The Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media Posting when in Court – a review of section 121 of the Family Law Act and the new reforms
If your matter is in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, then there will be information disclosed in the proceedings in relation to children and/or financial matters that you naturally do not want disclosed to third parties.
Section 121 of the Family Law Act 1975 (“the Act”) had provided protection to litigants by making it an offence to publish proceedings and pictures identifying the parties and people connected to the proceedings (including children and witnesses) involved in such proceedings.
But what does “publish” mean?
This meant publication in a newspaper or periodical, and by electronic means, including radio, television and social media. Of course, when the section was first included in the Act, social media was not a known term, unlike now, and the word “social media” was not used in the section.
Some exceptions to Section 121 of the Act allowed the release of documents to the parties’ legal team, to Legal Aid and to authorities connected to the welfare of children.
So what can you post on social media about the Court proceedings?
To be completely safe it is best not to post anything on social media about your Court proceedings, particularly anything that identifies parties to the proceedings or anything which is insulting or disrespectful to the other party. Not only could this be a contravention of the Act, but you could find that your posts are attached to Affidavits filed in the Court as evidence of your contravention and your conduct.
So what are these new changes?
Amendments have been made to the Family Law Act with most changes taking effect from 6 May 2024. The new changes repeal Section 121 of the Act and insert a new Part XIVB, called “Restriction on communication of accounts and lists of proceedings”. This Part now spans from Section 114N to Section 114T.
The changes modernise the Section and make it easier to read with modern terminology, whilst still upholding the parties’ rights to confidentiality in the Court proceedings. In particular, the word “publish” has been replaced with “communicates to the public”. “Communicates” is defined as including “by means of internet” with an example listed as “online communications and communications using a social media service.” Importantly, the new changes clarify that private communication with a family member or friend regarding the Court proceedings is not a contravention of the Section. The new changes retain the existing penalty for contravening the Section, being a maximum of one year imprisonment.
These new changes clarify the law in relation to communication of proceedings to the public and address misconceptions about its operation.
It is important to be ahead of the new changes to the Family Law Act 1975. The solicitors from Michael Lynch Family Lawyers can help you understand the changes. If you would like to talk to one of our solicitors about your matter, please contact our office at (07) 3221 4300 or [email protected].
