Child Custody Final Hearing Process

Child Custody Lawyers Townsville

There are two ways an application seeking child custody or parenting orders in Queensland is concluded.

Parents may reach a mutual agreement regarding their children. Once an agreement has been reached, this can be made official by the court in a Consent Order. If an agreement cannot be reached, the Court will schedule a Final Hearing (referred to as a “trial” in the Family Court). Following this, the Court will then issue Final Orders.

A Final Hearing is scheduled once both parties have completed pre-trial procedures and all interim applications have been addressed. We recommend that you seek expert legal advice regarding the Final Hearing process and the likelihood of your case’s success, before attending a Final Hearing.

The implications of a Final Hearing are substantial. Notably, the court’s orders from the Hearing will remain effective until the children are 18. The Court will only make new orders if you can prove that there has been a significant and substantial change in your circumstances or that of the other party.

It is crucial to obtain reliable legal advice prior to the Final Hearing to ensure you present the most compelling case possible.

If the orders you wanted are not granted at the Final Hearing, the court may require you to cover some, or all, of the legal costs of the other party (or parties) to the dispute.

The parties involved in a Final Hearing are typically the children’s parents (the Applicant and the Respondent). However, other people involved in the children’s lives, such as grandparents or carers, may also be included. The Court can assign an independent children’s lawyer to the case; if this occurs, that individual becomes a party to the dispute.

Understanding the final hearing process

• Opening – At the onset of the Final Hearing, each party is allowed to deliver an opening address to the Court. This means that the Applicant, Respondent, and Independent Children’s Lawyer can share their preferred Court Orders after the Final Hearing. Each party will also summarise the evidence that supports the Orders they are seeking.
• Evidence in Chief – This stage provides each party with the opportunity to present the evidence they’d like the Court to consider. This evidence is included in the party’s affidavit material, including the affidavits submitted by any witnesses representing that party. There are a few exceptions where oral primary evidence is permitted, but generally, all the evidence a party wants the Court to review must be included in an Affidavit presented to the Court.
  At this point, you can also rectify any errors in your affidavit material. Each party (and witness) will be asked to confirm the accuracy of their Affidavit. Once complete, the Affidavit material (and any brief oral evidence, including any corrections to an Affidavit) becomes that party’s evidence.
  In most circumstances, the Evidence in Chief of the Applicant will be presented first. There are certain situations where the court may want to hear the case of the independent children’s lawyer or even the respondent’s case before.
• Cross-Examination – During cross-examination, you (or your legal representative if you have one) are given the chance to question the opposing party and their witnesses about their evidence. This questioning is intended to highlight to the Court the strengths or weaknesses of a witness’ evidence. The other parties will also have the chance to interrogate you and your witnesses. Any discrepancies in a witness’s evidence are exposed at this stage.
• Re-Examination – Once the witnesses have been cross-examined, the Court gives each witness an opportunity to clarify any issues that arose during cross-examination. The witness is generally not allowed to provide any new information to the Court but can further explain matters that came up during cross-examination.
• Closing – Each party is then allowed to deliver a closing address to the Court. Each party will summarise the key points of the evidence supporting their case. In a closing address, each party will attempt to persuade the Court to issue the Orders that party is seeking. At this stage, the Court is presented with relevant legislation and case law supporting the case.

After a Final Hearing, the Court typically postpones its verdict to a future date in nearly all instances. The provisional orders that were active during the Final Hearing are usually maintained. The Court may take a few months, or potentially more, to deliver its Judgement. When it does, the Court will issue Orders on a permanent basis and will offer a rationale for these Orders, referred to as a Judgement.