The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has called for the national Family Law Courts to be abolished, with responsibility for settling family issues returned to the States and Territories.
In its report, Family Law for the Future: An Inquiry into the Family Law System, the Commission said that under the current system, children fell through the gaps between the family law courts, the child protection systems and the State and Territory responses to family violence.
President of the ALRC, Justice Sarah Derrington (pictured) said this could be remedied only by having a single court focused on the best interests of the child that was able to resolve all family law, child protection and family violence issues together.
“In the Federal family courts, family violence, child abuse or other complex factors now make up the majority of cases,” Justice Derrington said.
“However, there is no Federal body with investigative powers akin to a child protection department.
“The Family Courts have no capacity to compel a child protection department to intervene in a family law case or to investigate the court’s concerns.”
She said the ALRC’s recommendations would ensure the law provided a framework that assisted families who were experiencing relationship breakdown to make arrangements for their children, property and financial affairs.
“These recommendations seek to ensure families have access to a dignified and efficient process that resolves disputes effectively and at the lowest cost financially, emotionally and psychologically, while also giving primacy to the interests and safety of children affected by those disputes,” Justice Derrington said.
In all, the ALRC made 60 recommendations following its inquiry covering parenting orders, assisting separated couples to resolve issues outside the courts, reducing acrimony and costs.
The ALRC’s 572-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
