Family Lawyers Brisbane

How does family law work in Queensland?

If you are separating in Brisbane, most of what you need to sort out is governed by one federal law, the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). Divorce, parenting arrangements, dividing property and debts, and spousal or de facto maintenance (financial support paid by one former partner to the other) are all decided under that Act by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Queensland handed its power over de facto couples' finances to the Commonwealth through the Commonwealth Powers (De Facto Relationships) Act 2003 (Qld), so de facto couples, including same-sex couples, use the same court and the same rules as married couples.

Queensland law takes over where safety and the State's care of children are involved. Domestic violence orders are made under the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Qld), usually in a Magistrates Court. Child protection cases run under the Child Protection Act 1999 (Qld) in the Childrens Court. Adoption follows the Adoption Act 2009 (Qld) and surrogacy follows the Surrogacy Act 2010 (Qld).

Many Brisbane families end up dealing with both systems at once, for example a parenting dispute in the federal court and a domestic violence order in the state court. Each court needs to know about the other's orders, so it is important to tell both.

Where do family law matters start in Brisbane?

The Brisbane registry of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia is in the Harry Gibbs Commonwealth Law Courts Building, 119 North Quay, Brisbane, with its main entrance on Tank Street and a short walk from Roma Street station. In practice most matters start online: divorce applications and other family law documents are filed through the Commonwealth Courts Portal, and you choose Brisbane as the location for your matter.

Brisbane was one of the first three registries to pilot the court's Lighthouse approach to family safety. If you file or respond to a parenting application in Brisbane, the court will invite you to complete a confidential online risk screen called Family DOORS Triage. Your answers are not shown to the other party or to the judge, and cannot be used as evidence. Cases assessed as high risk can be considered for the Evatt List, a court list that gathers information early and moves quickly on safety.

State matters are heard a few blocks away. Brisbane Magistrates Court and the Brisbane Childrens Court are both at 363 George Street, Brisbane. If you live in Fortitude Valley, New Farm, Newstead, Bowen Hills, Spring Hill, Kangaroo Point, West End or Paddington, this is likely to be your closest courthouse for a domestic violence application, and an application can be lodged at a Magistrates Court in person, by post or, in limited circumstances, by email.

Divorce and property settlement deadlines for Brisbane couples

To apply for a divorce you must have been separated for at least 12 months, and the court must be satisfied there is no reasonable likelihood of getting back together. You can be separated while still living in the same home (known as separation under one roof), but you will need to give the court extra evidence about those arrangements. In most cases a divorce order becomes final one month and one day after the hearing, and you cannot remarry before then.

Divorce does not divide property. That is a separate process with strict time limits. If you were married, an application for financial or property orders must be filed within 12 months of the divorce becoming final. If you were in a de facto relationship, the limit is two years from the breakdown of the relationship. After that you need the court's permission, which is not always given.

A de facto claim generally requires a relationship of at least two years, a child of the relationship, a relationship registered under a prescribed state or territory law, or significant contributions by one partner where refusing an order would cause serious injustice.

Since 10 June 2025 the Family Law Act has set out how a property settlement is worked out: identify the property and debts, assess each person's contributions, consider current and future circumstances, and only make orders that are just and equitable. The economic effect of family violence can now be taken into account, and the Act now has specific rules for family pets, which it calls companion animals. Pets are still treated as property: the court can order that one person owns the pet, that it be transferred to someone who agrees to take it, or that it be sold, but it cannot order shared ownership or shared care.

Parenting arrangements and child protection in Queensland

Before asking the court for parenting orders you usually have to attempt family dispute resolution, a structured mediation run by a family dispute resolution practitioner, and obtain a certificate under section 60I of the Family Law Act 1975. Exemptions exist, including where there has been family violence or child abuse or the matter is urgent. The court's paramount consideration is the child's best interests, starting with what arrangements would keep the child and their carers safe.

Queensland's child protection system can cut across this. If Child Safety has concerns, the Director of Child Protection Litigation may apply to the Childrens Court for a child protection order. While a child is in care under state child welfare law, the federal court cannot make a parenting order about that child without the consent of the child welfare authority. A parent who disagrees with a magistrate's child protection decision has 28 days from the order to lodge an appeal, which is heard by a judge of the Childrens Court of Queensland.

Domestic violence orders in Queensland courts

In Queensland the order is called a domestic violence order, or DVO. The person needing protection is the aggrieved and the person the order is made against is the respondent. A DVO can cover intimate partner, family and informal care relationships. You apply using Form DV01 at a Magistrates Court, and there is no cost to apply. Police serve the respondent and you are given a first court date. A temporary protection order can be made quickly if you are in immediate danger, and it lasts until the court decides the full application. Most protection orders last five years.

Police can also act on the spot. A police protection notice operates as an application to the court, while a police protection direction is a 12-month direction issued without going to court. Breaching a DVO is a criminal offence, with a maximum of three years in jail, rising to five years if the respondent has been convicted of a domestic violence offence in the previous five years. Since 26 May 2025 coercive control, a pattern of abusive behaviour intended to control or dominate, has been a criminal offence in Queensland with a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment.

If you are in immediate danger, call 000.

How Queensland differs from other states

The federal rules on divorce, parenting and property are the same in every state except Western Australia, which has its own family court. The differences are in the state layer. Queensland uses the term domestic violence order, where Victoria uses family violence intervention order and other states use their own names, and order lengths, police powers and penalties differ from state to state.

Queensland's surrogacy rules are also its own. Commercial surrogacy is not allowed, and intended parents apply to the Childrens Court, constituted by a judge, for a parentage order when the baby is between 28 days and six months old and has lived with them for at least 28 days. A step-parent adoption in Queensland generally requires the step-parent to have lived with the child and their partner for at least three years and to have been granted leave under the Family Law Act 1975 first.