Application for Consent Orders: Form, Fee and Filing

What the Application for Consent Orders is

The Application for Consent Orders gives the court the information it needs to decide whether to make your agreed orders. Both parties complete and sign it, even though one usually lodges it. The proposed orders contain the directions you want the court to make.

The FCFCOA’s application form is named Application for Consent Orders and cites rule 10.04 of the Family Law Rules 2021. It has no Form 11 label. Older guides may call the application Form 11 or refer to the former Family Court. Form 11 remains the correct name in WA.

This procedure covers a first application for agreed property orders. If proceedings are already underway, use the court’s procedure for filing agreed orders in that existing case.

Filing With the FCFCOA

The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) handles these applications outside WA. It replaced the former Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court. Applicants in Queensland, NSW and the other states and territories outside WA use the same application and Commonwealth Courts Portal.

Prepare the signed documents before starting the upload. Then follow the court’s eFiling instructions:

1. Register at the Commonwealth Courts Portal, or sign in to your existing account.
2. Select Start a new file and choose Application for Consent Orders.
3. Enter the parties’ details and upload the signed application, signed proposed orders and required supporting documents.
4. Upload an identical unsigned Word version of the proposed orders. Keep it editable, with tracked changes removed and without images or macros.
5. Pay the filing fee or complete the exemption process, then submit the application.
6. Confirm the application appears in Documents Filed and save the sealed application and file number.

An application saved under Partly completed applications has not reached the court. Submission and a filed document confirm lodgement. If an upload fails, check the document format and size against the portal instructions before trying again.

Filing an Application for Consent Orders in WA

The Family Court of Western Australia handles married and de facto property matters in WA. Use its Application for Consent Orders, Form 11, not the national application.

For WA de facto couples, property jurisdiction is under the Family Court Act 1997. Complete the separate supporting affidavit establishing the relationship and WA connection. The court’s de facto guidance sets out the residence and relationship requirements. Superannuation splitting also has federal requirements.

Lodge through WA’s eCourts Portal. The filing fee is $215, with no GST, before any exemption.

1. Register an individual account using the court’s eCourts Portal guide.
2. Complete the email and verification-code steps and sign in.
3. Under Assisted Lodgement, select Family Court of WA and the application type.
4. Upload Form 11, the signed draft orders and the attachments for your matter.
5. Complete the fee step and lodge the application. Save the confirmation and file details.

Use the same notification email as your address for service. In WA, the application’s affidavits require an authorised witness. Each party signs their draft orders on the same day as their own affidavit. File within 90 days of the first affidavit.

Completing the Form: The Property Pool

Record each party’s full financial position before showing how the proposed orders divide it. In the national form, Part H records the financial information and Part I shows the effect of the orders. WA Form 11 uses Parts G and H for the corresponding information.

List all property and debts, including bank accounts, real estate, business interests and loans. Record superannuation separately and disclose financial resources. Use current values, identify estimates and keep each party’s ownership clear. The national kit explains each field.

Show the net property each party receives after liabilities, along with the superannuation outcome. Explain the contributions and circumstances supporting the proposed division. The registrar must be satisfied that the property orders are just and equitable. Agreement alone does not establish that.

Reconcile bank balances to statements and trace transfers between related accounts before calculating the pool. A transfer from one party’s savings account to their everyday account moves the same money. Counting it as new income or as a second asset distorts the figures. Cash withdrawals and payments to crypto exchanges require a clear account of what happened to the money.

For a hypothetical example, one account shows a $12,000 transfer out and another shows the matching $12,000 credit. Record the closing balances of both accounts. Do not add another $12,000 asset for the transfer itself. Follow a crypto purchase to the holding or disposal records before deciding what value belongs in the pool.

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Use the financial statement guide for reconciliation and the financial disclosure guide for the duty behind the figures.

Attaching the Proposed Orders

Put the proposed consent orders in a separate signed document. Each party can sign personally. For national applications, rule 10.04 also permits the party’s legal representative to sign the proposed orders.

Use the court’s template for the heading and party details. State that the orders are by consent, give each order its own paragraph and number the paragraphs. Match the party names and property descriptions to the application.

The national court requires a signed copy and an identical unsigned editable Word copy. WA requires every party to sign each page and date the last page under its formatting guidance.

For a superannuation split, send the trustee the proposed terms and notice of its right to object at least 28 days before filing. For national applications, rule 10.06 permits earlier filing if the notified trustee consents in writing.

Complete the superannuation confirmations in the application’s Statement of Truth or WA affidavit. File evidence of procedural fairness and value. WA’s guidance also requires the trustee’s no-objection letter and relevant member statements or information form.

The superannuation splitting guide explains the fund-specific preparation. For the substance and wording of property orders, use the consent orders guide.

Signing and Lodging Checklist

Both parties must sign the final application. Obtain the proposed-orders signatures described above.

In the national form, the applicant signs Part J and the respondent signs Part L, their Statements of Truth. Those signature blocks have no witness field. A separate supporting affidavit requires the witness its own form specifies. Lawyers complete the independent legal advice sections where applicable.

In WA, the applicant’s Part I and respondent’s Part K are affidavits signed before an authorised witness. An eligible third party bound by an order completes the additional affidavit or statement required by the form. The WA filing instructions identify the attachments for each situation.

Before lodgement, confirm the following items.

• Names, relationship details and addresses for service match throughout.
• Every relevant question is answered and each party’s financial figures reconcile.
• The proposed division matches the totals in the application.
• Each required page is signed and each declaration or affidavit is complete.
• The national application is within 90 days of the first signed Statement of Truth.
• Applicable agreements and superannuation documents are attached.
• WA attachments include the marriage certificate and divorce order if relevant, plus title documents for real estate being transferred. De facto parties include their relationship affidavit.
• If parenting orders are also sought, the court’s additional parenting documents are included.
• The fee or exemption is ready and the final uploaded files are readable.

The applicant usually lodges the signed joint application. Give the other party the filed copy and file details. Each party uses their own portal account. On the Commonwealth Courts Portal, the other party can request access using their file and client numbers. Complete any separate service or notification requirement that applies to a third party.

Filing Fee and Fee Exemptions

The Application for Consent Orders filing fee is $215 in the FCFCOA fee schedule and $215 in the WA fee schedule. GST does not apply.

Consent orders fees can be exempted on eligible concession or financial hardship grounds. The reduced divorce fee is a different arrangement. Downloading a free application form does not remove the consent orders filing fee.

For the FCFCOA, the exemption guidelines cover eligible concession cardholders, Legal Aid and specified other categories. Supply the evidence through the portal. For hardship, upload the financial hardship application with the consent orders application. Set out income, assets, living expenses and liabilities. If there is more than one applicant, all must qualify.

For WA, provide eligible cardholder details in the portal. Other concession applicants use Form NP13 and hardship applicants use Form NP14, with supporting evidence. The WA exemption procedure requires those separate applications to be determined before lodging the fee-attracting document.

A lawyer’s fixed fee for preparing consent orders is separate from the court fee. Establish whether a quote includes the filing fee, GST and responses to court queries. A court-fee exemption does not pay the lawyer’s preparation fee.

Consent Orders Kits and Templates

The official consent orders kit contains the application, completion instructions and a filing checklist. Use the FCFCOA kit outside WA. In WA, download Form 11 and the checklist from the court’s consent orders page.

Compare any third-party template with the official form before using it. A national template labelled Form 11 or naming the former Federal Circuit Court can lead you to the wrong document. WA’s Form 11 remains valid, so the label must be read with the jurisdiction.

A proposed-orders template provides document structure. It does not establish that the agreed division is fair or that each direction achieves the parties’ intended result. Resolve the substance of the agreement before signing the filing pack.

What Happens After You File

A registrar reviews the application and proposed orders. Acceptance for filing does not mean the proposed orders have been made. The registrar can make the orders, request further information or amended documents, or decline the application.

If you receive a requisition, read each requested correction and the response deadline. Identify whether the query concerns a missing document, financial figure or proposed order. Reconcile the affected figures, obtain both parties’ agreement to amended orders and file the response as directed. Keep the file number on correspondence and retain the lodged response.

When the orders are made, download the sealed orders from the relevant portal and give each party a copy. Use the sealed orders when carrying out the property transfers and other obligations.

If the court declines the orders as drafted, address the reasons before proposing amendments. If the application is dismissed, obtain advice on the next application or response. Confirm that you have sealed orders, then record the obligations and deadlines for implementing them.