Scenario: 

You’ve had a bad day in the Family Court and you want to vent your frustrations and let everyone know. Can you go to your private Facebook page and make a post about your ex-partner or their Family Lawyer to your Facebook friends?  

Answer: 

The short answer is you can do that, but it depends on the type of information you include in your Facebook post. As Family Lawyers, we recommend that you resist the urge to do it all, as it may reflect poorly on you in the future.  

If there are no proceedings before the Family Court, then you do not have any obligations restricting you from discussing your Family Law matter on Facebook, so long as you do not defame your ex-partner, anyone they may be dating or your ex-partner’s Family Lawyer.  

You should be careful however, if you choose to discuss Family Law matters on any social media platform, as there have been instances in the past where a person’s social media posts have been used against them. 

If you are involved in Family Court litigation, we suggest that you do not make any reference, however small, regarding your ex-partner or the circumstances or status of the Family Law matter at all.  

If proceedings have already been commenced then Section 121(1) of the Family Law Act 1975 (“the Act”) prohibits a person from publishing, or disseminating to the public, or a section of the public, an account of the proceedings, or any part of any proceedings which identifies: 

1. A party to the proceedings meaning you or your former partner;
2. A person who is related to, or associated with, a party to the proceedings, or is alleged to be concerned with the matter meaning your children, your former partner’s family or new partner, your lawyer or your former partner’s lawyer; or
3. A witness to the proceedings meaning anybody who is giving evidence in your proceedings. This could be a friend, or a psychologist who has been appointed as a Single Expert Witness. 

Section 121(3)(1) of the Act contains a detailed list of what the Court will consider when determining if a person has been identified on a social media platform or elsewhere.  

If you are found guilty of publishing or disseminating to the public an account of the proceedings, or any part of the proceedings which identifies someone related to the proceedings, then you commit an offence punishable by imprisonment for up to one year.  

There are some exceptions as to when you can publish an account of the proceedings, the list is contained in section 121(9) of the Act. Some instances when you can provide an account of the proceedings is when the Court has permitted you to do so or you are making an application for a Grant of Legal Aid. 

The above is not intended to be legal advice.  

If you need advice in relation to proceedings in the Family Court, please contact us on 08 9221 2666 or reception@calverleyjohnston.com.au to make an appointment to speak to one of our Family Law solicitors.

If you have recently separated from your former partner and they have moved out, you will often continue to receive their personal mail, which may include documents such as bank account statement, superannuation information or credit offers. 

Many people are tempted to open mail which is addressed to their former partner, but you should avoid doing this because it is a federal offence to open mail that is not addressed to you.

Under the Criminal Code Act 1995, it is an offence to intentionally open another person’s mail. If you intentionally open someone else’s mail, then you may be jailed for up to 5 years.  

So what should you do if you keep receiving your former partner’s mail? We suggest the following: 

• If you have an amicable relationship, you can pass the mail onto them directly and ask them to change their address with whoever is sending them the mail. 

• If you have to keep asking your former partner to change their address, or your relationship is hostile then you can simply write “Return to Sender” on the mail and place it in a post box for it to be returned to sender. 

If you have accidentally opened mail that does not belong to you, then you should pass it on to your former partner immediately and apologise for opening it in error. This can occur at times when you both bank at the same financial institution. 

It is not an offence under the Criminal Code Act 1995 if you have accidentally opened your former partner’s mail however, is it an offence to hold onto any mail that you have accidentally opened. If you are found to be keeping mail that does not belong to you, then you may face up to 5 years imprisonment.  

It is also important to note that it would only be classified as “accidental” if you open your former partner’s mail on possibly one or two occasions, however, if this was a reoccurring event, the Court may not consider the actions to be “accidental”. 

The above is not intended to be legal advice.  

If you need advice in relation to a Family Law matter, please contact us on 08 9221 2666 or reception@calverleyjohnston.com.au to make an appointment to speak to one of our solicitors.

It is illegal to record any person – either by audio or with a camera. 

Many people think that recording their interactions with their former spouse, or their children, makes for great evidence in Court, but this is simply untrue. 

In Western Australia, section 5 of the Surveillance Devices Act 1998 (WA) prohibits a person from installing, using, maintaining, or causing to be installed, used or maintained a listening device to: 

• Record, monitor or listen to a private conversation to which that person is not a party; or

• To record a conversation to which that person is not a party. 

A mobile telephone is considered to be a “listening device”. 

Section 6 of the Surveillance Devices Act 1998 (WA) prohibits a person from installing, using, maintaining, or causing to be installed, used or maintained an optical surveillance device to: 

• Record visually or observe a private activity to which that person is not a party; or

• To record visually a private activity to which that person is a party. 

A mobile telephone is also considered to be an “optical surveillance device”. 

In accordance with subsections 5(3)(c) and 6(3)(a) of the Surveillance Devices Act 1998 (WA), it is not an offence to use a listening device or optical surveillance device to record conversations with a person, if both parties provide their consent (expressly or impliedly) to the recording taking place.  

Penalties for recording a person without their consent include a fine of up to $5,000 fine or 12 months imprisonment, or both.  

There are certain circumstances where recordings, whilst they may not have been obtained legally, can be used as evidence in Court proceedings. Please see our separate article, “Illegal Recordings and When They Can Be Used As Evidence.” 

The above is not intended to be legal advice and is based on the law of Western Australia only. If you are not based in Western Australia, please contact a local family law solicitor to obtain the relevant advice.   

If you need advice in relation to your family law matter, please contact us.

It can be quite nerve-racking and overwhelming attending your first appointment with a Family Lawyer.  

So, what should you bring with you to your first appointment?

If you have time to gather some information and documents prior to your meeting, that can greatly assist a Family Lawyer to provide you with tailored legal advice. This will avoid wasting your time, and your money, as most Family Lawyers charge by the hour.

Some helpful documents which you can bring with you to your first appointment include: 

• A list of any questions that you may have about your situation;

• A copy of any letters or documents you have received from your former spouse, or their solicitor about your current situation;

• A copy of your Marriage Certificate and/or Divorce Certificate (if applicable);

• A list of all the current assets, liabilities and superannuation entitlements which you or your former spouse have, whether held jointly or in your or your former spouse’s sole name, together with the estimated value of those items;

• A list of all the assets, liabilities and superannuation entitlements which you or your former spouse had when you first started living together, with the estimated value of those items;

• If you or your former partner owns a business, the financial statements and tax returns for the last financial year that has been prepared. 

It is not a requirement of attending an appointment that you bring the above mentioned documents, however, it will assist a family lawyer in providing you with more accurate and specific advice, in a cost-effective and timely manner. 

If you need advice in relation to divorce, property settlement or care arrangements for your children, please contact us to make an appointment to discuss your situation in more detail.