Consent Orders

Formalising your Agreement in a Consent Order 

What is a Consent Order?

We offer first appointments for a fixed fee of $330 (inc gst). We can give customised advice about appropriate orders specific to your situation.

When people reach agreement about family law issues such as parenting and children, property settlement and spousal maintenance it is ideal to have the agreement formalised. One way to do this, is to obtain consent orders. Consent orders contain the details of the agreement reached by the parties. The agreement is set out as a series of 'orders'.

We recommend using an experienced family lawyer to draft the orders. They are filed and examined by the Court. If the Court is satisfied the orders are reasonable, the Court will 'seal' them. Once the Orders are sealed, they become binding and have the same legal effect as orders made by a Judge obtained by an application in a case.

Any action that is contrary to the consent orders will be treated as ‘breaching the order’. If a party breaches a consent order, you can make an application to the court for enforcement.

If you are close to reaching an agreement, we recommend speaking with an experienced family lawyer to ensure you have considered everything relevant to your situation and to ensure the agreement is in fact reasonable for you.  We also recommend engaging a lawyer to draft the orders.

Consent orders for property often specify transfers for sales to take place. Our lawyers can attend to 'post orders work' including transfers of property and super splits. They can also represent to enforce orders.

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Application for Consent Orders

Consent orders are obtained by making an application to the Court. The application document sets out detailed information that a Judge considers relevant to your situation.

If you have reached agreement about parenting matters and are seeking orders concerning children, you will be required to provide information about arrangements for the children. (per Sections 60B, 60CA, 60CC, 61DA and 65DAA of the Family Law Act.)

If you have reached agreement about property settlement and are seeking property orders, you will be required to provide substantial information about financial matters. (Sections 75 and 79 and Part VIIIB of the Family Law Act are relevant if you are married and Sections 90SK, 90SL, 90SM and Part VIIIAB of the Family Law Act are relevant if you are defacto.)

The information required in the application allows the Court to consider if the consent orders are appropriate and have taken into account relevant factors set out in the Family Law Act.

The application also contains the actual draft orders - the details of the agreement. These are presented to the court as orders both parties 'consent' to.

Once the information in the application and the orders are reviewed by the Court, and deemed appropriate, the orders will be sealed or made by the Court. They are referred to as ‘Consent Orders’ as you have both consented to the orders.

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How much do Consent Orders Cost?

We are transparent about fees for preparing Consent Orders.

The cost depends on –

• the amount of time spent identifying all relevant information and advising on what is a reasonable and sensible agreement.
• the amount of time spent helping parties negotiate and mediate to reach agreement
• the amount of time needed to obtain details about property and obtaining valuations 
• drafting the Application to the Court and drafting the Orders
• And sometimes – Completing things that need to be done after the Consent Order is made, like transferring property etc.

We represent clients for negotiation, through to mediation and court proceedings if the matter does not settle. Even when court proceedings are commenced, it is likely your matter will resolve in agreement and consent orders prior to the hearing date.

Our lawyers charge fees at an hourly rate, so the final fee will depend on the amount of time taken on your matter. We always provide fee estimates in advance of doing any work. 

Fees and Prices  Call us for a Confidential $330 Appointment

How long does it take for Consent Orders to be made?

If you are in Agreement with your ex-partner, or are very close to it, your Agreement could be formalised by Consent Orders within weeks.   Once Agreement has been reached, we can promptly draft the orders and the application and have them signed and filed in the Court within 1 to 2 weeks. The Court will usually approve the Application and make the Orders within a couple of days, or a week at the latest. 

Client Library - FAQs

We have many free resources on our website and we regularly update our online client library with useful information. For answers to frequently asked questions about separation and divorce, feel free to have a look at our family law resources page.

Family Law FAQs and Free Resources