Form · Family Law
Response to Divorce (Federal Circuit and Family Court): when to file it and how to complete the sworn response
Link to the Court's Response to Divorce with a guide to when a respondent should use it, how to answer each statement disputed, the sworn Part D, and service.
- Kind
- Form. A form to complete, or a guide to completing an official one.
- Where it applies
- Australia, Commonwealth
- AI use
- Red Keep AI out of the decisive steps. A lawyer does the work.
- Law stated as at
- 18 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 18 October 2026 against the official form at fcfcoa.gov.au and the 3 authorities it cites, for Australia and Commonwealth.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Link to the official form. Licence: © Commonwealth of Australia (Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia). Court forms are excluded from the Court's CC BY-ND 3.0 licence: link only, do not copy or adapt the form.
Where this comes from
The official form is published by fcfcoa.gov.au; this page is a completion guide. Last checked on 2026-10-18.
When to use it
Use when acting for a respondent to a sole Application for Divorce who disagrees with information in the application, whether or not they want the divorce to go ahead (for example a disputed separation date).
How AI may be used
Lawyer-led. The response is sworn or affirmed by the respondent, so AI may compare the application with the client's documents and list disputed statements, but must not write the response.
AI may
- Compare each numbered statement in the Application for Divorce with the client's documents and list apparent inconsistencies for the lawyer
- Build a dated chronology of the separation from documents the client provides, with a source for every entry
AI must not
- Must not write the reasons the application should be dismissed (Question 6) or the details of disagreement (Question 7)
- Must not suggest a separation date or any fact the client has not given
The lawyer checks
- Whether a response is needed at all, or whether the issue is better left to the hearing
- Each disputed statement identified by the question number used in the Application for Divorce
- Part D sworn or affirmed before an authorised witness
- Filed response served by ordinary service on every other party, including any Independent Children's Lawyer
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: © Commonwealth of Australia (Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia). Court forms are excluded from the Court's CC BY-ND 3.0 licence: link only, do not copy or adapt the form..
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign 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.
More in Family Law
- Response to Initiating Application (Family Law): completion guide and filing checklist
- Initiating Application (Family Law): completion guide for parenting and financial orders
- Financial Statement (Family Law): completion and disclosure guide
- Application for Consent Orders (Family Law): completion guide, superannuation notice and filing checklist
- Binding financial agreement (marriage or de facto) with statement of independent legal advice
- Application for Divorce (Federal Circuit and Family Court): eligibility, eFiling and service guide
- Letter of advice on property settlement (post-10 June 2025 framework) with settlement recommendation
- Client notice: how we use AI, and keeping your family law matter confidential and safe
- Affidavit – Family law and child support: when it is needed, how to complete it, and keeping AI out of the evidence
- Checklist: authenticity of digital evidence (messages, recordings, images) and deepfake risk
All precedents for Family Law · Tasks and AI use in this area