Family lawyers in Brisbane

Where things get filed, and where they get heard

Almost all family law filing is electronic now, through the Commonwealth Courts Portal. You do not queue at a counter to start a divorce. What the physical registry at 119 North Quay is for is hearings, conciliation conferences, duty lists and the occasional urgent application.

The formal entrance to the Commonwealth Law Courts is on North Quay. Our office at 95 North Quay is on the same street, which means a directions hearing does not consume half a day of your time in transit.

Keep the jurisdictions straight. Family law is federal. A protection order under the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Qld) is state, and is heard by a magistrate at Brisbane, Holland Park, Richlands, Beenleigh, Ipswich or wherever the application was filed. Both can be live at once and both affect the children.

Superannuation, which is often the biggest issue in a Brisbane matter

Brisbane has a very large public sector workforce. State government, Queensland Health, education, universities, local government and defence at Enoggera and Amberley. Long service in those roles builds superannuation balances that can exceed the equity in the house.

Superannuation is treated as property under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and can be split by agreement or by court order. Doing it properly is technical work.

• The interest has to be valued. Accumulation interests are usually straightforward. Defined benefit interests, which are common in older public sector schemes, are not, and the balance shown on a member statement is frequently not the family law value.
• A splitting order or agreement has to comply with the legislation and the fund has to be given procedural fairness before the order is made.
• A split does not put cash in anyone’s hand. It moves an interest inside the superannuation system, and it stays preserved until a condition of release is met. People routinely misunderstand this and structure a whole settlement around it.

If you are negotiating a settlement where one party has thirty years in a state scheme, get the interest valued before you agree to anything.

Parenting matters across a spread out city

Brisbane parenting disputes have a geography problem. One parent stays in Carindale, the other moves to North Lakes, Springfield or Ipswich, and a week about arrangement that worked at ten minutes apart stops working at fifty. School catchments, changeover points and who does the driving become the real issues.

The legal test is the best interests of the child under section 60CC of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), reworked by amendments that commenced in 2024. The presumption of equal shared parental responsibility was removed, and the court now works through a list of factors focused on safety and the child’s circumstances rather than a formula.

What that means practically is that arrangements are decided on evidence about this child and these parents. Workable proposals win. A parenting plan that requires two hours of driving on a school night does not become a good idea because it is fair to the adults.

Before filing a parenting application you generally need a section 60I certificate from a family dispute resolution practitioner, unless an exception such as family violence, urgency or child abuse applies.

Time limits people miss

1. Divorce. You must be separated for 12 months and one day before you can apply. Separation under one roof counts, but it has to be proved with evidence.
2. Property after divorce. Twelve months from the date the divorce order takes effect, under section 44(3) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). After that you need the court’s permission to apply at all.
3. De facto property and maintenance. Two years from the end of the relationship, under section 44(5).
4. Superannuation. Same deadlines. A split cannot be tacked on years later because someone forgot about it.

The most expensive mistake in Brisbane family law is not a bad hearing. It is a couple who separated in 2019, agreed nothing, divorced in 2021, and now want to argue about a house that has doubled in value.

How we run a Brisbane family file

We start by working out whether you need a court at all. Most matters do not. Consent orders, mediation and properly drafted agreements resolve the overwhelming majority of Brisbane property and parenting disputes, and they do it faster and for a fraction of the cost.

Where litigation is necessary, usually because of urgency, family violence, non disclosure or an opponent who will not engage, we run it in stages with a quoted fee for each so you are not signing a blank cheque.

First appointment is free, at Level 10, 95 North Quay, or by phone or video. Bring an asset and debt list, superannuation statements, the separation date and any documents already filed.