Family law is "the area of law relating to the regulation of domestic or personal relationships and the consequences that flow from the end of such relationships. Family law is concerned with matters such as the welfare of children, property and maintenance disputes between married or de facto partners, and legal termination of marital relationships through divorce or annulment. The Family Court of Australia, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, and the Family Court of Western Australia are the main courts exercising family law jurisdiction." (From the Encyclopaedic Australian Legal Dictionary)
See also The Law Handbook 2020 - 'Relationships, families and young people'
Look at Halsbury's Laws of Australia - Title 205 Family Law and Lexis Practical Guidance AU Family for guidance and forms.
Resources
Australian Family Law in Context : Commentary and Materials by ISBN: 9780455241234Publication Date: 7th ed, 2019
Australian Family Law Act 1975: With Rules and Regulations by ISBN: 9781925672299Publication Date: 36 ed, 2019
Use the case citator CaseBase or Westlaw Australia (Cases) to find specific cases from Australian courts.
- Australian Family Law Cases (CCH iKnowConnect)Selected Australian family law cases decided by the High Court of Australia, Family Court of Australia, Federal Circuit Court, Family Court of Western Australia and State and Territory Supreme Courts
- Family Law ReportsSelected judgments from the Family Court, the Federal Magistrates Court and all other superior courts in which matters relating to family law are decided
Court judgments (unreported)
International Journals
- Canadian Journal of Family Law (1978 - present)Jurisdiction: Canada
- Child and Family Quarterly (1995 - present)Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
- Family Law Quarterly (1967 - present)Jurisdiction: United States
- International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family (1996 - present)Jurisdiction: International
- Journal of Law and Family Studies (1999 - 2013)Jurisdiction: United States
- New Zealand Family Law Journal (1993 - present)Jurisdiction: New Zealand
- Family Law for the Future — An Inquiry into the Family Law System: Final Report (2019 report)Australian Law Reform Commission comprehensive review into the family law system
- Structural Reform of the Federal Courts (2019)Information on the structural reform of the federal family law courts.
- Family Violence Plan - Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court of Australia (2019 report)Contains actions to ensure the early identification and management of matters where family violence, or the risk of family violence, is alleged.
- A Better Family Law System to Support and Protect those Affected by Family Violence (2017 report)Parliament of Australia. Includes terms of reference, submissions, public hearings and final report
- Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2017 report)Contains research, roundtables, consultation papers, speeches, issue papers and practical guidelines, and final report
- Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child AbductionEntry into force for Australia: 1 January 1987
- Global Women’s Leadership Project - UN Women’s Family Law Database (PennLaw)Clearing house of information on laws that govern women’s status in the family developed by the Global Women’s Leadership Project (GWLP).
- International Encyclopaedia of Laws: Family and Succession LawThis comprehensive comparative subset of the International Encyclopaedia of Laws (IEL) covers family law together with marital property law and succession law
- The Routledge handbook of international family lawProvide a broad but authoritative review of current research in the area of International Family Law
- Australian Federal Police Family Law KitContains general information in summary form on Family Law orders including forms, links and publications
- Australian Government Family Law GuideContains links to government information about Australia's family law system and the family courts
- Best Practice Guidelines For Lawyers Doing Family Law WorkPrepared by the Family Law Council and Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia
- Family Law CouncilThe Family Law Council advises and makes recommendations to the Attorney-General about the workings of the Family Law Act and other matters
- Family Violence Law eLearning - Intersections (VLA)Interactive training module with three learning streams aimed primarily at criminal lawyers, family lawyers and child protection lawyers
- National Domestic and Family Violence Bench BookOnline resource providing best practice in dealing with family and domestic violence matters
Research at Monash
- Faculty of Law - Dr Becky BatagolDr Becky Batagol is a researcher and teacher with a focus on family law, family violence, non-adversarial justice, dispute resolution, gender, child protection and constitutional law.
- Faculty of Law - Dr Adiva SifrisAssociate Professor Adiva Sifris has written widely in the area of family law, both in relation to children and property, with a particular focus on de facto relationships, same-sex parenting and family violence.
Marital Rights: The Library of Essays on Family Rights by Call Number: eBookISBN: 1351559184Publication Date: 2016Part 1: Chapter 1 Marriage: a human right for all? by Adiva Sifris, Paula Gerber and Kristine Tay
