Consent Orders - What are consent and parenting orders and how much does a consent order cost? 

What is a Consent Order?

The ideal way to resolve Family Law matters is to reach an agreement.

When people get to this stage, we usually recommend 2 things:

1. You obtain legal advice from an experienced family lawyer about your Agreement
2. The agreement be formalised in a ‘Consent Order’ to make it ‘Binding’.

A Consent Order has the same legal effect as an Order from the Court that was obtained by an Application in a case. Once the Consent Order is made by the Family Court, any action that is contrary to the Orders will be treated as ‘breaching the order’.

It is critical that you obtain legal advice from an experienced family lawyer. You may only need one appointment to run the agreement past someone who knows the law.  

Or you may need several appointments with a lawyer who can advise you on the law and how it applies to your specific situation. You may need them to negotiate, mediate, reach an agreement and prepare the documents that the Court requires. And if you are seeking Property Orders, you will need to gather financial information in order to prepare the Application documents and draft the Orders.

We can take the stress away and look after everything that needs to be done. Alternatively, we can assist you as much or as little as you need to complete the process of obtaining Consent Orders yourself.

How do I Obtain Consent Orders?

A Consent Order is obtained by making an Application to the Family 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 Division 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 take into account the factors set out in the Family Law Act that must be considered fully.

The Application also sets out the Orders you have agreed upon or ‘Consent’ to.

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

You can also seek Consent Orders for Spouse Maintenance, and Defacto Partner Maintenance Orders.

How much do Consent Orders Cost?

We try to be as transparent as possible about our 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.

See our Family law: Fees + Prices page for an idea of costs. We set out  likely professional fees and the court filing fees. As every situation is different, fees can vary. They can be less or occassionaly, a little more. Our experienced family lawyers always provide a quote after your initial appointment if you choose to retain us.

What to do next?

Call us to make an appointment for a low fixed fee first appointment $330 inc gst.

This appointment is an opportunity to obtain advice from an experienced family lawyer, to find out how the law applies to your situation, and to figure out your next steps

If you choose to retain us – we will provide you with a written quote and we will go from there.