Family Law
Prescribed & Recommended Texts
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Focus: Family Law by Eithne Mills and Marlene Ebejer (9th ed, 2022)
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Family Law in Australia by Adiva Sifris et al (10th ed, 2021)
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Annotated family law legislation (7th ed, 2023)
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Understanding key legal issues : dispute resolution in family law (2022)
Note
When citing family law cases, rule 2.1.11 of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition), states that '[i]n family law cases, 'v' should replace '&' to separate the parties'. This rule should be read in conjunction with rule 2.1.1 which states that a 'citation to an Australian case should generally include the parties names (as they appear on the first page of the decision)'.
Melbourne University Law Review Association, Australian Guide to Legal Citation (Melbourne University Law Review Association, 4th ed, 2018) 39 & 45.
More information is available in the Legal Referencing Guide - Citing Cases.
Key e-book resource
The Family Law Book has been designed to take you quickly to a concise but comprehensive statement of Australian family law and procedure, with extracts from key legislation and leading case law. [NOTE: this database works best with the Mozilla Firefox internet browser].
The Family Law Book is used by family lawyers around Australia as an essential and time saving tool containing all you need to know about routine family law with practical guidance as to how to prepare a family law case or negotiate an agreement.
Instruction
Use the search option or click on the table of contents bar at the right of the screen.
Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia website
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Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia
The merged Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia commenced on 1 September 2021. There is a wealth of information available on the website.
Legislation
Government legislation websites
- Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) (Access provided via Federal Register of Legislation)
- Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (Access provided via Federal Register of Legislation)
- Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic)(Access provided via Victorian Legislation)
Subscription legislation databases
- Lawlex Premium provides links to authorised legislation for all Australian States and Territories.
- Family Law Legislation via CCH iKnowConnect provides each section of the FLA 1975 and, where applicable, regulations, commentary, cases and forms and precedents.
- Locating the legislation in LawNow (Lexis+ Australia) provides links to related cases and commentary.
Other useful online resources
CCH iKnowConnect
Family Law Practice Area
Comprehensive Family Law Library including:
- Australian Family Law Cases
- Australian Master Family Law Guide
- Commentary
- Legislation
- Regulatory Resources
- Practical Tools
Lexis+ Australia
Lexis+ Australia: Family Law
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Lexis+ Australia Practical Guidance: Family Law provides access to a broad collection of guidance notes, commentary, checklists, precedents, forms, cases and legislation.
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Australian Encyclopedia of Forms & Precedents (Lexis+ Australia)
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Halsbury's Laws of Australia (Lexis+ Australia) Navigate to title 205 Family Law.
Westlaw Australia
Online legal commentary
The Lawyers Practice Manual Victoria is a procedural guide which deals with the everyday questions of legal practice and procedure. The manual's practical information and subject coverage are designed to meet the needs of both the community legal centre and private practitioner.
Legal encyclopaedia
Laws of Australia Navigate to title 17 Family Law.
Fitzroy Legal Service Law Handbook
The Law Handbook – Victoria’s most trusted practical guide to the law since 1977
The Law Handbook is your practical guide to the law in Victoria. Updated every year by over 80 legal experts, it provides comprehensive information about the laws that affect Victorians in everyday life including tenancy, consumer protection, bankruptcy, anti-discrimination, education, family, internet, environmental, employment and many more.
Researching for Journal articles
Journal articles can be found in databases listed in Researching Secondary Law Sources - Finding journal articles.
Researching for Cases
Cases on family law can be found in databases listed in Researching Case Law - Find cases by topic.