Divorce with Children in the ACT: Section 55A Requirements

When you file for divorce in the Australian Capital Territory and there are children under 18, the court will not grant your divorce until it is satisfied that "proper arrangements" have been made for their care, welfare, and development. This requirement comes from Section 55A of the Family Law Act 1975.

It does not mean the court creates custody orders. It means the registrar checks that basic needs are being met before finalising the divorce.

What "Proper Arrangements" Means

The court is not looking for a perfect co-parenting plan. It is looking for evidence that the children have stable housing, are attending school, have access to healthcare, and are financially supported.

You will need to provide detailed answers in your divorce application covering four areas:

Housing and living arrangements: Where the children live, how they divide their time between parents, and the stability of those arrangements.

Education: Which schools they attend and how educational expenses are covered.

Health and medical care: Their general physical and mental health, and how medical costs are managed (Medicare, private health insurance, or other arrangements).

Financial support: The child maintenance or child support arrangements in place — whether through a private agreement, a Child Support Agency assessment, or court orders.

When You Must Attend the Hearing

For joint applications — regardless of whether there are children — neither party is required to attend the divorce hearing.

For sole applications with children under 18, the applicant must attend the hearing. Most ACT hearings are conducted electronically via telephone or Microsoft Teams, so physical attendance at the Nigel Bowen Commonwealth Law Courts Building is rarely required.

If the registrar has concerns about the children's arrangements based on what you provided in the application, they may ask questions during the hearing. Answer factually and directly.

What Triggers an Adjournment

The registrar will adjourn the hearing — delaying your divorce — if the application reveals obvious deficiencies such as:

• A complete lack of contact between one parent and the children, without a protective explanation (such as a family violence order)
• No child support arrangement in place and no explanation of how children's expenses are being met
• Severe housing instability affecting the children
• Unresolved medical or welfare concerns

An adjournment means you will be ordered to file additional affidavit evidence clarifying the situation before the divorce can proceed.

What the Divorce Does Not Do

Granting the divorce does not create binding parenting orders. It does not determine custody, decide where the children live, or set child support amounts. Those are separate proceedings.

The Section 55A check is a protective threshold — the court confirms children are not being left in a harmful void. If you need formal parenting orders or want to formalise a parenting plan, that requires a separate Application for Consent Orders (A$215 filing fee) or, in disputed cases, an Application for Final Orders.

Preparing Your Application

The most common issue is providing insufficient detail. Writing "children live with the mother" without specifying the living address, school arrangements, and financial support will prompt the registrar to ask for more information — either at the hearing or via a formal direction.

Be specific: name the schools, describe the week-to-week living arrangement, explain the child support mechanism, and note any medical conditions and how they are managed.

The ACT Divorce Filing Process Guide includes a children's arrangements worksheet that covers each of the four Section 55A categories, so you can compile the details the court needs before you start the online application.

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