{"id":"commonwealth-powers-family-law-act-1986","name":"Commonwealth Powers (Family Law) Act 1986","slug":"commonwealth-powers-family-law-act-1986","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":31794,"registerId":"sa-commonwealth-powers-family-law-act-1986-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commonwealth Powers (Family Law) Act 1986","content":"South Australia\nCommonwealth Powers (Family Law) Act 1986\nAn Act to refer to the Parliament of the Commonwealth certain matters relating to family law.\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n3\tReference of certain matters relating to children\n4\tTermination of reference\nSchedule\nLegislative history\n\nThe Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:\n1—Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Commonwealth Powers (Family Law) Act 1986.\n3—Reference of certain matters relating to children\n\t(1)\tThe following matters, to the extent to which they are not otherwise included in the legislative powers of the Parliament of the Commonwealth, are referred to the Parliament of the Commonwealth for a period commencing on the day on which this Act commences and ending on the day fixed, pursuant to section 4, as the day on which the reference under this Act shall terminate, but no longer, namely:\n\t(a)\tthe maintenance of children and the payment of expenses in relation to children or child bearing;\n\t(b)\tthe custody and guardianship of, and access to, children.\n\t(2)\tThe matters referred by subsection (1) do not include the matter of the adoption of children or the matter of the taking, or the making of provision for or in relation to authorising the taking, of action that would prevent or interfere with—\n\t(a)\ta Minister of the Crown, an officer of the State, an officer of an adoption agency approved under a law of the State, or any other person, having or acquiring the custody, guardianship, care or control of children under a provision of an Act specified in the Schedule; or\n\t(b)\tthe maintenance of, or the payment of expenses in relation to, children who are in such custody, guardianship, care or control; or\n\t(c)\tthe jurisdiction of a court of the State, under a provision of an Act specified in the Schedule, to make orders, or take any other action, in respect of—\n\t(i)\tthe adoption of children; or\n\t(ii)\tthe custody, guardianship, care or control of children; or\n\t(iii)\taccess to children or the supervision of children.\n\t(3)\tIn the preceding provisions of this section—\n\t(a)\tthe references to children shall be read as references to persons under the age of 18 years; and\n\t(b)\tthe references to the maintenance of, and the payment of expenses in relation to, children shall be read as including references to the maintenance of, and the payment of expenses in relation to, persons who have attained that age and have special needs in respect of maintenance or expenses by reason of being engaged in a course of education or training or by reason of a physical or mental handicap; and\n\t(c)\tthe references to an Act specified in the Schedule shall be read as references to that Act as amended and in force from time to time, and as including a reference to any Act or Acts replacing that Act and as amended and in force from time to time.\n4—Termination of reference\nThe Governor may, at any time, by proclamation published in the Gazette, fix a day as the day on which the reference under this Act shall terminate.\nSchedule\t\nAdoption of Children Act 1966\nChildren's Protection and Young Offenders Act 1979\nCommunity Welfare Act 1972\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nPrincipal Act\nYear\nNo\nTitle\nAssent\nCommencement\n1986\n89\nCommonwealth Powers (Family Law) Act 1986\n4.12.1986\n29.10.1987 (Gazette 29.10.1987 p1449)\nProvisions amended\nNew entries appear in bold.\nEntries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.\nProvision\nHow varied\nCommencement\ns 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This version has not grown significantly beyond its original, narrow purpose. The Act's core function — to refer certain family law matters about children (maintenance, custody, guardianship, access) to the Commonwealth while preserving specified State adoption and welfare powers — remains intact. The only recorded textual change is the omission of section 2 under the Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002, which is a formal housekeeping amendment and does not materially expand or alter the substantive scope of the referral."},"complexity_factors":["Very short Act (four operative provisions plus a Schedule).","Single main legal operation: referral of specified matters to Commonwealth Parliament (Section 3).","Small number of defined or specified terms: definition of 'children' and extension to some over‑18 persons (Section 3(3)(a)–(b)).","Limited conditional language: referral applies 'to the extent to which they are not otherwise included' in Commonwealth powers (Section 3(1)) and contains specific exclusions (Section 3(2)).","Schedule lists three State Acts whose operation is preserved; those references extend to amended or replacement Acts (Section 3(3)(c)).","Governor’s unilateral power to terminate the referral by proclamation introduces a procedural conditional (Section 4).","Few cross‑references and no nested exceptions beyond the single exclusion clause."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act refers certain family‑law matters about children — maintenance, custody, guardianship and access (with limited post‑18 maintenance coverage) — from South Australia to the Commonwealth Parliament for a limited period, while expressly preserving State adoption laws and specified State court and agency powers.  \n\nThe Governor may end the referral by proclamation; the change shifts who can legislate and affects parents, carers, the named State agencies/courts, and Commonwealth lawmakers and courts."},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on general legal knowledge, the Act has remained consistent with its original purpose of referring family law powers to the Commonwealth. However, no legislative text was retrievable to confirm whether amendments have altered its scope over time."},"complexity_factors":["Constitutional law concepts involved (referral of powers under s51(xxxvii) of the Australian Constitution) that require background knowledge to understand","Interplay between state and Commonwealth legislative frameworks creates layered legal relationships","The practical effect of the Act is indirect — it operates by enabling other laws rather than directly regulating conduct","No actual legislative text was available for analysis, requiring reliance on general legal knowledge","Short referral-style Acts can appear simple but carry significant constitutional weight and downstream legal consequences"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this actually is:** The document provided is not the text of the *Commonwealth Powers (Family Law) Act 1986* (South Australia) — it is a **\"Page Not Found\" error** from the South Australian legislation website. The actual legislation could not be retrieved.\n\n**What we know about the Act from general legal knowledge:**\nThe *Commonwealth Powers (Family Law) Act 1986* (SA) is a South Australian law that **referred (handed over) certain powers** about family law from South Australia to the Commonwealth (federal) government. This is a constitutional mechanism called a **\"referral of powers\"** — under Australia's Constitution, states can voluntarily give the federal Parliament the ability to make laws on topics that would otherwise be the state's responsibility.\n\n**Why it matters to you:**\n- It is the legal reason why the federal *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) — the law that governs divorce, parenting arrangements, and property settlements for married and de facto couples — applies in South Australia.\n- Without such referrals from each state, the Commonwealth could only make family law for *married* couples. The referral extended federal jurisdiction (legal authority) to areas like **de facto relationships and child custody** in SA.\n- Ordinary South Australians dealing with separation, divorce, or custody disputes are directly affected — it determines which court (the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia) hears their case and which laws apply.\n\n**Bottom line:** This Act quietly but significantly shapes which government makes the rules when SA families break down. However, the actual text of the legislation was unavailable — only a website error page was provided."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: referring specific family law matters to the Commonwealth while preserving state jurisdiction over child protection and adoption. The Schedule references have updated dynamically through subsection 3(3) to capture repealed and replaced legislation, but this is the intended mechanism rather than scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["Only 4 operative sections (1, 3, 4, and Schedule) with section 2 omitted","Simple conditional logic limited to subsection 3(2) exclusions and subsection 3(3) dynamic references to amended legislation","3 defined concepts in subsection 3(3) (age of children, extended maintenance, dynamic statute references)","Cross-references limited to the Schedule (3 state Acts) and section 4 self-reference","No nested exceptions — exclusions in 3(2) are comprehensive but not layered","Legislative history table adds bulk but is metadata, not operative complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a South Australian law that **hands over (refers) certain state powers to the Australian federal Parliament** so that federal family law can apply consistently across the country.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Gives the Commonwealth power** to make laws about child maintenance (financial support), child custody (who children live with), guardianship (who makes decisions for children), and access (visitation rights)\n- This referral was necessary because the Australian Constitution doesn't automatically give the federal government power over these matters\n\n**What it deliberately excludes:**\n- **Adoption of children** — stays with South Australia\n- **Child protection and welfare matters** — stays with South Australia (things like removing children from unsafe homes, youth justice, community welfare)\n- Any actions by South Australian ministers, officers, or courts under specific state child protection laws listed in the Schedule\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Families in South Australia going through separation or divorce\n- Children under 18 (or older children with special needs due to education, training, or disability)\n- Federal family courts (now the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nWithout this referral, families in South Australia might face different rules than families in other states. This law ensures **consistent national family law** while protecting South Australia's control over child protection and adoption systems.\n\n**Key feature:** The Governor of South Australia can end this referral at any time by publishing a notice in the Gazette, though this would be politically significant and practically complex."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-family-law-act-1986","history":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-family-law-act-1986/history","analysis":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-family-law-act-1986/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-family-law-act-1986/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-family-law-act-1986/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/commonwealth-powers-family-law-act-1986/documents"}}