The government’s so-called “divorce tax” will be challenged in the federal court in Brisbane on Wednesday.

The government has issued a second regulation to increase fees for families heading to court – raising the cost of filing a divorce from $845 to $1,200 and the cost of issuing a subpoena from $55 to $125.

The Senate in June disallowed a previous attempt in which fees went up by a smaller amount.

The latest regulation came into effect this month. Labor is seeking to have it overturned in the courts. Wednesday’s federal court challenge will seek to stop the change and test the legality of how it had been brought in, a Maurice Blackburn principal, Rod Hodgson, said.

“The act with respect to regulations in the parliament is clear,” he said. “If a regulation is disallowed, a member of parliament is unable to reintroduce a substantially similar regulation within six months [of the disallowance].

“We say this is a regulation of the same substance as that which was previously disallowed. It should not have been reintroduced and forced on families in the way it has been.”

Hodgson, representing federal Labor, will argue that the attorney general, George Brandis, has ignored the will of the parliament.

“A divorce is a terrible time for any family, and with two in five Australian marriages ending in divorce there is no doubt these increased fees are going to be a significant hit to families,” he said.

Proceedings against Brandis were filed on Friday on behalf of the Labor MP Graham Perrett, who has previously said the changes “exploit people during their darkest days”.

Increased divorce fees