VPRS 12541 Court of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Court Maintenance Orders

The 1928 Maintenance Act and successive Marriages Acts established provisions for maintenance support to be provided by people who had left their spouses or children without means of support. Courts of Petty Sessions were empowered to hear complaints regarding desertion and neglect where these occurred independently from divorce proceedings, and to set levels and enforce the payment of maintenance. However in 1975 the Commonwealth Family Law Act came into effect and most maintenance orders are now made under this Act.Maintenance orders made in the Supreme Court were registered with the Courts of Petty Sessions/Magistrates' Courts for enforcement. The orders arrived at the Court in a sealed envelope to be registered. The register so formed was the official register of these orders; they were not recorded elsewhere.These files record the ongoing correspondence, forms, etc., associated with the enforcement of maintenance orders.The files contain a varying amount of information, the bulk of which is correspondence between the court and the plaintiff about the collection of maintenance, the frequency of payments, changes of address, etc. There are also numerous forms prescribed under the various Maintenance Rules. Occasionally photographs are found on files. These photos are of the defendant (usually the husband or father of the person receiving maintenance) and were required for identification purposes. Details regarding default summonses and other court cases may also be included.1928年《扶养法》（Maintenance Act）及后续多部《婚姻法》（Marriages Acts）确立了相关条款，要求遗弃配偶或子女且未提供经济支持的人员承担扶养义务。简易裁判法院（Courts of Petty Sessions）有权受理独立于离婚程序的遗弃与疏于扶养投诉，并可裁定扶养费数额且强制执行。但1975年《英联邦家庭法》（Commonwealth Family Law Act）生效后，绝大多数扶养令均依据该法作出。高等法院（Supreme Court）作出的扶养令需在简易裁判法院/治安裁判法院登记以启动强制执行程序。相关扶养令以密封信封形式提交至法院完成登记，由此形成的登记簿为上述扶养令的官方备案渠道，相关信息未在其他地方留存记录。本数据集档案收录了与扶养令强制执行相关的各类往来函件、表格等材料。各档案所包含的信息量各不相同，其中绝大多数为法院与原告之间关于扶养费收缴、缴费频率、住址变更等事项的往来函件。档案中还包含多部《扶养规则》（Maintenance Rules）规定的各类制式表格。部分档案中偶附照片，照片主体为扶养义务方（通常为接受扶养者的丈夫或父亲），用于身份核验。档案中还可能包含关于缺席传票及其他法庭案件的相关细节。