Legal Matters: Parenting Agreements & High-Profile Defamation Cases
Andrew Bell joins Colin Balewski on 4CRB for another talkback session, taking a deep dive into the practical realities of enforcing Family Law agreements when the other party stops paying, and unpacking the legal mechanics behind Australia’s most high-profile defamation trials.
Key Topics
- Overseas Wills: A follow-up from last week clarifying why Wills from Commonwealth countries are easier to administer than others.
- Jerry Cans & Fuel Storage: The strict legal limits on storing petrol in residential homes and transporting it in specific vehicles.
- Family Law & Parenting Agreements: What to do when an ex-partner stops paying agreed school fees, the difference between a mediation agreement and a court order, and Child Support Agency overrides.
- Defamation Standard of Proof: Why the Bruce Lehrmann and Ben Roberts-Smith cases resulted in different outcomes than criminal trials due to the “balance of probabilities” standard.
- Social Media Defamation Risks: A recent Queensland case where a 90-minute Facebook post in a community group led to a near-$300,000 damages award.
Listener FAQs Highlighted In This Episode
Q: “I hold a Will from England. Do I really need to get an Australian one?” If it’s from a Commonwealth country, the courts have a system to recognise it. However, obtaining a separate Australian Will to deal purely with your Australian assets makes the administrative process significantly cheaper and faster for your executor. 📎 See also: Is my Overseas Will valid in Australia?
Q: “Can I transport petrol in a jerry can on the back of my 4WD?” If it’s diesel, yes. If it’s unleaded, it is illegal to store it on the exterior rear of a vehicle where it could be ruptured in an accident. You also must ensure your jerry can is stamped “UN” indicating it has passed required pressure and vapour tests.
Q: “My granddaughter and her ex-husband made a parenting agreement in mediation. He agreed to pay school fees but has stopped. What can she do?” A parenting agreement is not an enforceable court order on its own. If he refuses to pay after mediation, she has two main options: apply through the Child Support Agency (CSA) to seek a mandatory financial assessment, or initiate court proceedings to turn the agreement into legally binding ‘Consent Orders’. If you need immediate assistance with an assessment, you can contact the Child Support enquiry line on 131 272 or visit servicesaustralia.gov.au/child-support . 📎 See also: Blog: When a Parenting Agreement Goes Bad
Q: “I heard you can get sued for defamation over a post you quickly deleted. Is that true?” Yes. Defamation occurs the moment the material is communicated to at least one other person and causes, or is likely to cause, serious harm. A recent Queensland District Court case awarded significant damages over a false post that was live for just 90 minutes. 📎 See also: Online Defamation & Social Media 📎 See also: The Complete Guide to Defamation Law in Queensland
Listen to the full discussion above.
Key Takeaways
- Local Assets need Local Wills: Avoid complex cross-jurisdictional probate by having an Australian Will for your local assets.
- Check your jerry cans: Transporting non-compliant fuel storage is both dangerous and illegal.
- Mediation is step one, court orders are step two: A handshake or signed mediation agreement won’t force a difficult ex-partner to pay school fees; you need binding Consent Orders.
- You can’t contract out of Child Support: Regardless of what a private agreement says, either parent retains the right to apply to the Child Support Agency.
- Truth is a complete defamation defence, but hard to prove: Unlike criminal court, civil defamation is judged on the “balance of probabilities” — 51% likelihood.
- Deleted doesn’t mean forgotten on social media: If you post a defamatory allegation, even taking it down an hour later will not protect you from being sued if it caused serious harm.
Next week: Andrew will discuss the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) — often called the “do-it-yourself court.”
[!WARNING] A Mediation Agreement Is Not a Court Order If your ex-partner is ignoring a parenting plan or refusing to pay agreed school fees, you need binding Consent Orders, not just a signed mediation document. Similarly, a defamatory social media post that is live for as little as 90 minutes can result in damages exceeding $280,000.
Contact our family and litigation lawyers today to enforce your legal rights and protect your reputation.
Annotated Transcript
[Announcer] 4CRB now presents Legal Matters, proudly brought to you by Bell and Senior Lawyers. Call them today for all your legal needs on 07 5532 8777. This program provides general legal information only. It’s not personal legal advice. Everyone’s situation is different, so please seek independent advice for your own circumstances.
[Colin] And it is a very good morning to Andrew Bell from Bell and Senior Lawyers. This is a talkback program. I remind you now that if you would like to get in early and ask your question of Andrew Bell, make that phone call now. Don’t leave it to the end of the program. 07 5520 8888 is the number. Good morning, Andrew.
[Andrew] Good morning, Colin. Thank you for having me back.
Carryover: Overseas Wills
📢 Topic: Mutual Recognition of Wills for Commonwealth vs Non-Commonwealth countries. Relevant law: Succession Act 1981 (Qld) s 33L
[Colin] So, we had some carryover questions, and one of them was regarding overseas wills, Andrew.
[Andrew] Indeed, it was. Last week I said it was complicated, and I’ve confirmed that indeed it is complicated. If you have a will from a foreign country, it is possible to register it here in Australia should you die and if you’ve got property in Australia. However, that may depend on what country you’re from. If it’s a Commonwealth country (England, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore), our courts have a system to deal with those wills. If it’s other countries, the process is much more complicated. You’re going to have to go through probate to have things registered, and you’ll also have to make sure that it complies with both the laws here in Queensland and the laws in the foreign country.
[Colin] So, is there a better solution?
[Andrew] From my perspective, it is possible to have a will that just deals with your property in Queensland. So, if you intend on living here for any significant period of time, it’s probably best that you get an Australian will to deal with your Australian assets, and you could have a foreign will that’s complementary to deal with your foreign assets.
[Colin] Perfect. De-complicating the world is the easier way to go.
📎 See also: Is my Overseas Will Valid in Australia?
Main Topic: Jerry Cans & Fuel Storage in Queensland
📢 Topic: Legal limitations on the safe transport and storage of unleaded petrol and diesel. Relevant law: Transport Operations (Road Use Management, Dangerous Goods) Regulation 2018 (Qld) ; Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
[Colin] We did start a discussion on defamation last week. Actually, my apologies, we were going to move into a topical component first: Jerry cans and fuel storage in Queensland. We are hearing a lot about people panic buying from time to time or just storing a little bit for a rainy day. What are the rules and regulations?
[Andrew] Absolutely, Colin. The Prime Minister says “don’t stock up.” However, if you do need a jerry can, these rules apply. Starting with the canister, if you want to travel on the road with petrol, you need to have an appropriate container. The rules have changed over time, and now if you have a flammable liquid (unleaded petrol) or a combustible liquid (diesel), they need to be carried in a jerry can marked with UN on it. That means it’s been tested for leaks, pressure, and vapour. If it’s not properly marked, it’s illegal to use it for petrol.
[Colin] Wow. Some considerations we hadn’t thought of.
[Andrew] Also, where do you store it when you bring it home? It depends on whether you have a freestanding or attached garage. If you have an attached garage, you can probably only store about 25 L of unleaded in the garage. If it’s freestanding, you can put a little bit more. Inside the house, no more than 5 L, and you might have issues with your insurance as well. So be very careful if you’ve got petrol at home where you’re actually going to store it.
[After the first caller, Andrew returned to add more on transport limits:]
[Andrew] The only thing we didn’t cover is how much petrol you can actually transport in your vehicle. There are different rules for whether it’s unleaded or diesel and what sort of car you have. If you have a ute (open air), you can carry up to 250 L in compliant jerry cans. If you’re travelling in a car, 10 L is the recommended limit for petrol you’re actually carrying. And something I didn’t know: you see four-wheel drives with the jerry can on the back, that’s perfectly acceptable for diesel, but unleaded is not allowed to be stored somewhere where it could be affected in an accident. So watch what you’re putting in the jerry can on the back of the four-wheel drive.
[Colin] Great advice, because people do just see the jerry can on the back and assume they can put anything in there.
📰 Related News: ABC News: Fuel Storage & Jerry Can Safety Explainer (March 22, 2026) 📎 See also: FAQ: Rules for Storing and Transporting Petrol in Jerry Cans in QLD
Caller 1 — Thomas | Parenting Agreement Enforcement
📢 Topic: Refusal to pay school fees under a mediation agreement / Consent Orders vs informal plans. Relevant law: Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) s 64B (parenting orders); Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (Cth)
[Colin] We have our first caller. It is a very good morning to Thomas. Thomas, ask your question of Andrew.
[Thomas] Good morning, gentlemen. I’m calling on behalf of my granddaughter. Unfortunately, her marriage has broken down, and she’s got three children with her husband. They’ve been to mediation several times and came to an agreement. Now, all the commitments my granddaughter was asked to do, she has done. Unfortunately, he hasn’t. He was to pay for the school fees and anything for the kids in relation to school, and she’s just found out that he hasn’t been doing it.
[Andrew] Okay. Keep going.
[Thomas] And when she contacted him, he claims he can’t afford to do it. He agreed to it at mediation. He has his own business, which makes it difficult to get money from him.
[Andrew] That is a tricky problem that commonly comes up. So, the mediation is normally a step after you’ve commenced proceedings in the Family Court. However, they may have done it before going to court, and the outcome would be a parenting agreement. A parenting agreement states who’s living where, who’s responsible for what sorts of decisions, and so on.
[Thomas] Yes, that’s the one, a parenting agreement from the mediation.
[Andrew] The only way for that to be binding is for it to be taken to court and given what’s called consent orders, meaning they become an actual order of the court, and therefore she would be able to go to court to enforce it. If that hasn’t happened, she can initiate court proceedings to have the parenting agreement made into orders of the court, which would make them enforceable going forward.
[Thomas] The problem is she can’t afford to go to court. You’re talking tens of thousands of dollars, and she just doesn’t have that money.
[Andrew] I’m not sure it’s necessarily tens of thousands depending on where she goes and whether he’s prepared to consent. But legally, the only real way to enforce the agreement is if it was done through a binding financial agreement or through consent orders through the court. She may also be able to go through child support, often these types of agreements mutually agree not to go to the Child Support Agency. However, that’s not something you can actually contract out of in Australia. If either parent feels they need child support, they can contact the Child Support Agency and request help that way.
[Thomas] Do you have their contact details?
[Colin] If you ring into the station after the show, I will make it available.
[Thomas] Oh, that’ll be great. She’s becoming frantic. The school’s asking for the school fees, and she’s suddenly realised he hasn’t been doing his part of the agreement.
[Andrew] That’s very unfortunate. The schools are used to dealing with these sorts of problems, I would let them know what’s going on sooner rather than later so there are no enrolment issues.
[Colin] Thomas, just give us a call back after the show, leave your name and number, and Andrew will get you the information you require.
📞 Child Support Enquiries: Contact Services Australia on 131 272 or online at servicesaustralia.gov.au/child-support .
📎 See also: Blog: When a Parenting Agreement Goes Bad, Withheld Money & Enforcement Options
Caller 2 — Anthony | Oil & Gas Policy
📢 Topic: Constitutional standing and High Court jurisdiction.
[Colin] Very good morning to Anthony. Anthony, ask your question of Andrew.
[Anthony] Good morning, Andrew. I’m calling in relation to the commodity issues at the moment with oil and gas, and letting your listeners know about Australia’s aptitude to develop its own supply and not be dependent on third parties. I was the head of a global commodities company. The simple and direct solution right now is to get our own infrastructure into production. Why are we not taking this to the High Court, there are no royalties currently…
[Colin] Anthony, this is a legal program for legal questions.
[Andrew] The problem from a legal perspective would be standing. Forcing a parliament to do or not do something is the realm of the High Court, and you’d actually have to have standing to introduce something. Unlike Switzerland, where you can have a citizen-led referendum to force political change, unfortunately you’re going to have to lobby the politicians to make this one happen.
Main Topic: Defamation (Standard of Proof & Social Media)
📢 Topic: Defences to defamation, the civil burden of proof (balance of probabilities), and social media publishing. Relevant law: Defamation Act 2005 (Qld)
[Colin] All right. Moving on to defamation. We did start this last week.
[Andrew] I’ll just recap what defamation is in case you weren’t listening last week. There are three major ingredients in Queensland for defamation:
- There has to be a statement or publication that damages someone’s reputation in the eyes of reasonable people.
- It identifies a particular person or business.
- It’s published to at least one person, someone has actually read it or heard it.
And since 2021, there’s one more element: you must have suffered what’s called serious harm. Minor disputes won’t be entertained. However, serious harm has been found in cases around emails, Facebook groups, and online reviews.
[Colin] The main defences?
[Andrew] The biggest one is truth (justification). If you can prove the statement is substantially true, it’s not defamation. Similarly, if it’s honest opinion, a clear expression of your opinion, not fact, based on proper material. And the final one is qualified privilege, you might have heard politicians saying nasty things about people in parliament. They have parliamentary privilege and can get away with it, but mere mortals like us can’t.
[Colin] We see it on television quite often. Politicians can get away with it.
[Andrew] Yes. Even then, they’ve got limits on when and where they can do it. Pauline Hanson was recently sued over comments she made because she didn’t do them in the appropriate way in the appropriate forum.
Defamation Case Studies (Truth Defence)
[Colin] Truth, the justification defence. Give me a case where it actually worked and the defendant walked away.
[Andrew] One of the biggest was the Bruce Lehrmann case in recent times. It went for many months and cost millions of dollars in litigation. Justice Lee found in favour of Network 10. He found that Lehrmann had raped Brittany Higgins beyond reasonable doubt, while not to a criminal standard because he hadn’t actually been found guilty in the criminal trial, in the defamation trial it’s the civil standard: the balance of probabilities, meaning “is it more likely than not that something happened?” Because of that, the allegations around the sexual assault were deemed true, and Channel 10 was not liable.
[Colin] That’s an interesting point. It’s a civil standard versus a criminal standard.
[Andrew] That’s right. Criminal standard is beyond reasonable doubt. In civil, it’s more like “is it just above 51%?” The OJ Simpson trial famously saw him not convicted of murder, but he was found liable in the civil jurisdiction. The Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case was similar, it was found more likely than not that he did what he was accused of, so the broadcaster wasn’t liable.
[Colin] When has the truth defence been tried and failed?
[Andrew] The Geoffrey Rush case. The Daily Telegraph published stories suggesting inappropriate behaviour. Rush argued significant harm to his Hollywood career. The newspaper argued the stories were true, but after a lengthy trial, the Federal Court rejected it entirely. The main witness lacked credibility, and they couldn’t prove even to that 51% standard that the allegations happened. Rush was awarded something like $2.9 million. If you’re going to state something as true, you’d better have the evidence to back it up.
Defamation & Social Media
[Andrew] A lot of people are alleging they’ve been defamed via social media. There was a Queensland case just two years ago (Rodgers & Usher v Gooding) where someone had a Facebook group about beach crime alerts. A post was made making severe false allegations against neighbours. The post was only up for 90 minutes. The court found the victims were so severely impacted they had to abandon plans to foster a child. Because the person knew the allegations were false, they were ordered to pay around $280,000 in damages.
[Colin] So, up for 90 minutes, pulled it down, but people had viewed it.
[Andrew] That’s correct. And what’s even more scary: in Queensland, administrators of a Facebook group can be found liable for what’s posted by members. So the administrators of the group could also have been sued. Just saying “oh, well, this is my opinion” isn’t enough either, it can’t be confused with facts.
[Colin] In summary, Andrew, defamation in a nutshell?
[Andrew] You can be held liable for the things you say and write. If you’re going to say something that will harm someone’s reputation, make sure you have the evidence to prove it’s truthful, or clearly state it as an honest opinion. And if someone has falsely severely harmed your reputation, there are legal mechanisms to rectify that.
📎 See also: The Complete Guide to Defamation Law in Queensland
[Colin] Next week, I’ve got QCAT on the agenda. Are you happy to tackle that one?
[Andrew] Absolutely. QCAT, the do-it-yourself court of Queensland. I’ll see you next week.
This transcript has been edited for clarity. The information provided is of a general nature and should not be relied upon as specific legal advice.