Pages Family Law can assist in the preparation of an application for consent orders, providing you with certainty and finality in your property and/or parenting matter.
At Pages Family Law, our vision is to provide practical legal solutions for separated families. As specialists in the drafting of parenting orders and financial/property orders, we understand that formalising agreements is about more than paperwork; it’s about creating stability, certainty, and long-term security for everyone involved. We focus on practical guidance, collaborative negotiation, and tailored consent order applications to help you finalise your arrangements efficiently and protect what matters most—your family, your assets, and your peace of mind.
Consent orders—whether relating to parenting, property, or finances—can be complex, which is why we specialise exclusively in this area of family law. We approach every matter with compassion, clarity, and a deep understanding of the legal requirements involved.
This specialisation means we can anticipate issues early, handle sensitive situations with care, and provide practical, tailored solutions. While consent orders offer long-term certainty, they can be changed in limited circumstances, and we can guide you through your options if this arises.
Our goal is to help you formalise your agreements efficiently and confidently, protecting your family, your assets, and your future.
Relying on informal or “handshake” agreements for parenting, property, or financial matters can leave you exposed to future disputes and legal uncertainty.
Without formal consent orders:
Formalising your agreement through Consent Orders provides:
Finalising parenting, property, or financial arrangements after separation can feel overwhelming without the right guidance. At Pages Family Law, we support you through the consent order application process with compassion and efficiency, helping you formalise agreements that minimise conflict and create long-term certainty. Our Melbourne consent order lawyers provide clear, comprehensive support at every stage so you can move forward confidently, knowing your family’s needs and future are protected.
Parenting orders are legally binding and enforceable. Some parents are happy to keep their arrangements informal or written in a parenting plan. In many cases, parents prefer the peace of mind that comes with parenting orders. You can obtain parenting orders by making an application for consent orders if you are in agreement and convert your parenting plan to parenting orders.
If there’s a breach of parenting orders, the other parent can seek to have the orders enforced by the Court. If it’s a parenting plan (not a parenting order), depending on the breach, the other parent may need to consider seeking parenting orders. In either case, obtaining some initial legal advice can assist with pointing you in the right direction to try and resolve your matter, to avoid having to go to Court if possible.
If you can’t reach an agreement, you’ll usually need to attempt family dispute resolution (mediation) before making an application to the Court. The waiting times for some mediation centres can be long, so seeking assistance from a private mediator or starting initial discussions about parenting arrangements with a lawyer can help. If you have tried mediation and it hasn’t resolved the issues, a lawyer can help you understand your options and guide you through the next steps to protect your children’s best interests.
If the Court becomes involved, its primary consideration is always the child’s best interests. When deciding what’s in a child’s best interests, the focus is on their safety, their views (where appropriate for their age), their needs, each parent’s ability to meet those needs, and the value of the child having meaningful relationships with both parents and other important people in their life.
Consent Orders are one of the ways to document your agreed property and parenting arrangements after separation.
For property matters – Consent Orders are one of two ways to formalise and document your agreed property division, the other being a Financial Agreement.
Your Application for Consent Orders sets out yours and your ex-partner’s financial situation in detail, including your income, current property ownership, and your proposal for division of property between you.
The Court will consider the information provided by each of you including your financial and non-financial contributions, and contributions to the welfare of the family, along with and your current and future circumstances.
Your application will be approved if the Court considers that your property division is just and equitable.
For parenting arrangements – Consent Orders document the agreement reached between you and your ex-partner about your parenting arrangements including how you will share the care of your children.
Consent Orders for parenting matters are enforceable, which means that they must be followed, and there can be consequences if you don’t.
Consent Orders provide each parent with the security of having an enforceable agreement with the flexibility to update the arrangements to reflect a change in circumstances of either you, your ex-partner or your children – that the parents can vary by written agreement.
Our aim in preparing parenting Consent Orders for clients is to provide you with the maximum amount of flexibility, while minimising the risk of further dispute or disruption impacting your children as they grow.
No – your Consent Orders application is filed with the Court online. You do not need to go to Court to get Consent Orders.
The processing times can vary depending on the number of applications filed, however it is advisable to allow around six weeks for your application to be approved by the Court.
As you have reached agreement, you can make interim arrangements by written agreement in relation to your property and parenting matters. We recommend that you obtain legal advice for your situation.
Consent Orders and Financial Agreements are the two options in documenting your property agreement. Which one suits you will depend on your individual circumstances.
Consent Orders
Financial agreements
A parenting plan is helpful as a written agreement about parenting matters, however it is not enforceable.
Unfortunately we have acted for clients who even after some months or even a year after making a parenting plan, have been required to make a court application when the parenting plan was not followed, and they did not see their children.
A Consent Order provides you with the peace of mind that your arrangements are enforceable.
At Pages Family Law, we understand that navigating the complexities of parenting after separation can feel overwhelming—but you don’t have to do it alone. Whether you’re recently separated or finalising a divorce, we support you through the drafting and submission of your consent order application while providing clear, compassionate advice on your rights and responsibilities. Our goal is to help you protect agreements made in mediation and to ensure they are legally enforceable for your peace of mind.
We don’t just help with family court consent orders; we provide a full suite of specialist family legal services, guiding you through life’s most challenging transitions. Whether you’re navigating separation, divorce, parenting plans, property settlements, or spousal support, our experienced family lawyers are here to support you with clarity, sensitivity, and compassion.
Pages Family Law Principal, Carol Pages, is an accredited family law specialist with many years of experience across all aspects of family law. She is a member of the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, and the Law Institute of Victoria. Carol became a lawyer after completing an MBA and having a corporate career for a number of years.
She graduated from Monash University with a Master of Laws (Juris Doctor), achieving recognition for academic results via inclusion in the Golden Key International Honour Society and an invitation to the high-achieving law students’ group. Following completion of her practical legal training at the College of Law, she was admitted to practice as a lawyer in 2012, and has worked in family law since that time.
In 2021, she became an Accredited Specialist in Family Law and has taught law at university level. Carol’s objective in creating Pages Family Law was to do family law better by bringing together the best of her expertise, experience and love of the law, with the compassion, empathy and hope that clients often need during separation.
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