Family Court Legislation

The Family Court operates under Western Australian legislation and Commonwealth legislation.

Commonwealth Legislation

• Family Law Act 1975 - for married people who want to divorce and/or make arrangements for children, property and spousal maintenance.
• Family Law Regulations 2024

Western Australian legislation

• The Family Court Act 1997 - for arrangements for children whose parents were not ever married and property or maintenance matters for de facto relationships.
• The Family Court Rules 2021.
• Family Court Regulations 1998.

The Court also has some responsibility under the Adoption Act 1994, the Surrogacy Act 2008 and the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998. Applications under those Acts have their own rules of court and there are also separate regulations:

• Family Court (Surrogacy) Rules 2009
• Surrogacy Regulations 2009
• Adoption Rules 1995
• Adoption Regulations 1995
• Family Court (Sex or Gender Changes) Rules 2025
• Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Regulations 1999

Last updated: 30-May-2025

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