Question
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Question of the week

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08 February 2019

Nothing remains constant except change itself

Family Law
Federal

Asked

Family law - Responding to an amended initiating application

We currently act for the respondent wife in court proceedings for children's orders brought by the father. The father has since filed an amended initiating application wherein the amendments are further orders relating to property. The matter is before the court next in a few months for an interim hearing for an application brought by the father to remove the requirement for supervised visitations.

Is our next step to file an amended response in relation to the amendments made to the initiating application?

Answered

Thank you for the question.

If the wife has not already filed a Response to Initiating Application, she needs to do so. The response will respond to any interim and any final orders sought by the husband. 

If the wife has already filed her response to the initiating application, she needs to file an Amended Response to Initiating Application. In that amended response, she should set out the orders sought in response to the property orders sought by the husband. Any amendments should be underlined. She will also need to file a financial statement if she is seeking financial orders. These forms are available in the Property Settlement guide.

The following is an excerpt from the By Lawyers Property Settlement commentary:

Federal Circuit Court Rule 7.01 and Family Law Rule 11.10 address amending an application/response ... Pursuant to the rules, technically leave is required to file an amended document, however practically the document is filed and then leave may be sought at the next court date.

Regards

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