Women’s Charter 1961 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 9 · Enforcement of Maintenance Orders
81. Court orders on maintenance enforcement application
Feedback & supportLast amended by an amending law of 2023.
Subject to the provisions of this Part, the court may do one or more of the following on a maintenance enforcement application:
maintenance enforcement application
“maintenance enforcement application” means an application under section 80;
if the court is satisfied that the maintenance order in question has been breached — make one or more maintenance enforcement orders in respect of the maintenance order in question;
where the maintenance order in question is made by the Family Court under Part 8 or 10 or the Guardianship of Infants Act 1934 and the prescribed circumstances exist — vary, suspend, discharge, rescind, set aside or revoke the maintenance order on the application of the applicant or respondent;
dismiss the maintenance enforcement application;
make a consent order based on the terms of any agreement between the applicant and respondent on —
the following amounts to be paid under the maintenance order in question:
the amount of maintenance arrears (if any) under the maintenance order in question as at the date of the consent order;
the amount of payable maintenance (if any) under the maintenance order in question; and
any other detail concerning the mode or the date or dates by which the amount of maintenance is to be paid;
where the maintenance order in question is made by the Family Court under Part 8 or 10 or the Guardianship of Infants Act 1934 and the prescribed circumstances exist — make an order to vary, suspend, discharge, rescind, set aside or revoke the maintenance order based on the terms of any agreement between the applicant and respondent;
if the applicant has been absent from a conciliation session on any date fixed for the session — strike out the maintenance enforcement application.
Where the court is satisfied that the maintenance order in question has been breached and no consent order is made on the application and the application is not dismissed under subsection (1)(c) or struck out under subsection (1)(f), the court must make an order —
maintenance order
“maintenance order” means —(a)an order for the payment of monthly sums or a lump sum for the maintenance of a wife, an incapacitated husband or a child made or deemed to be made by a court under Part 8;(b)an order for the payment of monthly or periodical sums or a lump sum by way of maintenance or alimony to a wife or former wife or an incapacitated husband or incapacitated former husband, or by way of maintenance for the benefit of any child, under Part 10;(c)an order for maintenance made by the Syariah Court under the Administration of Muslim Law Act 1966; or(d)a maintenance order as defined in section 2 of the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1975;
declaring the amount of maintenance arrears (if any) under the maintenance order as at the date of the declaration;
requiring the respondent to make payment of the maintenance arrears declared under paragraph (a) in a lump sum or in instalments by such mode and on such date or dates as the court may specify;
requiring the respondent to prove any payment of maintenance arrears under paragraph (b) or any payable maintenance, in such manner and on such date or dates as the court may specify; and
subject to subsection (5), specifying a term of imprisonment for the purposes of section 91O in respect of the respondent.
To avoid doubt, the court may make an order under subsection (1)(a) or (b) in addition to any order that the court must make under subsection (2).
If the court makes a consent order, the court may also do one or both of the following:
make an order —
requiring the respondent to prove, in such manner and on such date or dates as the court may specify —
that any maintenance arrears or payable maintenance agreed between the applicant and respondent to be paid has been paid by the date or dates agreed between the applicant and respondent and as recorded in the consent order; and
that the maintenance mentioned in sub‑paragraph (A) has been paid in the mode specified by the court; and
subject to subsection (5), specifying a term of imprisonment for the purposes of section 91O in respect of the respondent;
make any maintenance enforcement order, except a maintenance enforcement order mentioned in section 91B(1)(b).
The term of imprisonment specified under subsection (2)(d) or (4)(a)(ii) must not exceed the following:
for each failure to prove payment of any maintenance arrears in accordance with subsection (2)(c) or (4)(a)(i) (as the case may be) — 6 months;
for each failure to prove payment of any payable maintenance in accordance with subsection (2)(c) or (4)(a)(i) (as the case may be) — one month for each month’s worth of payable maintenance (or any part thereof).
In subsection (5)(b), a reference to each month’s worth of payable maintenance is a reference to the total amount of maintenance that is required to be paid by the respondent in a month under the maintenance order in question.
payable maintenance
“payable maintenance” means any amount that has not fallen due but will become due and payable by a respondent, under a maintenance order, by such date or dates as the court may specify in a show‑payment order;
The court must not make any order under subsection (2)(d) or (4)(a)(ii) specifying any term of imprisonment if special circumstances exist which render the making of the order inappropriate.
The special circumstances to which the court may have regard for the purposes of subsection (7) include the respondent’s age and the respondent’s state of health and physical condition.
respondent
“respondent”, in relation to a maintenance order or a maintenance enforcement application in respect of a maintenance order, means the person liable to make payments under the maintenance order;
Where a show‑payment order is made in relation to a maintenance order, no further maintenance enforcement application may be made in relation to the same maintenance order in respect of any maintenance required to be proved to be paid by the respondent under the show‑payment order, until the expiry of the latest of the following dates:
show‑payment order
“show‑payment order” means an order under section 81(2)(c) or (4)(a)(i).
every date specified by the court in the show‑payment order on which the maintenance is required to be proved to have been paid;
in a case where the respondent fails to prove payment of any maintenance on any date mentioned in paragraph (a) — the date of the hearing in which the respondent is required to show good cause for his or her failure to prove such payment.
At any time after the making of an order under subsection (2) or (4)(a), the court may, on the application of a respondent and upon being satisfied that there is good reason to do so, specify in respect of any payment (or any part of the payment) mentioned in that order, one or more of the following:
a different mode of the payment for the purposes of subsection (2)(b) or (4)(a)(i);
a later date or dates on which the respondent is required to make such payment;
a later date or dates for proving such payment as required under subsection (2)(c) or (4)(a)(i), as the case may be.