Legal Project Management Plan & Checklist
Purpose of this Guide: Use this plan when representing a mother seeking a formal declaration of parentage for an ex-nuptial child in Western Australia where paternity is disputed. This plan guides the practitioner through the jurisdictional gateways, pre-action protocols, evidence gathering, DNA parentage testing ordered by the court, and final declarations to update the birth register and initiate child support assessments.
Jurisdiction: Family Court of Western Australia. This parent plan covers the general mother applicant pathway. Two forks cover the hybrid de facto property settlement gateway under Section 205Z and contested cases where the respondent refuses DNA testing and adverse inferences are sought under Section 198.
The Process at a Glance: Confirm conflict clearance and check jurisdiction based on the child's presence. Refer parties to family dispute resolution to obtain a certificate or prepare a risk exemption form. If dispute resolution fails, issue a formal position letter demanding DNA testing and giving a 14-day response period. If refused, draft the initiating court documents, including a Form 1 application and Case Information Affidavit, and sworn case information. File electronically via the eCourts Portal WA and arrange personal service. Apply for interim parentage testing orders, coordinate sample collection at a NATA-accredited laboratory, and track findings. If paternity is confirmed at 99% or higher, obtain a Section 194A declaration, submit details to amend the birth registry, and activate child support assessments.
Use this plan when representing a mother in a de facto parentage application where the respondent refuses to submit to court-ordered DNA parentage testing under Section 195 of the Family Court Act 1997 (WA). This plan guides the practitioner through verifying non-compliance, applying to the court to draw adverse inferences under Section 198, securing a binding declaration of parentage on the balance of probabilities, and initiating retrospective child support assessments.
Use this plan when representing a mother in a de facto relationship of less than 2 years who is seeking both parentage declarations for a child and property settlement orders in the Family Court of Western Australia. Under state law, property settlements for relationships under 2 years are barred unless there is a child of the relationship and serious injustice would result if orders were not made. This plan guides the practitioner through establishing parentage as the absolute condition precedent, satisfying the s 205Z gateway exception, and initiating property claims.
Key Legislation and Case Law: Applications are governed by Section 194A of the Family Court Act 1997 (WA) for parentage declarations and Section 195 for parentage testing orders. Cohabitation presumptions arise under Section 189, and rebuttals are governed by Section 193 on the balance of probabilities. Regulations 15 and 21B-21L of the Family Court Regulations 1998 (WA) adopt the Commonwealth regulations for laboratory standards and sampler certificates. Child protection applications utilize s 193 presumptions via Section 4 of the Children and Community Services Act 2004 (WA). Pre-action procedures are mandated by Schedule 1 of the Family Court Rules 2021 (WA), and the ongoing duty of disclosure is set out in Part 13. Services Australia assessments are governed by the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (Cth). Case law includes In the Marriage of H [1981] FamCA 22 and L and C [2018] FCWA 23. eFiling is completed at the eCourts Portal WA at https://ecourts.justice.wa.gov.au/eCourtsPortal/.
* Disclaimer: We're nobody's lawyer, because we aren't lawyers. You are, so you know better than to take legal advice from an app. We also aren't accountants or dog trainers - just digital spirit guides taking zero liability for any of this. This site exists to gather the collective knowledge of practitioners like you. Verify everything and submit your feedback on the De Facto Parentage Declarations (Mother Applicant) - Western Australia matter plan to improve the playbook. THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, it's a request for input.
This legal matter plan provides a structured workflow for Family Law cases, outlining the standard Litigation process. Utilize these tracking templates to manage your legal cases efficiently.
| Field | Token | Type | Required | Defined in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matter(4) | ||||
| Matter numberⓘ | matter.matterNumber | text | Required | inheritedmatter-core |
| Matter title | matter.title | text | - | inheritedmatter-core |
| Matter typeⓘ | matter.matterType | text | - | inheritedmatter-core |
| Matter status | matter.status | text | - | inheritedmatter-core |
| Client(1) | ||||
| Client name | matter.clientName | text | Required | inheritedmatter-core |
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