Family lawyers need to know the FCFCOA’s new requirements for lodging an application for consent orders on the Commonwealth Courts Portal.

The recent Federal Court decision in FWO v Woolworths means that employers paying annualised salaries to award-covered staff need to ensure that every pay period independently meets all minimum award entitlements, and that comprehensive, accurate records are maintained.

On 31 March 2026, many Australian law firms will become subject to regulation under the Federal Government's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing regime.

Under amended rules, an inactive case in the Magistrates Court will no longer be placed in the inactive list. Instead, after 5 months the court will send a notice and, if no further action is taken by any party within 4 months, the matter is dismissed. Further, a moratorium now operates with respect to the entire claim and all parties, not part of a claim or selected parties.

Courts can now impose an electronic monitoring device condition on a respondent to a charge for a domestic violence offence. A safety device can also be provided to the aggrieved person to monitor their safety.

The Supreme Court of Queensland has released Practice Direction Number 5 of 2025 – Accuracy of References in Submissions addressing the risks associated with the use of generative artificial intelligence tools when drafting submissions to the court.