FAMILY LAW ACT 1975 No. 53 of 1975 - SECT 4 Interpretation.

FAMILY LAW ACT 1975 No. 53 of 1975 - SECT 4

4. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears-

''adopted'', in relation to a child, means adopted under the law of any place
(whether in or out of Australia) relating to the adoption of children;

''appeal'' includes an application for a re-hearing;

''applicant'' includes a cross-applicant and, in relation to proceedings for
dissolution of marriage instituted before the commencement of this Act,
includes a petitioner or cross-petitioner;

''approved'', in relation to a marriage counselling organization, means
approved by the Attorney-General in pursuance of section 12;

''Australia'' includes Norfolk Island;

''court'', in relation to any proceedings, means the court exercising
jurisdiction in those proceedings by virtue of this Act;

''court of summary jurisdiction'' includes a Family Court of a State or
Territory, not being a court that may be constituted by a Judge of the Supreme
Court of a State or Territory;

''decree'' means decree, judgment or order, and includes a decree nisi and an
order dismissing an application or refusing to make a decree or order;

''Family Court'' means the Family Court of Australia;

''financial matters'', in relation to the parties to a marriage, means matters
with respect to-

   (a)  the maintenance of one of the parties;

   (b)  the property of those parties or of either of them; or

   (c)  the maintenance of children of the marriage;

''financial or custodial proceedings'' means proceedings (being, unless the
context otherwise requires, proceedings under this Act) of a kind referred to
in paragraph (c), (d) or (e) of the definition of ''matrimonial cause'' in
this sub-section;

''made'', in relation to a decree, being a judgment, means given, and
''make'' has a corresponding meaning;

''maintenance agreement'' means an agreement in writing made, whether before
or after the commencement of this Act, between the parties to a marriage,
being an agreement that makes provision with respect to financial matters,
whether or not there are other parties to the agreement and whether or not it
also makes provision with respect to other matters, and includes such an
agreement that varies an earlier maintenance agreement;

''marriage counsellor'' means-

   (a)  a person appointed as a counsellor under section 37;

   (b)  a person authorized by an approved marriage counselling organization
        to offer marriage counselling on behalf of the organization; or

   (c)  a person authorized under the regulations to offer marriage
        counselling;

''matrimonial cause'' means-

   (a)  proceedings between the parties to a marriage for a decree of-

        (i)    dissolution of marriage; or

        (ii)   nullity of marriage;

   (b)  proceedings for a declaration as to the validity of a marriage or of
        the dissolution or annulment of a marriage by decree or otherwise;

   (c)  proceedings with respect to-

        (i)    the maintenance of one of the parties to a marriage;

        (ii)   the property of the parties to a marriage or of either of them;
               or

        (iii)  the custody, guardianship or maintenance of, or access to, a
               child of a marriage;

   (d)  proceedings between the parties to a marriage for the approval by a
        court of a maintenance agreement or for the revocation of such an
        approval or for the registration of a maintenance agreement;

   (e)  proceedings for an order or injunction in circumstances arising out of
        a marital relationship; or

   (f)  any other proceedings (including proceedings with respect to the
        enforcement of a decree or the service of process) in relation to
        concurrent, pending or completed proceedings of a kind referred to in
        any of paragraphs (a) to (e), including proceedings of such a kind
        pending at, or completed before, the commencement of this Act;

''ordinarily resident'' includes habitually resident;

''overseas maintenance agreement'' means a maintenance agreement that has
force and effect in a prescribed overseas country by reason of the
registration of the agreement, or the taking of any other action in relation
to the agreement, under the law of that country and includes an agreement with
respect to the maintenance of an ex-nuptial child that would be covered by the
foregoing provisions of this definition if the child were a child of the
marriage of the parties to the agreement;

''prescribed overseas country'' means New Zealand or any other country outside
Australia that is declared by the regulations to be a prescribed
overseas country for the purposes of the provision in which the expression is
used;

''proceedings'' means a proceeding in a court, whether between parties or not,
and includes cross-proceedings or an incidental proceeding in the course of or
in connexion with a proceeding;

''proceedings for principal relief'' means proceedings under this Act of a
kind referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition of ''matrimonial
cause'' in this sub-section;

''property'', in relation to the parties to a marriage or either of them,
means property to which those parties are, or that party is, as the case may
be, entitled, whether in possession or reversion;

''Registrar'', in relation to a court, means the Registrar, Master or other
proper officer of that court;

''repealed Act'' means the Matrimonial Causes Act 1959 and includes that Act
as amended at any time;

''separation order'' means a decree, not being a decree of dissolution or
nullity of marriage or for a judicial separation, having the effect of
relieving a party to a marriage from any obligation to cohabit with the other
party to the marriage;

''Territory'' does not include an external Territory other than Norfolk
Island;

''welfare officer'' means-

   (a)  a person appointed as a welfare officer under section 37;

   (b)  a person who is permanently or temporarily employed as a welfare
        officer in the Australian Public Service or in the Public Service of a
        Territory;

   (c)  a person who is permanently or temporarily employed as a welfare
        officer in the Public Service of a State and whose services have been
        made available for the purposes of this Act in pursuance of an
        arrangement between the Government of Australia and the Government of
        the State;

   (d)  a person nominated by an organization concerned with the welfare of
        children, being an organization that has been approved by the
        Attorney-General; or

   (e)  a person appointed as a welfare officer in accordance with the
        regulations.

(2) A reference in this Act to a party to a marriage includes a reference to a
person who was a party to a marriage that has been dissolved or annulled, in
Australia or elsewhere.

(3) In ascertaining the domicile of a party to a marriage for the purposes of
this Act-

   (a)  a person's domicile at any time (whether before or after the
        commencement of this Act) in any country, howsoever acquired, shall be
        deemed to have continued, or to continue, until the acquisition by
        that person of a domicile of choice in another country;

   (b)  the domicile of a woman who is, or has at any time been, married shall
        be determined as if she had never been married; and

   (c)  a person who has attained the age of 18 years, or a person who has not
        attained that age but is, or has at any time been, married, has, and
        shall be deemed to have had at all times since that person attained
        that age or became married, the capacity to acquire a domicile of
        choice.