Form · Family Law
Genuine steps certificate (family law)
Link to the family law Genuine Steps Certificate, filed with an initiating application or a response to confirm pre-action procedures in Schedule 1 of the Family Law Rules 2021.
- Kind
- Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
- Where it applies
- Commonwealth
- AI use
- Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at
- 22 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 22 October 2026 against the official form at fcfcoa.gov.au and the 2 authorities it cites, for Commonwealth.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Link to the official form. Licence: © Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Link only: download the current form from the official page each time; do not copy or adapt it.
Where this comes from
The official form is published by fcfcoa.gov.au; this page is a completion guide. Last checked on 2026-10-22.
When to use it
Use when an applicant or respondent seeks final or interlocutory orders and the Court page requires this certificate with the initiating application or the response. It is not filed with an application in a proceeding.
Used for these tasks
- Draft a mediation or family-dispute-resolution position paper from the disclosure file
- Comply with FCFCOA PD-AI when preparing documents
- Draft a parenting plan or parenting orders from the arrangements sheet
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
Yellow. A tool may compare a working note with the current official form and list what is missing. The lawyer downloads the form, completes it and lodges it.
AI may
- List the facts and documents the official page says to have ready.
- Compare a working checklist with the current downloaded form and mark gaps.
- Prepare a filing note that quotes only what the official page says.
AI must not
- Do not copy the official form into a new document or file a retyped version.
- Do not invent a form number, fee, time limit or rule that is not on the official page.
- Do not draft, settle or sign an affidavit or other sworn evidence.
- Do not lodge the form or tell the client it has been filed.
The lawyer checks
- File it with the initiating application or the response, as the page allocates.
- Do not file it with an application in a proceeding. Explain the settlement attempt in the affidavit instead.
- Record only the pre-action steps that were actually taken.
- Download the current certificate. The page links a June 2025 PDF.
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Official form
Open the official form. Always use the current version from the issuer. Licence: © Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Link only: download the current form from the official page each time; do not copy or adapt it..
Read the full text
The full text is available after you log in. It is free. When you log in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
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