Information about the Inquiry

Inquiry into the Family Law Amendment (De Facto Financial Matters and Other Measures) Bill 2008 [Provisions]

Information about the Inquiry

On 26 June 2008, the Senate referred the Family Law Amendment (De Facto Financial Matters and Other Measures) Bill 2008 [Provisions] to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee for inquiry and report by 27 August 2008

The Bill amends the Family Law Act 1975 (the Act) to provide for opposite-sex and same-sex de facto couples to access the federal family law courts on property and maintenance matters. The Bill also amends the Act to provide for amendments relating to financial agreements between married couples and superannuation splitting, and for an amendment to the Act providing for certificates given in relation to family dispute resolution.

The Committee will invites written submissions by 25 July 2008. Submissions should be sent to: 

Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Department of the Senate
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Persons lodging submissions should note that this inquiry is into the bill only, and to be considered relevant to the inquiry, submissions must address the provisions of the bill.

The Committee requests that where possible, submissions should also be provided by email to legcon.sen@aph.gov.au, preferably as MS Word or RTF format documents. Notes to assist in preparing submissions are available from the website https://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/wit_sub/index.htm or telephone the Secretariat on 02 6277 3560, fax: 02 6277 5794, or e-mail at the above address.

Once the Committee accepts your submission, it becomes a confidential committee document and is protected by Parliamentary Privilege. You must not release your submission without the Committee’s permission. If you do, it is not protected by Parliamentary Privilege. At some stage during the inquiry, the Committee normally makes submissions public. Please indicate if you want your submission to be kept confidential.

Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people should be directed to the Parliament House TTY number (02 6277 7799). Adobe also provides tools for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF documents. These tools are available at: http://access.adobe.com/. If you require any special arrangements in order to enable you to participate in a committee inquiry, please contact the Committee Secretary.

For further information, contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Phone: +61 2 6277 3560
Fax: +61 2 6277 5794
Email: legcon.sen@aph.gov.au