Australia: Family Law

In Masters v Mitchell Shire Council (No 2) [2026] VSC 598, the plaintiff sought damages in the Supreme Court of Victoria for injuries sustained when his motorcycle crashed on a curve along Reedy Creek Road in Tyaak on 25 December 2022.

A Victorian Supreme Court case examines whether a 16-year-old mother's 1968 consent to adopt her newborn son was obtained through coercion by hospital and social welfare institutions. The court must determine if the adoption process breached duties of care under standards that existed nearly 60 years ago, while the plaintiff argues she was prevented from seeing her baby and pressured into relinquishing parental rights.

Bringing the next generation into a family farming business requires careful planning and open communication. Before a son or daughter returns to work on the farm, families must address critical questions about roles, decision-making authority, ownership pathways, succession planning, and conflict resolution to protect both the business and family relationships.

In our earlier article, we explored the role that discretionary family trusts play in succession planning. For many families, these structures are seen as a cornerstone of long‑term wealth preservation, providing a degree of protection from external claims.

If you are going through a family law separation or divorce and one of you holds a minority interest in a private company, the valuation of that interest is likely to be one of the most contested and consequential issues in your property settlement. You might assume that obtaining a business valuation expert will resolve the question.

Parenting orders under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (“the Act”) determine post separation living arrangements for a child, allocation of parental responsibility, and may include orders about education, such as which school a child/ren should attend. Courts have emphasised that parents must take positive action to ensure children spend time with or live with each parent in accordance with parenting orders.

In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) first resulted in a successful live birth on 25 July 1978 when Ms Louise Brown was born in a Manchester hospital in the UK. Since Ms Brown’s birth, IVF has advanced rapidly with more than 13 million children reported as having been conceived through IVF processes.

Host employer of negligent driver employee not liable for injuries - liability transferred pro hac vice to injured worker’s employer.

The Supreme Court of Victoria ruled that parties were bound by a settlement deed sent unsigned by the defendants' solicitor and subsequently executed by the plaintiffs’ solicitor, even though the defendants ultimately refused to sign.