Applying to the Family Court - overview

When you can appeal, how the process works, and due dates for your application.

When you can apply

You can apply to the Family Court for an appeal or departure order in these situations.

Appeals – if you objected or responded to a review

You can appeal to the Family Court if you disagree with our decision about:

• your objection that was disallowed
• an exemption review that you or the other parent or carer applied for
• a review that the other parent or carer applied for
• a review that we arranged – also called a Commissioner-initiated review.

Departure orders – if you applied for a review

You can apply for a departure order in the Family Court if you disagree with our decision about a review that you applied for.

Your rights are in your decision letter

The decision letter we sent you shows if you have the right to appeal or to apply for a departure order in the Family Court and any timeframes that apply.

How the process works

There are slightly different processes for different kinds of appeals and departure orders, but generally, here’s how they work.

1. You disagree with a decision we’ve made and want to take the issue further.
2. You file an appeal or apply for a departure order with the Family Court.
3. The Court sends a copy of your application to us and/or anyone else involved.
4. We (and/or anyone else involved) have 21 days to file a notice of defence (and supporting documents) giving our point of view.
5. After all parties have filed their responses, the judge meets with everyone involved to find out what the issues are and what is needed to take the case further before a hearing is set. This is called a judicial conference.
6. The Court arranges a hearing.
7. The Court hears your case and decides whether to confirm our decision, or to change or reverse it.
8. If the Court decides to change or reverse our decision, they will send us a court order.
9. Once we receive the court order, we do what it tells us. We cannot change an assessment until we get a copy of the order from the Court.

Due dates

If we disallow your objection, you must appeal our decision in the Family Court within 2 months of the date we made it. If you appeal outside of this timeframe, the Court cannot accept it.

If you disagree with our decision on your child support, Commissioner-initiated or exemption review, you can appeal in the Family Court within 2 months of that decision (or longer if the Court agrees).

You can apply for a departure order any time after we've made our decision.