The Attorney-General’s Department is to establish a pilot program to better identify and support families entering the family law system who were at risk of domestic violence.
To be known as the Lighthouse Project, the trial program will screen participants involved in family law parenting matters when a matter was filed, with cases triaged according to the level of risk and support provided to families identified as being in need.
Attorney-General, Christian Porter said the Adelaide, Brisbane and Parramatta Family Law Registries would run the pilot program which was supported by the Family Law Amendment (Risk Screening Protections) Bill 2020, now in the Parliament.
“A specialist family violence list will also operate in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia in these registries for high-risk cases, enabling them to be fast-tracked with appropriate security arrangements in place,” Mr Porter said.
“The legislation will support this important initiative by ensuring that the information generated and obtained during the family safety risk screening process is both confidential and inadmissible.”
He said families would be able to freely and confidently participate in the process, enabling risks to be identified and the parties referred to the social support services they might need outside the court process.
Minister for Women, Senator Marise Payne, welcomed the move, saying the specialist family violence list would be named the Evatt List, in honour of Elizabeth Evatt, the first Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia.
“The courts play a crucial role in addressing family violence,” Senator Payne said.
“This legislation will enhance the family law system’s approach to risk identification and management, and improve outcomes for vulnerable families,” she said.
