Federal Magistrates Court- Practice Direction

The Federal Magistrates Court has issued a new practice direction, which makes sense because of the changes to the requirement for a certificate from a registered family dispute resolution practitioner:

Practice Direction: No.2 of 2008
Practice Note No 1 of 2008 1 March 2008 is revoked and the following Practice Note is substituted
Applicants wishing to apply for an order under Part VII of the Family Law Act 1975 are required to provide a certificate from a registered family dispute resolution practitioner, unless they fall within the exception to this requirement under s 60I(9). From 1 July 2008, the exception under section 60I(5) ceases to apply.
This requirement will apply to all applicants for an order under Part VII, including those seeking changes to an existing order.
This Practice Direction sets out the procedural requirements for applicants who seek to file an application for an order under Part VII of the Family Law Act 1975 in the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia.