Legal Project Management Plan & Checklist
Purpose of this Guide: Welcome to the step-by-step roadmap specifically created to help legal practitioners who are representing a Respondent in a divorce. Built with lawyers and duty solicitors in mind, it clearly translates the requirements of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021. It gives you the practical steps to correctly advise clients facing a sole Application for Divorce, helping you deal with jurisdictional arguments, fix any factual errors on the public record, and protect your client's rights in future property settlements.
Jurisdiction: This process falls under the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. We are applying federal family law here, but with an eye toward Queensland-specific estate planning details across all registries. Be sure to check the Queensland Legislation Registry for the latest updates.
The Process at a Glance: Everything starts with checking that your client was served properly and that all statutory requirements are met. You'll need to closely review the Applicant's claim about being separated for 12 months and verify any Section 55A plans for kids under 18. Then, you have a choice to make: will your client just acknowledge service, do they need to correct facts regarding the children, or will they formally oppose the divorce by filing a Response to Divorce within 28 days? The whole process wraps up with a judicial hearing to finalize the divorce, which immediately kicks off strict deadlines for any property or spousal maintenance claims. Always check the Queensland Government Portal and the Queensland Legislation Registry to ensure you have the most up-to-date procedures.
* 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 Family Law: Divorce (Dissolution of Marriage) Respondent Roadmap Queensland 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 DISPUTE_LITIGATION process. Utilize these tracking templates to manage your legal cases efficiently.
Verify the legality of the applicant's service, calculate strict statutory deadlines, and triage the factual claims pleaded in the application.
Verify all prerequisite documentation has been obtained, cross-reference against the statutory requirements for this matter type, and confirm compliance with practice direction protocols.
The obligation to conduct a conflict of interest check before accepting instructions from a divorce respondent is a fundamental requirement under Part 3.4 Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld). The primary conflict risk arises where the practitioner's firm has previously acted for the Applicant in any capacity - including property conveyancing, commercial matters, or prior family law advice - because the firm may have obtained confidential information about the Applicant that is now adverse to the Respondent's interests.
The conflict check must be run against the Applicant's full legal name, any known former names (particularly maiden names or names used in prior marriages), and the names of any associated entities. Queensland Law Society guidelines recommend maintaining a searchable database of all current and former clients updated in real time.
No file may be formally opened, no retainer may be executed, and no substantive instructions may be received until the conflict check has been completed and cleared. If a conflict is identified, the practitioner must:
Where the conflict is not clear-cut (a near-miss or a very old prior matter), the practitioner should seek guidance from the Queensland Law Society's ethics line before making a decision to act.
Prepare the relevant forms and supporting materials required under the applicable legislation, ensuring all mandatory fields are completed and all attachments are properly certified.
Part 3.4 Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) governs costs disclosure obligations for Queensland legal practitioners. Before commencing or continuing legal work, a practitioner must provide the client with a Costs Disclosure setting out: the basis on which legal costs will be calculated (time-based, fixed fee, or a combination), an estimate of the likely total costs, the client's right to negotiate a costs agreement, the client's right to receive itemised bills, and information about the Queensland Law Society's cost dispute resolution processes.
Where the total costs are likely to exceed $750 (exclusive of disbursements and GST), the costs disclosure must be in writing and the Costs Agreement must be signed by the client before substantive work commences. A practitioner who commences work without a signed Costs Agreement may face difficulty recovering costs and may be subject to disciplinary action.
Verification of Identity (VOI) in Queensland family law matters requires the practitioner to sight original primary photographic identification documents (Passport or Driver's Licence) and note the document type, number, issuing authority, and expiry date on the file. Digital copies of the VOI documents must be retained on the electronic file. Where the client is unable to attend in person, remote VOI protocols using video conferencing with real-time document sighting are permissible under current Queensland Law Society guidance.
Draft and dispatch formal correspondence addressing the procedural requirements at this stage, including any required notices, requests for information, or proposals for resolution.
Service requirements for a sole Application for Divorce are prescribed by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021. The application must be personally served on the Respondent, unless the court has made an order for substituted service or dispensed with service entirely. Service by post, email, or a solicitor-to-solicitor delivery is not valid personal service unless a court order specifically permits it.
The date of service is the legally operative date from which the Respondent's 28-day deadline to file a Response runs. Where the Respondent is served within Australia, the Response must be filed within 28 days of the date of service. Where the Respondent is served outside Australia, the period is extended to 42 days under r 4.04 FCFCOA Rules 2021.
Practitioners must verify the validity of service at the first conference by:
Formulate the legal defence strategy and formalize the client's position by drafting, swearing, and eFiling the Response to Divorce if required.
Coordinate the collection and review of all financial documentation required for disclosure, including statements, valuations, and supporting schedules as mandated by the rules.
Advocate for the Respondent's legal position before the Judicial Registrar, ensuring factual corrections are recognised or jurisdictional challenges are heard.
Verify all prerequisite documentation has been obtained, cross-reference against the statutory requirements for this matter type, and confirm compliance with practice direction protocols.
Trust money policy requires that a trust deposit be received from the client before substantive legal work commences. The trust receipt must be issued to the client within 5 business days of receiving the funds, and the funds must be recorded in the trust ledger as a separate entry for this matter.
If the practitioner has any doubt about whether service was properly effected (e.g., documents left at the wrong address, documents received after the alleged service date), they must advise the client and consider challenging the validity of service. The hearing must be fixed for a date that is at least 28 days after the date of service per r 4.07 FCFCOA Rules 2021.
Under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), the grounds for opposing a divorce are extremely narrow. s 48 provides that the sole ground for dissolution of marriage is irretrievable breakdown, proved by 12 months separation. A Respondent may only formally oppose a divorce on two grounds: (1) the court lacks jurisdiction because neither party is an Australian citizen, ordinarily resident in Australia for 12 months, or domiciled in Australia; or (2) the parties have not in fact been separated for 12 months continuously as at the date of filing.
The strategic landscape for a Respondent is therefore very different from other proceedings. A Respondent who files a Response solely to delay proceedings, cause inconvenience to the Applicant, or achieve a better outcome in property negotiations is acting improperly - the court has no discretion to refuse a divorce where the jurisdictional requirements and separation period are established.
However, a Response is a valuable tool in specific circumstances:
Written instructions from the client must be obtained and retained, specifically recording: the strategic reasons for filing or not filing a Response, the advice given by the practitioner, and the client's informed decision. A client who later alleges they were not advised of their options will not be able to challenge a well-documented advice file.
Conduct a thorough review of all filed materials to ensure compliance with court requirements, verify service obligations have been met, and prepare for the next procedural milestone.
The Response to Divorce is a prescribed form under the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021. It must be filed via the Commonwealth Courts Portal using the Court File Number allocated to the matter. The Respondent's solicitor must first link to the matter in the portal using the Court File Number before the Response can be prepared and filed electronically.
The Response must clearly identify: (a) whether the Respondent is opposing the divorce entirely, or (b) whether the Respondent is not opposing the divorce but seeks to make corrections to specific factual matters in the application (such as the separation date or the Part F child welfare information). These are procedurally distinct positions, and the form must be completed to accurately reflect the Respondent's actual position.
Where the Response is filed to correct the s 55A Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) child welfare information, the Respondent must provide their version of the arrangements in precise detail, addressing each child individually. The counter-narrative must be factually accurate, supported by evidence, and focused on the specific inaccuracies in the Applicant's Part F - not on criticisms of the Applicant's parenting generally. The Judicial Registrar will consider the corrected information when making the s 55A welfare declaration, and an accurate record on the divorce file may be relevant to future parenting proceedings.
Assess the strategic considerations for interim applications, prepare supporting evidence, and draft the necessary documentation for urgent or time-sensitive relief sought.
An affidavit supporting a Response to Divorce must comply with the evidentiary rules applicable in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. The primary rules governing affidavit content in FCFCOA proceedings are found in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 and the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth). Affidavit content must be confined to facts within the deponent's personal knowledge - statements of belief, opinion, or hearsay are generally not permissible unless specifically authorised by the Rules.
Where the Respondent is opposing the divorce on the basis that the 12-month separation period has not been satisfied, the affidavit must present contemporaneous evidence that the parties were not in fact separated during the period claimed by the Applicant. The most compelling categories of corroborating evidence include:
Hearsay evidence in FCFCOA affidavits is governed by Part 3.2 Evidence Act 1995 (Cth). Generally, a deponent cannot rely on what another person told them to prove the truth of a fact. Where third-party evidence is crucial, the preferred approach is to obtain a separate affidavit from the relevant witness rather than attempting to introduce their evidence through the respondent's affidavit.
The Commonwealth Courts Portal provides real-time access to all documents filed in the matter by any party, including any reply affidavit filed by the Applicant in response to the Respondent's evidence. Under the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021, a reply affidavit may be filed by the Applicant within the time permitted by the Rules, and this material may be placed before the Judicial Registrar at the hearing.
Monitoring the portal in the days before the hearing is essential for three reasons:
Where new affidavit material is filed by the Applicant close to the hearing date that the Respondent has not had an opportunity to address, the practitioner should consider whether to seek an adjournment to respond, or whether the new material can be adequately addressed through oral submissions at the hearing. If the new material introduces significant new factual allegations that were not previously disclosed, a brief adjournment sought in good faith is preferable to proceeding unprepared.
The Judicial Registrar may also issue chambers requisitions in advance of a contested divorce hearing where the documentary record is deficient, particularly regarding the marriage certificate, separation evidence, or the s 55A child welfare information. These must be addressed before the hearing date.
Prepare the relevant forms and supporting materials required under the applicable legislation, ensuring all mandatory fields are completed and all attachments are properly certified.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia's national divorce processing team manages divorce applications on a centralised basis. Attendance at a divorce hearing by a Respondent who is not formally opposing the divorce is not an automatic right - the Respondent must notify the court of their intention to attend by emailing nationaldivorce@fcfcoa.gov.au no later than 7 business days before the scheduled hearing date.
This notification requirement applies in the following scenarios:
The notification email must include: the Court File Number, the names of the parties, the scheduled hearing date, and the reason for the Respondent's attendance. The court's response will typically confirm whether attendance will be accommodated and whether the hearing will proceed in-person at the registry or via Microsoft Teams.
Where the Respondent is formally opposing the divorce and has filed a Response on jurisdictional or separation grounds, attendance at the hearing is mandatory and the 7-day notification is still required. Failure to appear at a defended hearing after filing a Response may result in the court proceeding in the Respondent's absence, with the divorce granted and costs potentially ordered against the absent Respondent.
Draft and dispatch formal correspondence addressing the procedural requirements at this stage, including any required notices, requests for information, or proposals for resolution.
The First Court Hearing in a divorce application is conducted before a Judicial Registrar of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Judicial Registrars have delegated power under the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021 (Cth) to deal with uncontested and most contested divorce applications. Where a matter is contested on substantive jurisdictional grounds, the Registrar may refer the matter to a Judge of the court.
For a Respondent formally opposing the divorce, oral submissions must be directed to the grounds pleaded in the Response. The submissions must address s 48 Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) directly and must be supported by the filed affidavit evidence. The court will not entertain arguments about fault, conduct during the marriage, property disputes, or parenting as reasons to refuse the divorce - these are entirely irrelevant to the s 48 irretrievable breakdown inquiry.
Microsoft Teams hearings are now standard for uncontested and many contested divorce matters in Queensland registries. Practitioners must:
For s 55A Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) corrections, the Respondent's advocate must guide the Judicial Registrar through the specific inaccuracies in the Applicant's Part F and invite the Registrar to note the corrected information. The Registrar will make the s 55A declaration on the basis of all evidence before the court, and the Respondent's affidavit establishing accurate child welfare facts will form part of the record.