Family

Family is one of the most popular options. If you study it, you answer one 25-mark extended response (about 1,000 words). Questions ask you to evaluate how effectively the law responds to family relationships, their breakdown and changing family forms.

• The nature of family law: the concept of family, types of families, marriage and its legal requirements, alternatives to marriage (de facto relationships), divorce, the legal rights and responsibilities of parents and children, care and protection of children.
• Responses to problems in family relationships: dispute resolution, property and parenting arrangements, domestic violence, the roles of courts, alternative dispute resolution, government agencies and non-legal measures.
• Contemporary issues: the syllabus includes issues such as the recognition of same-sex relationships, surrogacy and birth technologies, and family violence.

The law below is Commonwealth and NSW law as at 2026. Family law changed significantly in 2024 and 2025, so make sure your notes from earlier years are updated.

There is no single legal definition of "family". Types include nuclear, extended, sole parent, blended, same-sex parent and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship families. Different laws define family differently for different purposes.

Marriage

Marriage is governed by the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth). Since 9 December 2017, marriage has been "the union of 2 people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life" — the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 (Cth) followed the national postal survey in which 61.6% voted yes.

Legal requirements for a valid marriage:

1. Both parties are at least 18 (a court can approve marriage of a 16- or 17-year-old to a person over 18 in exceptional circumstances).
2. Neither party is already married.
3. The parties are not in a prohibited relationship (ancestor, descendant or sibling).
4. Both give real consent (not obtained by duress or fraud, and with understanding of the ceremony).
5. A Notice of Intended Marriage is given at least one month (and no more than 18 months) before the wedding.
6. The ceremony is performed by an authorised celebrant, with two witnesses over 18.

A marriage that fails these requirements may be void. Forced marriage is a criminal offence under the Criminal Code (Cth).

De facto relationships

A de facto relationship is a couple living together on a genuine domestic basis without being married (Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) s 4AA). Factors include the length of the relationship, a shared residence, financial dependence and having children. De facto couples (including same-sex couples) have had access to the Family Law Act for property matters since 1 March 2009 (except in Western Australia). In NSW, couples can register their relationship under the Relationships Register Act 2010 (NSW), which makes it easier to prove.

The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) introduced no-fault divorce. The only ground is irretrievable breakdown, shown by 12 months' separation with no reasonable likelihood of reconciliation. Couples can be separated "under one roof" if they can prove it. Couples married less than 2 years must attend counselling or get court permission first.

Courts: the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (since 1 September 2021, merging the old Family Court and Federal Circuit Court).

Property

On separation, property can be divided by agreement (consent orders or a binding financial agreement) or by court order. The court considers what is just and equitable. The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 (Cth), mostly in force from 10 June 2025, codified the steps the court takes and requires it to consider the economic effects of family violence on a party.

Spousal maintenance and financial agreements

A former spouse or de facto partner may have to financially support the other if that person cannot adequately support themselves and the other can afford it (Family Law Act ss 72 and 90SF). Couples can also make binding financial agreements before, during or after a relationship (Part VIIIA for married couples), which can prevent a court dividing property differently, but only if strict requirements, including independent legal advice for both parties, are met.

Parenting

The paramount consideration in parenting decisions is the best interests of the child. The Family Law Amendment Act 2023 (Cth), in force from 6 May 2024:

• removed the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility and the link between it and equal time;
• simplified the best interests factors, including the child's safety, views, developmental needs, the benefit of relationships with parents and others, and, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, the right to connect with their culture;
• made it easier for courts to make orders protecting children from family violence.

Parental responsibility is all the duties, powers and authority parents have for their children until 18. Parenting plans (informal, written) and parenting orders (made by a court) set out arrangements.

Family dispute resolution (FDR) is compulsory before applying for parenting orders (s 60I), unless there is family violence, child abuse or urgency. Family Relationship Centres provide FDR.

Child support is assessed by Services Australia under the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (Cth) using a formula based on both parents' incomes and care.

Australia ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990. Key laws:

• Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW): mandatory reporting by people such as teachers, doctors and police; the Department of Communities and Justice can investigate and remove children at risk of significant harm; the Children's Court makes care orders.
• Out-of-home care: Aboriginal children are heavily over-represented. The Family is Culture review (2019) made many recommendations to reduce removals.
• Adoption Act 2000 (NSW): adoption in the best interests of the child; open adoption is encouraged; same-sex couples can adopt (since 2010).

Domestic and family violence includes physical, sexual, emotional, psychological and economic abuse and coercive control.

• Apprehended domestic violence orders (ADVOs) under the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW). Police can apply on the victim's behalf; breaching an ADVO is a criminal offence.
• Coercive control — a pattern of abusive behaviour intended to control a current or former intimate partner — became a criminal offence in NSW from 1 July 2024 (Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) s 54D), with a maximum penalty of 7 years' imprisonment.
• Bail: since 2024, more serious domestic violence offences are show cause offences.
• Workplace support: 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave for employees (from 2023).
• Family law: the court must consider family violence in parenting and (since 2025) property decisions; the Lighthouse program screens cases for risk.

Limits: under-reporting, breaches of orders, deaths despite orders being in place, and the difficulty of proving non-physical abuse.

• Surrogacy Act 2010 (NSW): altruistic surrogacy (no payment beyond reasonable expenses) is legal; commercial surrogacy is a criminal offence, including for NSW residents who arrange it overseas. A court can make a parentage order transferring legal parentage to the intended parents.
• Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2007 (NSW): regulates clinics and keeps a donor register; donor-conceived people can access identifying information about their donor.
• Issues: many Australians still use commercial surrogacy overseas, but few have been prosecuted; children's legal parentage and citizenship can be uncertain; laws differ between states. The Baby Gammy case (2014) exposed risks of international surrogacy. The Australian Law Reform Commission reviewed surrogacy laws in 2025–26, looking at whether a more consistent national approach is needed.

Worked example: structuring an evaluation paragraph

Topic sentence: "The 2024 parenting reforms have improved the protection of children, but their effectiveness is limited by delays in the court system."

• Law: the Family Law Amendment Act 2023 (Cth) removed the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility from May 2024.
• Strength: decisions now focus on the child's safety and needs rather than on equal time for parents.
• Weakness: families still face long waits for final hearings, and many parents in high-conflict cases represent themselves.
• Link: "Therefore the law is more effective in principle, but access to justice remains a barrier for many families."

If family violence affects you, you can get confidential help any time from 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800). In an emergency, call 000.

• Using the old presumption of equal shared parental responsibility, which no longer exists.
• Saying the Family Court still exists separately (it merged into the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia in 2021).
• Writing about divorce "grounds" such as adultery. Australia has had no-fault divorce since 1975.
• Treating coercive control as already a crime before 1 July 2024.
• Narrating a family's story without evaluating the law.

• Structure: a clear judgement in the introduction; three or four themed body paragraphs; conclusion.
• Use specific, dated law: 2017 marriage equality, 2024 parenting reforms, 2024 coercive control offence, 2025 property reforms.
• Effectiveness criteria: protection of vulnerable members (children, victims of violence), accessibility (cost, time), recognition of diverse families, enforcement.
• Mention law reform agents: the Australian Law Reform Commission (its 2019 review of the family law system), parliamentary inquiries, the media and advocacy groups.

• Crime: domestic violence offences, AVOs and bail.
• Human Rights: the Convention on the Rights of the Child, marriage equality, the rights of Indigenous children.
• Workplace: family and domestic violence leave and flexible working for parents.