Would-be divorcees will continue to pay higher court fees after Labor's "urgent" legal challenge was seen as not-so-urgent in the eyes of a Federal Court judge.
Attorney-General George Brandis this month introduced a regulation that increased the cost of filing a divorce from $845 to $1200, from July 13.
The government's previous attempt to raise the fees by a slightly lower amount was disallowed by the Senate in June.
The key legal point was whether the new fees were in substance the same as the disallowed fees - which would render them invalid, Maurice Blackburn Principal Rod Hodgson said.
"The attorney-general has tried to slip them under the radar in the winter break," he said outside court.
But in the hearing the attorney-general's counsel, Gim Del Villar, immediately requested an adjournment to allow for more preparation.
He indicated he will challenge the right of Labor MP Graham Perrett and Senator Claire Moore to spearhead the application.
The matter was urgent because $67,000 was being paid daily and refunding the money would be inconvenient for the court, according to Labor's lawyer Stephen Keim SC.
He conceded his arguments were "not killer" when questioned by the judge.
Justice Dowsett granted an adjournment until next week.
The Abbott government has accused Labor of hypocrisy for challenging the fees, citing decisions made by former health minister Nicola Roxon in 2009.
Ms Roxon issued a regulation to halve the $624 Medicare rebate for cataract surgery and when the measure was disallowed in the Senate, she issued further regulation which eventually placed the rebate at $368.
Mr Brandis, who was the shadow attorney-general at the time, could have taken the case to court, Mr Perrett said.
"That was a completely different set of circumstances," he said.
"If he missed that opportunity, that's a matter for him and his conscience."
Mr Perrett said the government was treating the Family Court like a cash cow.
But the government had committed $22.5 million to the provision of court services, and $30 million for critical maintenance work, a spokesman for Mr Brandis said.
That meant 60 per cent of the expected $87 million revenue was going back to the courts - compared to just 30 per cent under Labor, the spokesman said.
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