Senate again votes to make divorce cheaper

Senators have again blocked a government move to hike court divorce fees.

Coalition senator Concetta Fierravanti Wells.

Senators have again blocked a government move to hike court divorce fees. (AAP)

The Senate has voted again to make it cheaper for Australians to get divorced.

An Abbott government budget measure to increase divorce fees from $845 to $1195, enacted by regulation, was disallowed by the Senate in June.

But the government introduced another regulation which hiked the fees an additional $5 to $1200, saying the Federal and Family courts needed the additional funds to be sustainable.

"The only alternatives would be to cut frontline services, cut registries and not replace judges," government senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells told the upper house.

The Australian Greens, Labor and several crossbenchers joined forces again on Tuesday to disallow that regulation and return the fees to their previous amount.


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Source: AAP


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