Signing and Witnessing Court Documents. Family Court of Australia – Federal Circuit Court of Australia –COVID-19 Measures
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia are changing practices in order to minimise the attendance by legal practitioners and parties at registries.
The new rules apply irrespective of whether your application has been filed in the past or recently. As long as your matter is pending with either of the two courts, they apply to you as well. Many of those simplify the process, and, indeed, would be a welcome change in pandemic as well as less stressful times.
One of those concerns signing and witnessing the documents and the introduction of electronic signing.
Documents, including affidavits, financial statements and consent orders, required to be signed under the Family Law Rules 2004 or the Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001 may be signed electronically by the deponent and/or the lawyer on the record for that party, including by having the person signing the document type their name in the relevant space in the signature block in lieu of physically signing the document.
The Courts will accept for filing affidavits (other than where part of a divorce application) and financial statements that have been signed without a qualified witness also signing the document. However, if the Judge or the Registrar requires it, the deponent of the document must attend a hearing by telephone or videoconference or in person, and swear or affirm that the contents of the document are true and correct to the best of their knowledge, information and belief. The Judge or the Registrar have discretion to require no such attendance at all.
Whether the new Rules will remain in the future we are yet to see. For now they are in place until further notice.
