What Happens if You Breach Family Court Orders?
Breaching family court orders in Australia can lead to serious consequences, depending on the nature and extent of the breach.
When someone fails to comply with court orders, such as parenting or financial arrangements, the court may take action to enforce the order and ensure compliance.
Consequences can range from warnings to more significant penalties, including fines, compensation, or even imprisonment.
The court aims to ensure that orders are respected and followed, particularly where the welfare of children is concerned.
Key takeaway: Breaching family court orders can lead to various consequences, including legal action, and it’s important to comply with court rulings to avoid penalties.
Types of Family Court Orders and Breaches
Family court orders cover a range of matters, including parenting arrangements, financial settlements, and property division. The most common breaches occur in parenting orders, where one party might prevent the other from seeing their child, fail to adhere to scheduled visits, or not follow through on financial responsibilities.
Breaching any of these orders can result in significant legal repercussions.
A breach occurs when one party does not fulfil their obligations as set out in the court’s order. Sometimes, the breach may be inadvertent or unavoidable, such as a scheduling conflict; in others, it may be deliberate.
Key takeaway: Family court orders cover a wide range of matters, and breaching them can lead to enforcement actions, regardless of whether the breach was intentional or accidental.
Consequences of Breaching Family Court Orders
The consequences for breaching family court orders vary depending on the seriousness of the breach. The court has the discretion to determine the appropriate response, which may include:
- Warnings or counselling: For minor breaches or first-time offences, the court may issue a warning or require the parties to attend counselling or mediation.
- Make-up time: In cases of parenting orders, the court may grant additional time to the aggrieved party if access to the child was wrongfully denied.
- Fines or compensation: The court can impose fines or order one party to pay compensation to the other for expenses incurred due to the breach.
- Community service or bonds: The court may order community service or place the offending party on a bond to ensure compliance in the future.
- Imprisonment: In extreme cases or repeated breaches, the court can impose imprisonment as a last resort.
Key takeaway: The consequences of breaching family court orders range from warnings and counselling to more severe penalties such as fines, compensation, or even imprisonment.
What to Do if You Breach Family Court Orders
If you have breached a family court order, it’s important to act quickly. You should contact a lawyer to discuss your options and potentially apply to the court to vary the order if circumstances have changed. In some cases, a breach may have occurred due to unavoidable reasons, such as illness or an emergency. In such instances, it’s important to document your reasons and notify the court or the other party as soon as possible to explain the situation.
It is always better to seek a legal remedy before letting the breach become a larger issue, as the court may show leniency if you act promptly and responsibly.
Key takeaway: If you have breached a family court order, addressing the issue immediately by seeking legal advice or notifying the court can help mitigate the consequences.
How the Court Enforces Family Court Orders
If a breach occurs, the court can enforce its orders in several ways. Typically, the aggrieved party will need to apply to the court to have the order enforced.
The court will review the application and, if necessary, hold a hearing to determine the next steps. During this process, the offending party will have an opportunity to explain the breach.
The court may take a variety of actions, including amending the original order to prevent further breaches, ordering compliance measures, or imposing penalties.
In parenting cases, the court’s primary concern is always the best interests of the child and enforcement actions will be taken with that in mind.
Key takeaway: Family court orders can be enforced by the court through various measures, and the aggrieved party must apply to the court if a breach has occurred.
Director of Melbourne Family Lawyers, Hayder manages the practice and oversees the running of all of the files in the practice. Hayder has an astute eye for case strategy and running particularly complex matters in the family law system.
