Certificate of Readiness

Under the Central Practice Direction: Family Law Case Management, a case not on the Fast Track Hearing List is listed for a Compliance and Readiness Hearing before a Judge as close as possible to 6 months after filing (para 6.47). No later than 7 days before that hearing, each party must file and serve any amended application or response needed, an undertaking as to disclosure under rule 6.02 of the Family Law Rules, and a Certificate of Readiness in the approved form (para 6.49). The hearing checks compliance and readiness and leads to the case being listed for final hearing with trial directions. If a certificate is found to be inaccurate, the court may let the other party proceed on an undefended basis and may make costs orders (para 6.53).

When you need it

• Your family law case has a Compliance and Readiness Hearing date.
• You are a party or lawyer for a party in a parenting or property case in either Division of the court.
• You need to certify that you have complied with orders and disclosure and that the case is ready to be set down for trial.

1. 1

   Heading and Part A

   Tick the Division, give the full name of the party filing, tick Applicant, Respondent or Other, and list the parties.

2. 2

   Part B - compliance

   Tick only what is true: that you have complied with all orders and directions, given updated disclosure under Part 6.1 of the rules, and that apart from outstanding expert reports there is no impediment to a hearing date.

3. 3

   Part C - matters for determination

   State the outstanding issues and the central findings of fact the court must make, and annex a minute of the final orders sought.

4. 4

   Parenting and property sections

   For parenting orders, give the date and main recommendations of any family report, or where a report is up to. For property orders, state the net pool including superannuation (attach your contentions on the net assets), the contributions and future needs adjustments you seek and why, whether valuations and reports are complete, and whether compulsory offers of settlement have been made.

5. 5

   Procedural information and Part D costs

   Estimate trial length, list witnesses (including any dates a single expert or report writer is unavailable), say whether an interpreter is needed, and state costs and disbursements to date and estimated future costs.

6. 6

   Part E - certification

   Sign and date, and tick who signed. You certify the contents are true and correct.

• File no later than 7 days before the Compliance and Readiness Hearing, together with the undertaking as to disclosure and any amended application or response (CPD para 6.49).
• Serve it by ordinary service on the other parties and any independent children's lawyer before the hearing (form note and form page).
• Family law documents are generally eFiled through the Commonwealth Courts Portal.

• Do not tick a compliance box you cannot stand behind. An inaccurate certificate can lead to the other party proceeding on an undefended basis and to costs (CPD para 6.53).
• Confer with the other side first: the Practice Direction expects parties to have tried to agree a trial plan before the hearing (para 6.48).
• Check the minute of orders matches your current application or response; amend that document if it does not.