Essential guide to family law practice Skip to main content
ID064_FAMA

Essential guide to family law practice

JURISDICTION - ALL
From $599.00
$599.00

Bundle Overview

Equip yourself with the latest knowledge. This course has been updated to reflect the recent changes effective from 6 May 2024 concerning the Family Law Amendment Act 2023 and the Family Law (Information Sharing) Act 2023. 

Want an essential guide to provide expert family law advice to your clients?

This bundle of step-by-step guides will build your capabilities across four essential – and practical – modules. You’ll learn:

  • How to prepare and lodge an application for divorce 
  • The process of initiating applications for financial orders 
  • How to seek urgent and interim orders 
  • The essentials to initiate an application for parenting orders 

You may be an early-career lawyer wanting to build foundational knowledge. Or perhaps you’re a senior lawyer looking to test and sharpen your expertise. 

Either way, you’ll walk away with practical skills to support your clients with care and precision.

Course Overview

Divorce in Australia is on the rise with more than 56,000 divorces granted in 2021. 

Despite becoming more common, divorce remains one of the most stressful and uncertain life events. 

In Australia, to apply for a divorce order, parties must establish five matters to the satisfaction of the court:

  1. The court has jurisdiction
  2. Proper service was affected
  3. There is a legal marriage between the parties 
  4. The marriage has broken down irretrievably 
  5. Where there are children of the marriage who are under 18 years of age, the current arrangements for their care, welfare and development and the proposed future arrangements are proper

This course will guide you through these matters and help you better support clients through this challenging process.

At the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Advise clients on the divorce process
  • Check jurisdiction
  • Prepare the documents required for an application for divorce
  • Follow the steps to file and serve an application for divorce

The course contains content that falls within the mandatory CPD category of Professional Skills.

Course Structure

  • Getting started
  • Taking instructions
  • Checking jurisdiction and commencing proceedings
  • Preparing an application for divorce
  • Filing and serving the application for divorce and other documents
  • Attending the hearing and receiving the divorce order

Course Overview

When a client is seeking a divorce they need your advice and support in navigating a series of complex family law issues, including those related to finances, parenting and child support.

It's often stressful and complicated to work out how to divide financial assets after a relationship breakdown.

By focusing on the resolution of financial issues, including property settlement and spouse maintenance, this course will help you better support your clients during this difficult process. 

It will guide you through the steps in making an initiating application for financial orders in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA). 

At the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Advise a client on pre-action procedures and making an application for financial orders, including property settlement and spouse maintenance
  • Explain the dispute resolution and court process to a client
  • Develop a checklist which sets out the information and documents to give the client and to seek from the client at the first interview 
  • Identify what documents must be prepared and filed together with an initiating application to seek final financial orders or with response to initiating application

The course contains content that falls within the mandatory CPD category of Professional Skills.

Course Structure

  • Getting started – knowing the basics 
  • Taking instructions and advising 
  • Checking jurisdiction and pre-action procedures 
  • Preparing court documents to commence proceedings 
  • Filing and serving an initiating application seeking final financial orders 
  • Attending the first court event and subsequent court events

Course Overview

Equip yourself with the latest knowledge. This course has been updated to reflect the recent changes effective from 6 May 2024 concerning the Family Law Amendment Act 2023 and the Family Law (Information Sharing) Act 2023. 

In family law practice, clients who are going through a separation will seek advice about how they can sort out parenting arrangements for a child, including who that child will live with, who the child will spend time with and when, communications with the other parent, and other decisions about the care of the child. Knowing how to advise and guide these clients according to the law and best-practice principles, is fundamental to being a good family lawyer.

This course guides you through the steps of organising arrangements for children and making an application for parenting orders in appropriate circumstances.

At the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Advise a client on the law about children and an application for a parenting order
  • Explain the processes including mandatory family dispute resolution (FDR), pre action procedures and the court process and the consequences of failing to comply with a parenting order
  • Carry out the procedural steps to make or oppose an application for parenting orders
  • Identify the information and documents to give the client and the information to seek from the client at the first client interview

You’ll gain the skills you need to be the best family lawyer you can be for parenting matters.

The course contains content that falls within the mandatory CPD categories of Professional Skills and Substantive Law.

Course Structure

 

  • Getting started
  • Types of parenting arrangements and orders
  • Engaging in Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) and pre-action procedures
  • Preparing an application for parenting orders
  • Family violence, notice of risk and contraventions
  • Parenting plans and consent orders

Course Overview

Equip yourself with the latest knowledge. This course has been updated to reflect the recent changes effective from 6 May 2024 concerning the Family Law Amendment Act 2023 and the Family Law (Information Sharing) Act 2023. 

In a perfect world, families would be able to communicate effectively in any situation. In the real world, many families need the assistance of an outside authority. Clients facing this kind of situation need sound advice and care.

In this short course, accredited specialist in family law, Kathryn Kearley, will guide you through the process of advising a client that is seeking urgent or interim orders (which may include an order to stop their former partner or spouse from doing something, or to compel their former partner or spouse to do something).

At the end of this course, you’ll be able to: 

  • Advise the client about types of urgent or interim orders and applications which may be appropriate for their situation 
  • Explain the court process to the client 
  • Know the procedural steps to take when making an urgent application or an interim application to the court

The course contains content that falls within the mandatory CPD category of Professional Skills.

Course Structure

  • Getting started 
  • Types of orders 
  • Preparing an application for an urgent and interim application 
  • Drafting the orders and affidavits 
  • Court events 
  • Family violence applications

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Frequently Asked Questions

This bundle will benefit:

  • Lawyers wanting to build practical foundational knowledge and skills
  • Mid-career lawyers considering a move into transactional work or who do occasional work in this area
  • Senior lawyers looking to confirm and test their knowledge

The course contains content that falls within the mandatory CPD categories of:

  • Professional skills
  • Substantive law

With our online on-demand interactive courses, you can learn when and where it suits you. We’ve designed each course to provide both education and enjoyment.

Each course offers a mix of engaging exercises, where you’ll gain access to:

  • Interactive activities to challenge your understanding and put your knowledge to the test. You’ll also enjoy engaging exercises, such as flip cards, quizzes and drafting activities.
  • Clearly identified outcomes so you know precisely what you’ll learn – and the skills you’ll gain. You’ll also be able to track your development and focus on key improvement areas.
  • Extended course access so you can reference the material as you need – or revisit it should life get in the way.
  • Feedback and template answers so you can refine your skills, grow your knowledge and gain fresh insights.

Each on-demand bundle contains four in-depth learning resources so you can boost your essential knowledge and skills across a practice area – more affordably.

With a bundle, you’ll earn eight CPD points, while saving 40% on the single courses.

Go in-depth as you comprehensively explore a specific practice area. Learn interactively across engaging formats like step-by-step guides, practice guides and skill series. And gain helpful learning resources you can reference when you encounter similar situations in practice.

Access each module on the College’s learning portal. When you buy a single, you’ll have 24/7 unlimited access for 12-months from the date of purchase.

Does this educational activity extend your knowledge and skills in areas that are relevant to your practice needs or professional development?

If so, and you’re not a WA practitioner, you should claim 1 unit for each hour of participation, not including breaks. 

Please check your local CPD rules for any caps on activity types, such as the private study of non-interactive audio/visual materials. You are responsible for keeping your own CPD records and complying with your local CPD rules.

No. Western Australian practitioners who complete our on-demand courses are currently unable to claim CPD points.

However, you may earn CPD points by attending select live CPD events or by completing select CPD Interactive modules.

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