Applying to court

When you need legal advice

Get legal advice if:

• you need to know about court procedures or if you are representing yourself
• your children are in the care of the Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety or another person under a child protection order.

How to get legal advice

To apply to court or to respond to an application to court, you must:

• use the correct court documents
• serve these documents on the parties to the matter
• follow the court process.

If your children are in the care of the Child Safety, or another person under a child protection order, there may be some extra steps to take before applying to the family law courts for parenting orders. Get legal advice before making an application.

Making an application

The person who files (gives) an application to the court first is called the ‘applicant’. The person who files a response to an application with the court is called the ‘respondent’. It doesn’t affect your case if you are the applicant or respondent.

The courts divide their forms into interim and final orders. Interim orders are temporary orders. They apply until the court makes a final decision or the case is sorted out by agreement.

You need to say in the application form if you want interim and final orders, or just one or the other.

Court documents

Forms

The Initiating application form and the Response to an initiating application form are used for the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

You can use the Initiating application form for both interim orders and final orders. You need to fill out both areas in the form, asking for the orders you seek.

Use a Response to initiating application form and Response to an application in a proceeding to apply and respond to interim orders.

Make sure you use the most recent version of the forms and the correct form for the court you are applying to. Download the current forms at the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia website or get them from the court registry.

Documents to hand in with an application

When you file an application for parenting orders with the court, you must include a section 60I certificate (stating you have attended family dispute resolution), unless good grounds exist for not having one, such as an urgent application.

You can use the one application form for the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. There is a statement of truth at the end of the form that needs to be filled in.

If you are applying for interim orders, you will need to file an affidavit stating the facts that support the interim orders. Download the Affidavit form.

These forms and requirements can change. Always check with the court first.

Where to file your application

Electronically file your documents with the court using the Commonwealth Courts Portal. This allows you to access your court file, and electronically file and access court orders 24/7.

If you can’t electronically file your documents, you can file them at a court registry.

For registry locations near you, see court locations.

If you are filing your documents at a court registry, make enough copies for each person involved in the case. Keep a copy for your own records too. Original documents are kept in a file at the court. Find out your file number after you have given these to the court as you need to quote it in future documents.

After you have given the documents to the court, they are stamped with the court's official seal (stamp). It is then up to you to serve (deliver) a sealed copy of all documents on the other party or parties.

Court fees

The courts charge fees for filing:

• initiating application forms
• response forms
• interim applications filed separately after your initiating application or response.

You may not have to pay filing fees if you hold certain government concession cards. If you can demonstrate financial hardship, fees may be reduced for a divorce application or decree of nullity.

Contact the court for more information.

‘Serving’ court documents

You need to arrange to serve a sealed copy (stamped and signed by the court) of your application or response, and any other documents, on the other party as soon as possible. If your application is in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, these forms must be served:

• at least 7 days before the first court date
• at least 3 days before the hearing date fixed for that application if the application is for orders after your court case has already started.

A copy of all documents served on the respondent (or applicant) also needs to be served on any other parties (including the independent children’s lawyer, if there is one involved). The response doesn’t have to be served personally, but it must be served at least 7 days before the court date.

How to serve court documents

You can’t serve court documents yourself. You need to arrange for someone else over 18 to serve the documents. This person can be a family member or friend, or you can hire a ‘process server’. (Search online for ‘process server’.)

The person serving the documents can’t be someone with an ‘interest’ in the case (e.g. a person named in your application).

The response can be served by post to the other party or parties by sending it to the ‘address for service’ (this address is on the application you have been served with).

The person serving the documents should get an Acknowledgment of Service signed by the respondent. Afterwards, the person serving the documents needs to complete an Affidavit of Service.

You can download these forms from the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia website or get them sent to you by contacting the Family Court.

Both forms need to be filed with the court. If you’re unable to serve the other party, you need to apply to the court for:

• substituted service (service of documents on another person)
  
  or
• dispensation of service (court permission not to serve the documents).

You do this by making an interim application to the court and supporting your application with an affidavit. Keep copies.

As well as keeping copies of all court documents, you also need to keep copies of anything in writing that you send to the other party.

Copies for independent children’s lawyers

If an independent children’s lawyer is appointed, send them a copy of any letter you send to your ex-partner, or his or her lawyer. Serve the independent children’s lawyer with copies of all court documents you want to use in court.

Show you have included the independent children’s lawyer by inserting ‘cc’ at the end of any letters, for example:

Yours faithfully
Jenny Brown
cc Independent children’s lawyer

Responding to an application

If you’re served (given) an application from your ex-partner or the other party in the dispute, you can choose to:

• disagree with some or all of the orders the other person has asked for and apply for different orders—you can do this by filing a Response to initiating application form
• agree to the orders the other person has asked for—you sign a consent order and file a Notice of address for service
• do nothing and allow the court to decide if it will grant orders in favour of the applicant.

Don’t ignore the application if you don’t want those orders to be made. The applicant may get those orders against you if you don’t take part in the court case.

The court process

There are different steps throughout a court case in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia website has information about its process.

How to get legal advice

We may give legal advice about family law.

Contact us

Other places to get legal advice:

• Community legal centres
• Private lawyers

Who else can help?

• Organisations directory

Last updated

27 August 2026

Last reviewed

27 August 2026