Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FAMILY LAW REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1998 NO. 39

STATUTORY RULES 1998 NO. 39

ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL

FAMILY LAW ACT 1975

FAMILY LAW REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)

Paragraph 125(1)(c) of the Family Law 1975 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing fees to be payable in respect of proceedings under the Act.

Regulation 11 provides for fees in respect of proceedings. Subparagraphs 11(1)(a)(ii), 11(1)(b)(ii) and 11(1)(c)(ii) and paragraph 11(1)(d) provide for a hearing fee if the proceedings are defended. Subregulation 11(4) provides that, in general, the hearing fee is payable at the time when a date is fixed for the hearing of the proceedings.

Both the Federal Court of Australia Regulations and the High Court of Australia (Fees) Regulations provide for an entitlement, in prescribed circumstances, to a refund of the hearing fee when it has been paid in advance and the hearing does not proceed or is conducted only to make formal orders. However, there is no similar provision in the Family Law Regulations.

The purpose of the Regulations is to provide for an entitlement to a refund of the hearing fee, in similar terms to the provision for a refund of a hearing fee contained in the Federal Court of Australia Regulations.

Details of the Regulations are as follows:

Regulation 1 - Amendment

Regulation 1 provides that the Family Law Regulations are amended as set out in these Regulations.

Regulation 2 - Regulation 11 (Fees in respect of proceedings)

Regulation 2 inserts new subregulation 11(9). Subregulation 11(9) provides that a person who has paid a hearing fee is entitled to a refund of the fee if notice that the hearing will not proceed is given to the Registrar within a prescribed period of time and the hearing does not in fact proceed or is conducted only to formalise the making of final orders. The prescribed period of time is 2 working days before the date of the hearing, if the date of the hearing was fixed within 20 working days of the hearing, or in any other case not less than 20 working days before the date of the hearing.

The Regulations commenced on gazettal.