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Family law system needs work to fix ‘pervasive’ problem
Major legal bodies have fronted the parliamentary inquiry into family domestic and sexual violence with the Law Council pressing the need to address Australia’s family law system.
Tony Zhang
Addressing the inquiry into family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia, Law Council of Australia president Pauline Wright said that family violence is an “insidious and pervasive problem in Australia.”
The Law Council told the inquiry that there needs to be a focus on the family law system.
“There is significant empirical evidence which suggests a correlation between families with complex needs and those who require the courts as a form of dispute resolution,” Ms Wright said.
“Such families tend to face a combination of factors that adversely impact the health, safety and wellbeing of children and caregivers alike. Addressing these factors may be the key to improving the ability of these families to access justice and other supports where family violence occurs. More importantly, it may also remove families’ need to do so by preventing violence from ever occurring.”
It was revealed that 70 per cent of proceedings before the family law courts involve allegations or the risk of family violence.
Ms Wright said that family breakdown is a tragic and difficult occurrence in the lives of many Australians.
“Separation is a highly stressful and dangerous event which is disproportionately associated with family violence,” Ms Wright said.
The Law Council and its family law section stated they have long advocated for the Australian government to change its policy responsiveness to issues of family violence between separated couples, including to improve the safety of children who have been victims of or exposed to family violence.
Ms Wright said that a significant number of inquiries have looked into this issue and whilst some progress has been made, “many recommendations have been ignored.”
“It is a key role of the Australian Parliament and the Government to ensure that the Australian family law system is properly designed and resourced to deliver justice and to provide protection for victims of family violence,” she said.
While the Family Law Act acknowledges the profound effect of family violence on children and families, Ms Wright said that family courts are not adequately resourced to deal properly with violence and its effects.
“From the absence of a court environment in which litigants are, and feel, consistently safe, through to the inadequacy of resources to investigate allegations and risk and the inaccessibility of victim support services, the system is comprehensively underfunded,” she said.
Ms Wright stated the Law Council strongly supports the use of family dispute resolution services through non-court-based interventions to resolve issues cthe breakdown of family relationships.
“However, the family courts provide a vital resource for those unable to resolve issues using these services,” she said.
“These vulnerable parties need a court system which is flexible, accessible and adequately resourced.”
