Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FAMILY LAW REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1997 NO. 232

Statutory Rules 1997 No. 232

Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice

Family Law Act 1975

Family Law Regulations (Amendment)

Subsection 125(1) of the Family Law Act 1975 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for the purposes of the Act

Section 110 of the Act provides that the regulations may provide for the registration and enforcement in Australia of maintenance orders made by courts or authorities of "reciprocating jurisdictions" and for the transmission of maintenance orders made by Australian courts to courts or authorities of reciprocating jurisdictions for enforcement there. "Reciprocating jurisdiction" means a country, or a part of a country, outside Australia declared by the regulations to be a reciprocating jurisdiction for the purposes of this section.

Regulation 25 of the Family Law Regulations provides that each of the jurisdictions specified in Schedule 2 to the regulations is declared to be a reciprocating jurisdiction for the purposes of section 110 of the Act.

The purpose of the regulations is to add the States of Colorado and South Carolina to the list of reciprocating jurisdictions in Schedule 2 of the Family Law Regulations, enabling the commencement of bilateral arrangements for the enforcement of maintenance orders between Australia and these two jurisdictions. Both Colorado and South Carolina have implemented the US Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, which provides for the registration and enforcement of support orders issued in foreign jurisdictions such as Australia.

Details of the proposed regulations are as follows:

Regulation 1 is formal.

Regulation 2 amends Schedule 2 of the Family Law Regulations to insert "Colorado" and "South Carolina".

The regulations would commence on gazettal.

Authority: Section 125 of the Family Law Act 1975