> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.rytz.com.au/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Key Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) sections — s60CA, s60CC, s60I, s63C, s65DAAA, s79, s90SM
> The 12 most-cited sections of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth): s60CA, s60CC (post-2024), s60CG, s60I, s61DA (repealed), s63C, s64B, s65DAAA, s79 (post-2025), s90SM, s44, s4AA. Plain English + post-2024/2025 amendment context.
import { Card, CardGroup } from '@mintlify/components'
**This is legal information, not legal advice.** This page is reviewed against the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021, and current case law on AustLII — but not by a practising family-law solicitor. For advice on your matter, see [Free legal help in Australia](/learn/free-legal-help) — Legal Aid, Community Legal Centres, Justice Connect, Women's Legal Services, and Aboriginal Legal Services offer free or low-cost help.
The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) is a long Act. Most of what comes up in everyday family-law matters distils down to about a dozen sections. This page covers each one — what it does, the practical implication, and where in the platform you'll see it.
## Parenting — the s60-series
### s60CA — Best interests as the paramount consideration
> *In deciding whether to make a particular parenting order in relation to a child, a court must regard the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration.*
**What it means in practice:** the court does not balance the children's interests against the parents'. The children's interests come first. This single sentence is the foundation of every parenting decision in Australia.
**Where you'll see it:** the Parenting Planner letterhead, every AI strategic briefing, the Case Roadmap pre-application stage.
### s60CC — How the court determines best interests (post-2024)
Section 60CC(2) lists six general considerations. Section 60CC(2A) adds a mandatory consideration of family-violence history. There is also a standalone consideration for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children's right to enjoy their culture.
**The six general considerations under s60CC(2):**
| s60CC(2) | Consideration |
| -------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| (a) | What arrangements would promote the safety (including from family violence, abuse, neglect or other harm) of the child and each person who has care of the child |
| (b) | Any views expressed by the child |
| (c) | The developmental, psychological, emotional and cultural needs of the child |
| (d) | The capacity of each person who has, or is proposed to have, parental responsibility for the child to provide for those needs |
| (e) | The benefit to the child of being able to have a relationship with the child's parents, and other people significant to the child, where it is safe to do so |
| (f) | Anything else relevant to the particular circumstances of the child |
**Section 60CC(2A) — additional consideration:** the court must also consider any history of family violence, abuse or neglect involving the child or a person caring for the child, and any family-violence order that applies or has applied to the child or a member of the child's family.
**Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children:** the post-2024 framework includes a standalone best-interests consideration of the child's right to enjoy their culture, and the support each parent gives to that connection. This is reflected in the parenting plan's cultural-connection clause.
**What changed in 2024:** the pre-amendment s60CC had a two-tier structure ("primary considerations" + "additional considerations"). That hierarchy was repealed. The six considerations under s60CC(2) are now weighed together, with safety and family-violence history sitting alongside the other factors rather than as a separate top-tier.
**Where you'll see it:** every clause in the Parenting Planner has an s60CC mapping showing which considerations that clause is most relevant to.
The text in the table above is a close paraphrase of the statute, not a verbatim quote. For the precise statutory wording, read [section 60CC on AustLII](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/s60cc.html) or the [Federal Register of Legislation](https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A00275). For matter-specific advice, consult a family-law solicitor.
### s60CG — Orders consistent with family-violence orders
Every order made under Part VII must be consistent with any family-violence order in force, and must avoid exposing anyone to an unacceptable risk.
**Where you'll see it:** the family-violence safety overlay (clause 12) cross-references this section.
### s60I — Family Dispute Resolution requirement
Before filing a parenting application, parties must (with limited exceptions) attend FDR with an accredited practitioner and obtain a section 60I certificate.
**Exceptions:** family violence, urgency, child-protection involvement, contravention.
**Where you'll see it:** the Dispute Resolution clause (clause 10) of the parenting plan, the Case Roadmap pre-action stage.
### s61DA — Parental responsibility (post-2024)
The presumption of equal shared parental responsibility was repealed in 2024. The court now decides parental responsibility on the best-interests test alone.
**What it means in practice:** parties can still agree to joint parental responsibility (and most do), but the court no longer starts from a presumption.
**Where you'll see it:** the Parental Responsibility clause (clause 1).
### s63C — Parenting plans
Defines what a parenting plan is. Four bare requirements: in writing, signed by parents, dated, between parents.
**Where you'll see it:** every page of the Parenting Planner. See [Section 63C explained](/parenting-planner/section-63c-explained).
### s64B — Content of parenting orders
Lists what a parenting order can address — who the children live with, who they spend time with, communication, parental responsibility, dispute resolution. Defines the scope of what s63C plans can validly cover.
### s65DAAA — Threshold to vary final parenting orders (post-2024)
Codifies the **Rice v Asplund** threshold. A court will not reconsider final parenting orders unless there has been a *significant change in circumstances* since the orders were made.
**What it means in practice:** "I just don't like the orders" is not enough. The applicant must show what has changed and why that change requires the orders to be revisited.
**Where you'll see it:** the Review Windows clause (clause 11) of the parenting plan, the Rice v Asplund readiness checker in Beyond the Plan.
## Property — the s79 framework
### s79 — Power to alter property interests (married)
The court's power to make orders altering the interests of the parties in their property. The basis for every property settlement in a matter that was a marriage.
**The four-step process the court applies:**
1. Identify the asset pool (assets, liabilities, financial resources)
2. Assess contributions (financial, non-financial, parental, homemaker)
3. Assess future needs (s75(2) factors — age, health, income capacity, care of children, etc.)
4. Consider whether the proposed orders are just and equitable
**Where you'll see it:** the Settlement Planner, every step of the four-step process is its own tab.
### s90SM — Power to alter property interests (de facto)
The de facto equivalent of s79. Same four-step process, applies to de facto relationships (including same-sex) of two years or more, or with children of the relationship.
### s75(2) — Future needs factors
The 16 factors the court considers under step 3 of the s79/s90SM process. The most-cited:
* (a) Age + state of health of each party
* (b) Income, property + financial resources of each party
* (c) Care of children of the relationship
* (d) Standard of living that is reasonable
* (k) Length of the relationship
* (n) Need to protect the position of a child
**Where you'll see it:** the Future Needs tab in the Settlement Planner.
## Procedure — the s44-series
### s44(3) — Property settlement limitation period (married)
12 months from the date of divorce. After that, leave of the court is required.
### s44(5) — Property settlement limitation period (de facto)
24 months from the date of separation. After that, leave of the court is required.
**Where you'll see it:** the Settlement Planner timeline checker, urgency flags in the AI briefing.
## Reading the Act
The full text is on the [Federal Register of Legislation](https://www.legislation.gov.au/Series/C2004A00275). You can navigate by section number or read the consolidated full text.
When you see a citation like `s60CC(2)(a)` — that's section 60CC, subsection 2, paragraph (a). Always current online.
## Next
The case-law line each statute sits within. Stanford, Mallet, Rice v Asplund, M v M.
Every acronym + term you'll encounter.