Minute of Consent Orders

If you come to an agreement with the other party, you can request that the Court make orders according to your agreement. You can request consent orders at any time until the final orders are made.

If you already have an application before the Court, you do this by filing a minute of consent orders.

If you don’t have a current application, you will need to make an application for consent orders.

How to request consent orders

You can file draft consent orders at the registry, or give them to a judicial officer during a court event.

You should only tender a minute of consent orders during a court event if it wasn’t practicable to file it sooner.

Draft consent order requirements

The minute of consent orders template can be used to file your consent orders.

A draft consent order needs to:

• set out clearly the orders that the parties ask the court to make;
• state that it is made by consent;
• be signed by each of the parties; and
• be accompanied by additional copies of the order:
• so that there is a copy for each person to be served and an additional copy for the court; and
• each of which is certified by the applicant’s lawyer, or by each party to the application, as a true copy.

The front sheet of the minute should show the next date of hearing. The preamble to the minute should identify the applications and responses the orders relate to.

Your consent orders may be handwritten, for example, if you drafted them during a conciliation conference. If so, you will need to file a typed copy within seven days and provide a copy to the other parties. You or your legal representative will need to certify that it is a true and correct copy of the handwritten minute.

Supporting documents

If a hearing date is imminent, the minute of consent orders should be accompanied by a letter requesting that the matter be referred to a Judge or Registrar as a matter of urgency.

If you want the consent orders to be dealt with in Court, rather than being made by a judicial officer in Chambers, attach a letter requesting that the minute is dealt with at the next hearing. Otherwise, the minute will be dealt with in Chambers.

If an undertaking is being given, a written undertaking must be filed with the minute. An undertaking is a promise to the Court. An undertaking to the Court is as binding as an Order of the Court. For example, where a person gives an undertaking that they will take a certain action, the Court will require that person to take that action as if the Court itself had ordered the person to take the action. Breach of an undertaking is treated the same as a breach of an order.

Next steps

After you request consent orders, the Court may:

• make an order in accordance with the orders sought
• require a party to file additional information
• dismiss the application

When making this decision, the Court will consider whether parenting orders are in the best interests of the child.

Last updated: 1-May-2019

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