For clients whose family law matter is heading toward — or already inside — contested proceedings, Jomandie van der Merwe brings a combination Shanahan Family Law clients particularly value: a family law specialisation built on the foundations of a broader litigation practice.
Jomandie has practised principally in family law since her admission in 2014, with experience across property settlements, parenting matters, financial agreements, child support disputes, and contested proceedings involving urgent or interim relief. Her practice extends across the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, and she is experienced in conducting interim hearings, contested final hearings, mediation, conciliation conferences, and Family Dispute Resolution.
What distinguishes Jomandie’s approach is the general litigation background underpinning her family law work. Family law matters are, at their hardest, evidentiary contests — and a practitioner who has been trained across broader litigation brings stronger instincts for evidence gathering, procedural strategy, and courtroom advocacy. Clients describe her as practical, composed under pressure, and direct in her advice. She tells clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear — and her matters move forward because of it.
Jomandie is admitted in three jurisdictions: the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the High Court of Australia, and the Supreme Court of Queensland. That cross-jurisdictional admission is uncommon at her level and reflects more than a decade of regional practice across the eastern seaboard. She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of South Africa and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the Australian National University, and is currently completing a Master of Laws in Family Law— a commitment to advanced specialisation that reflects the standard Shanahan Family Law expects of its senior practitioners.
Before joining Shanahan Family Law, Jomandie practised regionally across New South Wales and Queensland, building the kind of broad, self-reliant practice that regional work requires — handling matters end-to-end, from first conference through to final orders. She has also served on the board of a not-for-profit childcare centre during a complete organisational restructure, an experience she draws on when advising clients facing significant structural or family change.
Jomandie speaks English and Afrikaans, and lives by the principle “control only what you can” — a discipline she extends to her clients as one of the most useful pieces of advice in family law practice. Outside the office, she’s most often found on a Sunshine Coast beach walk, at brunch, or with the family dog.