation. The request goes to an online platform, and family law barristers decide whether to accept. Referrals are made on the Court's initiative, not at a litigant's request.