What are orders?
Court orders are the way the decisions or judgments of judicial officers are described. They can include:
- an order made after a hearing by a judicial officer, or
- an order made after parties who have reached their own agreement have applied to a court for consent orders. Consent orders, if they become a formal court order, have the same status as if the order had been made after a hearing by a judicial officer.
In general terms, orders in family law can include a decree, a decision, a declaration and a judgment.
When an order is made, each person bound by the order must follow it.
When can you apply for orders in the Family Law Courts?
Generally, you may only apply to the Courts after other attempts have not helped you reach agreement; such as community-based dispute resolution. The requirements for what you must do before you apply to a court depend on whether your disagreement is about parenting or property (financial and money) issues. You can read more about if you don't agree by going to the Children's matters or Property and money matters sections of this website.
You can read more about the the dispute resolution requirements in the Family Law Principles section of this website.
What orders can you apply for in family law?
If you are applying for parenting orders, you can read more about what the orders may deal with and how you apply in the Children’s Matters section of this website.
If you are applying for financial orders, you can read more about what the orders may deal with and how you apply in the Property and Money section of this website.