Budget announces increase to Court fees

Last week's federal budget announced expected changes to the fees in the Family Court and Federal Circuit Court. The changes, likely to take effect from 1 July 2015, are expected to raise around $87 million in the federal courts.

While no specific fee changes have yet been announced media reported last week that the fee for divorce applications, currently $845, would rise to $1,200, and the fee for an Application for Consent Orders would rise from $150 to $240. According to the Sydney Morning Herald the Attorney General George Brandis confirmed that fees will increase but said that details would not be known until July.

The Australian quotes the head of the Law Council of Australia's family law section, Rick O'Brien, who said "We have not yet been told what the proposed fee increases will be, but we would be extremely concerned that any fee increases would severely restrict access to the courts by people most in need." The paper went on to quote the immediate past head of the section, Mr Sinclair, who expressed concern that the increase to the consent order fee would discourage parties from trying to resolve their dispute by proper process which could lead to problems later on.