Talk:Australian family law

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Whoever decides to edit this article next could incorporate discussion of these concepts:

• no fault divorce
• Federal Government's constitutional power, and state schemes of property division for de facto partners

Discussion on the recent amendment to the Marriage Act to the exclusion of same-sex couples would also be pertinent. Sambo 14:38, 28 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

On May 22, 2006, Australia passed a new law titled Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006, which applies to parents who separate or divorce after July 1, 2006.

A stated object of this law is to ensure that the best interests of children are met by ensuring that "children have the benefit of both of their parents having a meaningful involvement in their lives, to the maximum extent consistent with the best interests of the child...."

http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/Act1.nsf/0/1D1968BB157D8090CA257178000B0A56?OpenDocument

Michael H 34 18:27, 4 February 2007 (UTC)Michael H 34[reply]

That was the objective of the law, as stated in the Explanatory Memoranda. But the general consensus that seems to be coming from the legal community - and I'll find some academic sources for this when I get time - is that the new legislation makes very little difference. The same basic rules, and the importance of the Best Interests of the Child, remain. The only real difference is the increased waiting for domestic violence, abuse and the like. MojoTas 00:08, 9 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It would not, particularly with the current reforms and the expanded family law jurisdiction being given to the Federal Magistrates Court, be prudent or useful to consolidate information on family law under the Family Court. Doing so would incorrectly imply that the Family Court is the only court in the country that deals with family law, which it is not. Indeed the Federal Magistrates Court currently handles ALL divorces for example and as mentioned above is about to begin exercising even greater family law jurisdiction than it currently has.

The Family Court of Australia is only one of several courts that exercises jurisdiction under the Family Law Act and even then it does not exercise original jurisdiction in Western Australia which has its own Family Court as that state chose not to refer its powers to the Commonwealth when the Family Court of Australia was established. And in the Northern Territory, the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory and the Fanily Court share concurrent original jurisdiction under the Act.

The Family Court, however, is the superior Court and will remain so but it is wrong to assume it is the primary court for dealing with family law - particularly after 1 July 2006 when that will no longer be true. After that date the Family Court will be streamlined into a specialist court dealing with only the most complex and difficult family law cases (roughly 7-10 per cent of all family law matters) while the FMC will handle most if not all of the general family law. Not to mention that community-based dispute resolution will also increase under the reforms.

Can I suggest that you maintain Australian family law as a separate section which contains information on the Family Law Act and its establishment, and separate sections for the main courts that exercise jurisdiction under the Act, ie Family Court, FMC, Family Court WA?

I agree with the above comments. Nicholas Allan, lawyer, Farrar Gesini & Dunn 05:31, 14 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Same - agreed. But I do want to ask whether "Family Law" should include defacto relationships, including same sex relationships Joe Petersen, lawyer 15:32, 05 September 2006 (AEST)

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Australian family law/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

Last edited at 04:05, 26 September 2008 (UTC). Substituted at 08:39, 29 April 2016 (UTC)