VPRS 8590 Court of Petty Sessions/Magistrates Court Maintenance Act and Family Law Act Registers

This series consists of registers which contain a record of maintenance proceedings heard at Northcote Court of Petty Sessions / Magistrates' Court. The Maintenance Act 1928 and previously successive Marriages Acts established provisions for maintenance support to be provided by husbands who had left their wives or children without means of support. Courts of Petty Sessions were empowered to hear complaints regarding desertion and to set levels and enforce the payment of maintenance. This legislation was superseded by the Maintenance Act 1965. However the Commonwealth Family Law Act 1975 also has provision for the granting of maintenance and most orders are now made under this Act. Although there were a number of different types of maintenance orders, a significant consequence of some maintenance orders was the establishment of paternity. Section 10 of the Maintenance Act 1965 (No.7289) provides that where the court, upon complaint made on behalf of a child, was satisfied that the defendant was the child's father and was neglecting to provide adequate means of support for the child, the court could order the defendant to pay an amount towards the child's maintenance. Section 12 similarly related to orders being issued, but in relation to unborn children, to provide for maintenance of the unborn child and to contribute towards preliminary costs such as medical expenses. The effect of the court orders was that the court determined that the defendant was the father of the child. Section 9.(3) of the Status of Children Act required the clerk of the court at which the order was issued to forward a copy of the order to the Government Statist for filing. The order was prima facie evidence that the person named in the order as the father of the child was the father. Maintenance Act and Family Law Act Registers Successive Justices' Acts and, more recently, Magistrates' Court Acts have required the clerk or registrar of the court to make and keep a register of all convictions, orders and other proceedings of the court. This register is the authoritative record of the court. Most courts maintained a separate sequence of registers for maintenance matters, although the registers were in the same format as all other petty sessions court registers. At most courts Maintenance Act Registers were used to record three types of maintenance matters: applications for the court to set a level of maintenance, applications for the court to vary the level of maintenance, and enforcement applications, that is, where maintenance orders had been breached, maintenance recipients could seek a court order for payments to be made. Failure to comply resulted in the imprisonment of the defendant. The Registers give details of the names of the complainant (usually the wife) and the defendant (usually the husband), the nature of the matter before the court (being an application for maintenance on the grounds of unlawful desertion, an application to vary maintenance or an application to recover maintenance arrears), and the court's decision. In addition to registers, this series contains records titled Family Law Act - Record of Proceedings, which cover the Family Law Act jurisdiction and contain similar information to the registers. They have been included here because they cover gaps in the registers and provide similar information. The records in custody (as at 2025) have a date range of 1968 to 1980. It has not been established if registers were created before 1968. It is possible, although not confirmed, that maintenance matters were recorded in another series prior to 1968. Similarly, the definitive end date of this series has not been determined. The index in VPRS 8591 includes cases to 1985, however there are no registers in custody dated later than 1980.