VPRS 12540 Court of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Court Maintenance Orders

Full description

The 1928 Maintenance Act and successive Marriages Acts established provisions for maintenance support to be provided by people who had left their spouses or children without means of support. Courts of Petty Sessions were empowered to hear complaints regarding desertion and neglect where these occurred independently from divorce proceedings, and to set levels and enforce the payment of maintenance. However in 1975 the Commonwealth Family Law Act came into effect and most maintenance orders are now made under this Act.

Maintenance orders made in the Supreme Court were registered with the Courts of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Courts for enforcement. The orders arrived at the Court in a sealed envelope to be registered. The register so formed was the official register of these orders; they were not recorded elsewhere.

These files record the ongoing correspondence, forms, etc., associated with the enforcement of maintenance orders.

The files contain a varying amount of information, the bulk of which is correspondence between the court and the plaintiff about the collection of maintenance, the frequency of payments, changes of address, etc. There are also numerous forms prescribed under the various Maintenance Rules. Occasionally photographs are found on files. These photos are of the defendant (usually the husband or father of the person receiving maintenance) and were required for identification purposes. Details regarding default summonses and other court cases may also be included.