Affidavits in parenting matters

An affidavit is the main way you give the court your side of the story. Getting it right matters, because in parenting cases most evidence is given in writing, and a well-prepared affidavit can carry a great deal of weight — while a sloppy or exaggerated one can undermine your credibility.

What an affidavit is

An affidavit is a written statement of evidence that you swear or affirm to be true. The person who makes it is called the deponent. Because you swear or affirm it, you are telling the court the contents are true; deliberately including something false can amount to a serious offence. Any affidavit you file must be served on the other party and on the independent children’s lawyer if one has been appointed.

You generally file an affidavit with any application or response that seeks interim (interlocutory) orders, or when the court directs you to. Use the current affidavit form from the FCFCOA website rather than starting from a blank page.

The golden rules

These principles decide whether your affidavit helps you or hurts you.

• Write in the first person. It is your account: “I collected the children from school on 3 March 2026.”
• Facts, not opinion or argument. An affidavit sets out facts, not your beliefs, conclusions or submissions. Say what happened, not what you think it proves. The exception is a genuine expert (such as a psychologist or valuer) giving evidence in their field.
• Only what you personally know first-hand. Stick to what you saw, heard or did yourself.
• Mark anything you were told as “information and belief”. If you did not witness something yourself but were told about it, that is hearsay. Say clearly that you were informed of it and believe it to be true, and name the source: “I was informed by the children’s teacher, Ms Lee, and believe that…” There are exceptions to the hearsay rule in family law, so get legal advice on whether it can be used.
• Use neutral, specific language rather than labels. Describe what you observed and let the court draw the conclusion. Write “I could smell alcohol on her breath and her speech was slurred” rather than “she was drunk”. Specific, observable detail is far more persuasive than a label.
• Never invent or exaggerate. If the other side shows a single claim to be false or overstated, the judge may doubt everything else you say. Understatement backed by fact beats overstatement every time.
• Keep it relevant. Every paragraph should connect to the child’s best interests and the orders you are asking the court to make. Leave out point-scoring, old grievances and detail that does not help the court decide.

Remember that since the Family Law Amendment Act 2023 commenced on 6 May 2024, the child’s safety is the paramount consideration, there is no presumption of equal shared parental responsibility, and there is no automatic entitlement to equal (50/50) time. Frame your evidence around the child’s safety, needs and best interests — not around what is fair to you as a parent. To understand that framework, see best interests, the ICL and family reports.

Format requirements

The court is strict about form. Your affidavit should be:

• typed in size 12 font, printed on one side only of the paper;
• paginated — each page numbered consecutively;
• divided into numbered paragraphs, with each paragraph dealing with one point or topic, set out in chronological order where possible;
• broken up with headings to group topics (for example, “Care arrangements since separation”);
• signed on each page by the deponent in the presence of an authorised witness — a lawyer or Justice of the Peace (or, if you are overseas, a Notary Public or Australian diplomatic or consular officer); and
• finished with a jurat — the block on the last page recording your full name and signature, whether it is sworn or affirmed, the date and place of signing, and the authorised witness’s full name, occupation and signature.

If you make any alterations, corrections or additions, both you and the witness must initial each one. An alternative jurat is available for people who cannot read, are vision impaired, or do not have a strong command of English (see rule 8.17 of the Family Law Rules).

Withholding your residential address

You must give your full name and occupation on the first page. You can withhold your residential address if disclosing it would compromise your safety. In a parenting matter, if you do not disclose it, you still provide your address to the Court privately by email, and the Court records it as “not to be disclosed” other than by court order (rule 8.15(2) of the Family Law Rules).

Annexures and exhibits

If you refer to a document — messages, a school report, a medical letter — you must attach a copy to the back of your affidavit as an annexure (also called an exhibit). Label each one clearly, for example “Annexure A” or “Annexure 1”, number them consecutively, and refer to each in the paragraph that relies on it. Each annexure needs a signed statement from the authorised witness identifying it as the document referred to in your affidavit, signed at the same time and by the same witness. The requirements for annexures are set out in rule 8.15 of the Family Law Rules 2021.

Length limits for interim applications

The court limits how long an affidavit for an interim (interlocutory) application can be. It must not:

• exceed 10 pages or contain more than 5 annexures if filed in Division 2 of the Court; or
• exceed 25 pages or contain more than 10 annexures if filed in Division 1 of the Court.

These limits come from rule 5.08 of the Family Law Rules. Unless the court grants leave, you can generally rely on only one affidavit from yourself and one from each witness. If you exceed the limits, the court may refuse to accept the document, decline to read the excess, require a compliant re-filed version, or make a costs order. Check which Division applies to you and confirm the current limits with the Court or a lawyer before filing, because these can change. For how interim hearings run, see interim and final orders.

A suggested structure

A clear, logical order helps the judge follow your evidence. A common structure is:

1. Introduction — who you are, your relationship to the children, and a short statement of what the affidavit is about.
2. Background and care history — the relationship, separation, and who has cared for the children and how, over time.
3. Current situation — the present arrangements and any recent events.
4. Matters relevant to the children — safety, the children’s needs, schooling, health, their relationships, and any concerns, all tied to the child’s best interests.
5. Orders sought — the arrangements you are asking the court to make and, briefly, why they are in the children’s best interests.
6. Annexures — the supporting documents, labelled and referenced.

Annexing messages and records

Contemporaneous records are powerful because they were created at the time. Screenshots of co-parenting messages, a diary of changeovers, an incident log, medical or school records — these can support your account far better than memory alone. Annexe them properly, keep them relevant, and do not cherry-pick in a way that misleads; the other side will often produce the full exchange. To keep good records, see keeping records, and for message trails, see co-parenting communication apps.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Writing argument or emotion instead of facts.
• Using labels (“abusive”, “drunk”, “neglectful”) instead of describing what you observed.
• Including hearsay without marking it as information and belief or naming the source.
• Exaggerating, or including anything you are not certain is true.
• Referring to things said during mediation or settlement negotiations, which are generally not admissible.
• Going over the page or annexure limit, or padding the affidavit with irrelevant material.
• Forgetting to sign each page, or to have the jurat and annexures properly witnessed.

How Help For Dads helps you prepare

Preparing an affidavit is easier when your evidence is already organised. The Help For Dads incident log and communication log let you record events and messages as they happen — with dates, times and detail — so you are not reconstructing them months later. The affidavit builder then helps you turn that material into a clear, structured draft.

Treat what these tools produce as a draft only. It is strongly recommended that you have a lawyer, a legal aid office or a community legal centre review your affidavit before you file it, to check that it complies with the rules, stays within the limits, and puts your evidence in the strongest and most accurate form.

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This guide is general information, not legal advice. Court rules, forms and page limits change. Always confirm the current requirements with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia or a lawyer before you act.