Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:C2024C00859:section:55a
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:C2024C00859
Segment Type: section
Provision Reference: s 55A
Character Range: 200393–202083

55A  Divorce order where children
 (1) A divorce order in relation to a marriage does not take effect unless the court has, by order, declared that it is satisfied:
 (a) that there are no children of the marriage who have not attained 18 years of age; or
 (b) that the only children of the marriage who have not attained 18 years of age are the children specified in the order and that:
 (i) proper arrangements in all the circumstances have been made for the care, welfare and development of those children; or
 (ii) there are circumstances by reason of which the divorce order should take effect even though the court is not satisfied that such arrangements have been made.
 (2) Where, in proceedings for a divorce order in relation to a marriage, the court doubts whether the arrangements made for the care, welfare and development of a child of the marriage are proper in all the circumstances, the court may adjourn the proceedings until a report has been obtained from a family consultant regarding those arrangements.
 (3) For the purposes of this section, a child (including an ex‑nuptial child of either party to the marriage, a child adopted by either of them or a child who is not a child of either of them) is a child of the marriage if the child was treated by both parties to the marriage as a child of their family at the relevant time.
 (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the relevant time is the time immediately before the time when the parties to the marriage separated or, if they have separated on more than one occasion, the time immediately before the time when they last separated before the institution of the proceedings in which the divorce order was made.