Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FAMILY LAW AMENDMENT RULES 2002 (NO. 3) 2002 NO. 241

STATUTORY RULES 2002 No. 241

Issued by the authority of the Judges of the Family Court of Australia

Family Law Amendment Rules 2002 (No. 3)

AMENDMENT OF THE FAMILY LAW RULES 1984

Section 123 of the Family Law Act 1975 (the Act) provides that the Judges of the Family Court of Australia, or a majority of them, may make Rules of Court providing for the practice and procedure to be followed in the Family Court and other courts exercising jurisdiction under the Act.

Section 123(2) of the Act provides that Sections 48, 48A, 48B, 49 and 50 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 apply in relation to the Rules of Court as if reference in those sections to regulations were references to Rules of Court.

The present Family Law Rules came into operation on 2 January 1985. They have been regularly reviewed and amended since that date.

NOTES ON PROPOSED AMENDMENTS

The details of the proposed amendments are as follows:

Rule 1 cites the Rules as the Family Law Amendment Rules 2002 (No. 3).

Rule 2 provides that the Rules commence on gazettal.

Rule 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Family Law Rules 1984 (the Rules).

Schedule 1, item [1], amends Order 24A rule 2 to omit 'pre-hearing' and insert 'pre-trial' to be consistent with similar references elsewhere in the Rules.

Schedule 1, items [2], [3] and [4] amend Order 31B, paragraphs 6 (1) (b), 6 (2) (b) and 22 (1) (b), and rule 29, and Order 32A subrule 5 (3) to replace references to 'appropriate Deputy Child Support Registrar' with 'Child Support Registrar' because the office of Deputy Child Support Registrar no longer exists within the Child Support Agency.

Schedule 1, item [5], replaces existing Schedule 2 with a new Schedule 2 to give effect to the recommendation made by the Eighteenth Report of the Federal Costs Advisory Committee on Solicitor's Costs under the Family Law Act, and accepted by the Chief Justice's Consultative Committee and the Judges, that the scale of costs under the Rules be increased by 3.2 percent.