What the Family Court of New Zealand does
A division of the District Court sitting throughout the country, the Family Court administers the family statutes — the Care of Children Act 2004 (parenting and guardianship orders on the paramount test of the child's welfare), the Family Violence Act 2018 (protection orders, including without-notice temporary orders often granted within 24 to 48 hours), the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 (division of relationship property, with its 12-month post-dissolution claim clock), the Family Proceedings Act 1980 (dissolution of marriage after 2 years living apart), and adjacent work including guardianship disputes, paternity, and care-and-protection proceedings. Its front door is procedural: for most parenting applications you must first complete the free Parenting Through Separation course and attempt Family Dispute Resolution mediation — urgent, consent and family-violence matters excepted — and a Kaiārahi (Family Court Navigator) service at many courts helps people find their way.
What it hears
- Parenting orders — day-to-day care and contact — and guardianship disputes under the Care of Children Act 2004
- Protection orders under the Family Violence Act 2018, including urgent without-notice applications
- Relationship property division under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976
- Dissolution of marriage and civil union (after 2 years living apart)
- Spousal maintenance, paternity, and orders preventing a child's removal from New Zealand
- Care-and-protection and youth matters under the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989
Before your first court date
For parenting disputes, the prerequisites are the work — complete Parenting Through Separation (free) and attempt Family Dispute Resolution mediation before filing, unless your case is urgent, agreed or involves family violence. For protection orders, preparation is the sworn affidavit that tells the story plainly — dates, incidents, fear — because without-notice orders are granted on the papers. For property matters, full disclosure of assets and debts is coming either way; assembling it early shortens everything. Legal aid covers much Family Court work for those who qualify, the Family Legal Advice Service funds initial advice in parenting cases, and applications can be prepared with Community Law's help.
What happens at your first appearance
Family Court hearings are closed to the public and less formal than criminal courts, but they are still hearings — a judge, affidavit evidence, and in parenting cases often a lawyer appointed to represent the child's interests. Early events are usually directions conferences: timetables, reports, mediation referrals. Interim arrangements made early (who the children live with meanwhile, who stays in the house) have a way of hardening into finals, which is why the first weeks deserve the most care, not the least. In protection-order matters, a temporary order is in force from service and becomes final after 3 months unless defended.
What to prepare
- Certificates for the parenting-case prerequisites — Parenting Through Separation completion and the mediation outcome
- A plain, dated chronology of the relevant events — the single most useful document in any family proceeding
- For protection orders — the incidents, dates and evidence (messages, photos, medical notes) supporting the sworn statement
- For property matters — a full schedule of assets and debts with documents, whenever acquired and in whoever's name
- Proposals, not just complaints — the arrangement you say should happen, concretely
When to get legal advice
This page is general legal information, not legal advice. The Family Court is built for self-represented people more than most courts — the Kaiārahi service, FLAS-funded early advice and legal aid all exist — but interim parenting arrangements, protection-order defences and relationship-property elections are decisions with long tails, and advice before them is worth multiples of its cost. Legal Hotline's free line explains the processes, the deadlines (the 12-month property clock above all) and the urgent pathways any hour on 0800 461 100 — with a one-hour consultation with an experienced New Zealand family lawyer (NZ$295, GST inclusive) bookable right on the call.
Where it is
The Family Court sits within District Courts throughout New Zealand — including Auckland (65–69 Albert Street, with Manukau, Waitākere and North Shore serving the wider region), Wellington, Christchurch (20 Lichfield Street) and the regional centres. Your notice of proceeding or court letter names the registry handling your matter.
Frequently asked questions
Do I really have to do a course and mediation before applying about my kids?
Usually, yes — Parenting Through Separation (free) and Family Dispute Resolution are prerequisites for most parenting-order applications. The exceptions are urgency, consent orders and family violence. The design is deliberate — most families reach better arrangements by agreement — and completing the steps quickly is usually faster than fighting about them.
How fast can the Family Court act in an emergency?
Fast. A without-notice protection order can be granted within 24 to 48 hours on your sworn statement, before the other person knows. Urgent parenting orders and orders preventing a child's removal from New Zealand run on similar urgency. If safety is the issue, say so in the application — the urgent track exists precisely for it.
Is everything decided at a big final hearing?
Mostly no. The Family Court resolves the majority of its cases by agreement — at mediation, at settlement conferences, through consent orders — and interim decisions along the way shape the endgame. Cases that do reach a defended final hearing are decided on affidavit and oral evidence in a closed courtroom.
Will my children have to appear in court?
Children almost never appear. Their views reach the judge through a lawyer for the child appointed to represent their interests, and sometimes through specialist reports. The paramount consideration is their welfare and best interests, weighed with their views according to age and maturity.