What the Federal Budget means for Family Law?

Here is a summary of what the budget means for Family Law matters.

Expediting Family Law and Federal Circuit Court Matters

The Government will provide $132.1 million over four years from 2020-21 to expedite the handling of family law matters and other matters in the Federal Circuit Court. This includes:

• $87.3 million over three years from 2021-22 to maintain funding for family law services funded under the Family Relationship Services Program, following the cessation of the social and community services wage supplementation funding

• $35.7 million over four years from 2020-21 in additional resources and judges for the Federal Circuit Court (FCC) to assist with the timely resolution of migration and family law matters

• $4.8 million in 2020-21 for the Family Violence and Cross Examination of Parties Scheme, which helps protect victims of family violence in family law proceedings

• $1.8 million over four years from 2020-21 to implement Federal Family Violence Orders under the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme

• $2.5 million in 2020-21 for a new case management system for the Family Court of Western Australia.

COVID-19 Response Package

The Government will provide $2.5 million over two years from 2020-21 for federal family law courts to maintain specialised court lists for urgent matters arising as a result of COVID-19.

Rockhampton & Launceston FCC Buildings

The Government will provide $7.7 million over four years from 2020-21 (including $7.2 million in capital funding over two years from 2020-21) for works to improve the safety and security of the Rockhampton and Launceston Federal Circuit Court buildings.

Family Violence & Cross Examination of Parties Scheme

$2.6 million in 2020-21 for the Family Violence and Cross Examination of Parties Scheme, which helps protect victims of family violence in family law proceedings.

'JobMaker' - Will this assist law students / law graduates?

Australian businesses that hire unemployed young people will be given access to wage subsidies from the federal government.

Under the scheme, employers will receive a credit of $200 (16-29 year olds) or $100 (30-35 year olds) per week for each new job they create, if they hire someone between 16 and 35 years old.

Businesses will only get the credit if:

• The new employee was receiving either JobSeeker, Youth Allowance or the Parenting Payment for at least one of the three months before they were hired;

• They prove that it's a new job, by showing they've increased their overall headcount and payroll bill; and

• Employees must work at least 20 hours per week.

If you are looking to expand your firm, this may be a good time to consider hiring a young law graduate.

FamilyProperty subscriptions are tax deductible

From now until June 30, 2022, businesses with a turnover of up to $5 billion will be able to deduct the full cost of an eligible asset, which includes In-house software subscriptions, including FamilyProperty.

Previously, a portion would have been tax deductible in the first year and the rest would have been depreciated over future years.

To encourage businesses to bring spending forward and invest more now, the full amount of an asset can now be claimed as a tax deduction up front, reducing the amount of tax a business will pay.

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