Court Filing Fee for Parenting Orders Australia: Exemptions and Fee Waivers

Court filing fees are one of the first concrete barriers grandparents hit when they decide to apply for parenting orders. On a pension, $610 for a single application is a significant amount. A full fee exemption is available to applicants who meet the concession-card, Legal Aid or financial-hardship criteria below.

2026 Fee Schedule

Fees are set under the Family Law (Fees) Regulations 2022 and increase annually on 1 July. The current rates for the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) and the Family Court of Western Australia (FCWA) are:

The setting down fee and daily hearing fees only apply if your matter goes to a contested trial. Consent orders and cases that settle before trial avoid those costs entirely. The $820 Division 2 trial fees above are FCFCOA fees; FCWA setting-down and daily hearing fees are variable.

Who Qualifies for a Full Exemption

Concession card holders. If you hold any of the following, you can apply for a full exemption:

• Pensioner Concession Card
• Health Care Card
• Commonwealth Seniors Health Card

Recipients of Youth Allowance, Austudy or ABSTUDY can also apply. Attach a copy of your concession card or evidence of your payment to the fee exemption application.

Legal Aid recipients. If you've been granted legal assistance through a state or territory Legal Aid commission, you can qualify for a court fee exemption.

Financial hardship. If you don't hold a concession card, you can still qualify by demonstrating financial hardship under three tests:

1. Income test — your fortnightly gross income falls below $1,622 (single, no dependants). The threshold increases for partnered applicants and those with dependants.
2. Liquid assets test — your cash, savings and shares total less than five times the fee you're paying. For a $455 Initiating Application, that means liquid assets under $2,275.
3. Surplus disposable income test — your fortnightly disposable income after meeting basic living expenses falls below the surplus limit.

You need to satisfy all three.

How to Apply for an Exemption

Lodge the exemption application at the same time as your Initiating Application through the Commonwealth Courts Portal (or the eCourts Portal in WA). Attach your concession card or, for hardship claims, evidence of your income and assets — Centrelink income statements, bank statements, and a list of your expenses.

The exemption covers court filing and event fees only. It doesn't cover third-party costs like process servers ($80–$200), private report writers ($3,000–$8,000) or transcript fees. If you need a process server and can't afford one, ask whether a friend or family member (who is not a party to the case) can serve the documents for you.

The Parenting Orders for Grandparents and Relatives guide walks through the fee exemption application step by step, including what evidence to gather for each of the three hardship tests.

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