VPRS 15085 Magistrates' Court Maintenance and Family Law Register

Full description

The Maintenance Act 1928 established provisions for maintenance support to be provided by husbands who had left their wives or children without means of support. Courts of Petty Sessions were empowered to hear complaints regarding desertion and to set levels and enforce the payment of maintenance. The Maintenance Act 1965 is still in force in Victoria. The Commonwealth Family Law Act 1975 also has provision for the granting of custody and maintenance and most orders are now made under this Act.

Most courts maintained a separate register for maintenance and family law matters, although the register was in the same format as all other petty sessions court registers.
The Family Law Act 1975 provided for the making of all custody orders for children of a marriage. The Family Court of Australia cannot enforce its own orders. The Magistrates Court however does have enforcement powers in some situations. Many applications detailed in these registers relate to the filing of orders and enforcement of orders made by the Family Court of Australia. The Magistrates Court does have the power to make custody orders in cases where both parties agree to have the case heard in the Magistrates Court.

Maintenance and Family Law Registers were used to record three types of maintenance matters: applications for the court to set a level of maintenance; applications for the court to vary the level of maintenance and applications for the court to enforce payments to be made where maintenance orders had been breached. Failure to comply resulted in the imprisonment of the defendant.

Maintenance and Family Law Registers record details of the names of the complainant (usually the wife) and the defendant (usually the husband), the nature of the matter before the court and the court's decision.