Instructions for emailing the Court

How to contact the Family Court departments and Family Law Registries

What information can be requested using email
Email can be used to contact the Family Court of Australia to ask for general information about services of the Court and administrative procedures.

Legal advice
The Court does not provide legal advice. If your inquiry is considered by the Court to be a request for legal advice, the Court will recommend that you obtain that advice from a legal practitioner or some other community or legal service.

Information about specific proceedings
The Court does not provide information about specific proceedings using email, or respond to email requests for information about specific proceedings.

If the issues raised by your email are considered to be complex, you may be requested to provide your contact details to enable a court officer to contact you directly to discuss your query.

Can I file documents using email?
Documents cannot be filed by email, if you send them by email they will not be accepted.

Email security
Please note that when you contact the Court using email the content of your message as it is transferred across the Internet may not be secure. If you have a concern about the security of your message you are advised to contact the Court directly by phone, facsimile or post. If you contact the Court using email the Court may respond by email and does not take responsibility for the security or privacy of the content of the message as it is transferred over the Internet.

Notes for constructing your email
To enable us to provide maximum assistance to you, please ask yourself the following questions before sending your email.

Have you included all relevant information that the Court will need to know so that it can answer your email?
Have you stated you inquiry succinctly? Keep your email brief. This will enable us to process your request for information more quickly.
If you add a subject line to your email it helps to immediately identify the topic of your message.
Is using email the best way to send your message? Remember that you can always contact the Court by telephone, facsimile or post. These methods may be more appropriate depending on the nature of your inquiry and your specific requirements. Sending an email message over the Internet may not be secure, if you have any security concerns then you should use the alternative methods of contacting the Court.
Please avoid sending graphics (for example pictures and charts) and excessive formatting (such as bolding). Graphics and excessive formatting can affect the performance of the electronic mail service.
Read your email carefully before you send it. Does it express the message you want to send? The way something is expressed can lead to misinterpretation or misunderstanding about what you are asking.
Please do not use only capital letters as this makes your email hard to read.