Critical Dates (Family Law)

09/01/2026
Knowledge

How To

Track and manage important dates with precision using Critical Dates in LEAP. This feature ensures timely updates and status changes for matters, appointments, meetings, and tasks. Learn how to enter, modify, and synchronise Critical Dates, and receive notifications for any changes, ensuring effective management of your matters.

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Ensure that you have linked your Microsoft 365 Email Account and LEAP in order to use the following features. For instructions on linking your email account, please click here.

Desktop

Overview

Critical Dates and Appointments are listed in the left-hand section of the Calendar & Tasks tab of a matter.

The Critical Dates and Appointments list has been designed to easily display matter related appointments, meetings, and tasks, with visible labels to display any Microsoft Teams or Zoom meetings.

Some dates will need to be ticked off in the last column before a matter can progress. Changing your Critical Dates can affect the status of the matter.

You can enter all the Critical Dates relevant to your matter by selecting the date from the calendar or manually entering the date in the Date column.

Add Critical Dates to Your Microsoft Outlook Calendar

Open the matter.
Click the Calendar & Tasks tab.
Right-click the selected Critical Date in the list and select Create Appointment for Critical Date.
After synchronising the Critical Date to your Microsoft Outlook calendar, you're able to Refresh, Delete or Detach appointment from the Critical Date or postpone the appointment using the right-click options.

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If the date of the Appointment is changed by another staff member, you will get a notification in the Notifications window.

The Notifications window can be opened at any time by clicking at the top of any matter or Matter List.

Once you open the matter, an Out of sync appointments window will pop-up. Click Update Outlook to automatically change the Appointment in your Outlook Calendar.

Additionally, a notification screen will notify you if any changes have been made to Critical Dates by LEAP since your firm last accessed a matter. You will have the option to choose how this notification window will appear for future changes.

Critical Dates Dimmed When Passed

Once a Critical Date has passed, it will become dimmed. This is a visual indication for you that the Critical Date is overdue. You're still able to manipulate and use the critical date as you normally would.

Calculated Critical Dates

Calculated Critical Dates will automatically create Calendar dates when certain criteria are met. You can turn this feature off by un-ticking the ‘Auto’ check box next to the Critical Date.

Calculated critical dates can be triggered with the following methods:

Dates Entered:
When certain Critical Dates are filled out in the LEAP Matter, the calculated critical date will automatically be created to coincide with the date entered. For example, if the ‘Decision on Objection’ has been entered for a specific date, the related ‘Objection decision appeal time limit’ Critical Date will automatically be set.

At any time, you may untick the checkbox to turn off this calculated critical date.

Table Type:
When entering details into the marriage/defacto separation table, calculated critical dates will be automatically created in the Calendar & Tasks tab.

These calculated critical dates can include ‘Earliest date for divorce application’, ‘date divorce takes effect’ & ‘Property & maintenance time limit’ and are calculated as follows:

Earliest date for divorce application – 12 months and 1 day after date of final separation
Date divorce order takes effect – One month and one day after date of divorce
Property & maintenance application time limit – 12 months from date divorce order takes effect or 2 years from date of final separation for defacto relationships (date of marriage not filled in)

Last Modified Date

9/01/2026 2:22 pm

Title

Critical Dates (Family Law)

URL Name

Critical-Dates-Family-Law-AU

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