REFORMS IN THE LAW
AMENDMENTS TO THE PARENTING SYSTEM
The family law parenting system has been amended from 1 July 2007 to work better for children who are involved in the family law process to ensure that children’s needs come first.
The major changes to the system can be summarised as follows:
There is a focus on both parents having shared parental responsibility for children after separation;
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Shared parental responsibility involves responsibility by both parents as to children's physical and emotional well being and each parent has an equal role in making important decisions about the children except in situations where there is violence or abuse;
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Shared parental responsibility does not mean equal time which seems to be a misconception in society; it means shared responsibility for decisions regarding children;
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The best interests of children is the most important consideration in the making of Court Orders and Parenting Plans;
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In normal circumstances children have a right to know both parents and to know that they will be protected from harm; parents do not have rights; they have obligations
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The best interests of children will be taken into consideration when determining the time that children will spend with their parents after separation;
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From 1 July, 2007 parents are required to attend family dispute resolution sessions or mediation prior to issuing Court Proceedings in most situations in order to attempt to resolve any post separation issues relating to children;
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Courts now have more power and resources to monitor Orders and Parenting Plans and will have more power to deal with anyone who breaches Orders;
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The Courts recognise that time spent by children with grandparents and other relatives is an important consideration;
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The definition of family violence has been amended to include an assessment as to whether a fear or apprehension of violence is reasonable.
There have been some changes to terminology used in the Family Law Act including:
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"residence" and "where a child resides" has been replaced with "lives with"
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"contact" has been replaced with "spends time with" and "communicates with"; and
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"specific issues orders" has been replaced with "parenting orders".
REFORM SERVICES
Some of the new services provided as part of the reforms include:
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Establishment of sixty-five Family Relationship Centres nationally (fifteen have commenced operation) for the benefit of families which will provide individual and/or joint sessions to provide assistance, information and referral to other services
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Establishment of a Family Relationships Advice Line which is a free telephone service providing advice and information about the family law process and also a referral service (Freecall 1800 050 321);
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Establishment of the Family Relationships On Line. The website provides information and advice about family relationship issues. http://www.familyrelationships.gov.au/