Children & Parenting
4. Consent Orders
Authors: Staff Legal Eagle
Firm / Chambers:
Last updated: 30 Jun 2015
- Consent orders are an agreement between two parents about the arrangements for the care of their children. It is a written document that is signed and dated, has not been made under threat, intimidation or coercion and has been approved by the court. Consent orders are legally enforceable.
- If you and your ex-partner decide you want to write down and formalise your agreement about the parenting arrangements for your children then you may decide to apply to the court to formally make these orders.
- There is no need to have a court hearing if you and your ex party can jointly make decisions and come to an agreement about the parenting arrangements for your children. You can apply to the court to make your agreed consent orders without the need for a lawyer. There is a consent orders kit available for download from the Family Law Court website: http://www.familylawcourts.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/FLC/Home/Forms/Do-it-yourself+kits/
- Some people get legal advice before they draft consent orders and sometimes lawyers help each parent to draft the consent orders before their application is filed at the court. This can be a good idea to make sure that you have a full understanding of the effect of your proposed orders and your rights and responsibilities.
- Consent orders detail the parenting arrangements for your children. They can include all matters that are relevant to the care, well-being and development of your children.
- You will usually include arrangements about:
- who your children live with;
- who they will spend time with and when these visits will take place. This should include contact with the children’s other parent and also members of the children’s extended family;
- holidays and special days such as birthdays, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Christmas;
- overseas travel of one parent with the children and arrangements for keeping in contact during those times; and
- If you have more than one child it is likely that those children will each have different needs. When planning for the future it is a good idea to consider whether you need to make different arrangements for each of them to ensure their individual needs are being met. These differences can be included in your application for consent orders.
- Parents making decisions and making arrangements for children need to focus on the best interests of their children rather than what they personally may or may not need or want to happen.
- This can sometimes be difficult as separation can be extremely stressful time for both parents and children. In these situations it can be really helpful to get some input from an independent third party such as a child psychologist or counsellor who can help you understand your children’s needs and behaviour in the context of what is ‘normal’ for a child in their situation. These services can be approached privately without needing to go to court. Your lawyer or FDRP may be able to make some recommendations.
- Consent orders are enforceable by the court. This means that if one parent does not stick to what is agreed to in the consent orders then the court does have the power to make them abide by the agreement. If one parent breaches the consent orders there can be serious consequences. It is a good idea to discuss this with your lawyer to find out exactly what this means in your case.
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