After a period of delay, the Australian Law Reform Commission report concerning the Family Law System has now been publicly released.
It makes 60 separate recommendations concerning family law reform, including:
- the establishment of state and territory family law courts, with the eventual abolition of federal family law courts;
- provision for a legislative tort of family violence, with associated provision for damages (but with time limits as to the making of an application);
- an overhaul of the legislative provisions concerning parenting orders, including a reformulation of the factors to be judicially considered when determining a child's "best interests";
- a strengthening of existing legislative provisions to maintain a child's indigenous cultural connection, and a recognition of indigenous concepts of "family";
- the simplification of the legislative approach to property division, including the presumption of "equality of contributions" during a marital or de facto relationship;
- an enhancement of the requirements of the Family Law Act and related regulations, concerning the duty of financial disclosure;
- the placing of certain limitations on the making of interim applications in the family law courts; and
- a strengthening of the legislative provisions concerning the making of costs orders.
Lander & Rogers is proud to have contributed to the ALRC inquiry process, and to have been quoted throughout the ALRC report.
A copy of the full report can be found here.
We will share a more detailed summary in due course, but if you have any questions about how this may impact you, please contact a member of our Family Law group.
All information on this site is of a general nature only and is not intended to be relied upon as, nor to be a substitute for, specific legal professional advice. No responsibility for the loss occasioned to any person acting on or refraining from action as a result of any material published can be accepted.
