Family Court

Practice Notes exist on many different topics. Some contain guidelines on how a case must be managed, from the filing of the first document that commences proceedings through to disposition (the end of the case), whilst others outline how professional services must be managed. Links to the Family Court Practice Notes are provided below. Some Practice Notes are also available in hard copy from the legal publishers.

Note: Some of these publications are in Adobe's Acrobat PDF format. You will need Acrobat Reader to view PDF files. It can be downloaded at no cost from the Adobe Website.

Family Court Caseflow Management Practice Notes:

Family Court Caseflow Management (PDF, 670Kb) (View HTML version)

Applications under the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 (PDF, 110 Kb) (View HTML version)

Joint Protocol Ministry of Justice and Department of Child, Youth and Family, 1 July 200

Intellectual Disability Act 2003: Reviews, Applications for Orders and Representation (PDF, 27 Kb) (View HTML version)

Hague Convention Cases - New Zealand Family Court Guidelines (PDF, 27 Kb) (View HTML version)

Hague Convention Cases: Mediation Process - Removal, Retention and Access (PDF, 32kb) (View HTML version)

Family Court Professional Services Practice Notes:

Lawyer for the Child: Selection, Appointment and Other Matters

Lawyer for Child - Code of Conduct

Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003 (Selection and Review of 'Counsel for Intended Care Recipient' List)(PDF, 33kb) (View HTML version)

Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act (Selection and Review of 'Counsel for the Subject Person' List) (PDF,34 kb) (View HTML version)

Family Court Counsellors (PDF, 95kb)  (View HTML version)

For further information, see Becoming a Family Court Counsellor.

Children's Supervised Contact (PDF, 45kb) (View HTML version)

Specialist Report Writers (PDF, 79Kb) (View HTML version)

Guidelines for Counselling Professional Bodies (PDF, 149 Kb) (View HTML version)