Fair Share

Separated parents would share equal responsibility for their children’s upbringing under a proposed overhaul of the family law system which recommends sidelining the involvement of the Family Court. A federal parliamentary committee report into child custody yesterday rejected forcing equal joint residency on separated parents but said shared care should be the starting point for

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Joint custody recommendations win praise

 Parents’ groups and welfare organisations are welcoming most of the findings from a federal parliamentary inquiry into child custody arrangements. The joint parliamentary committee is recommending a major shake-up of the nation’s child custody system, including significant changes to family law, courts and custody support payments. In particular, the committee recommends a presumption of equal

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Committee proposes family law overhaul

A federal parliamentary inquiry has recommended a wide-ranging shake-up of Australia’s family law, including an overhaul of child custody payments. The House of Representatives Family and Community Affairs Committee has recommended that in family breakdown situations, a 50-50 share of a child’s custody should be the “standard objective” but says that aim  should not be

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Family Court Driving Fathers To Suicide

ACT New Zealand Social Welfare Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman today called on the Government to make provision for shared parenting in its Care of Children Bill – to avoid New Zealand mirroring Australia, where family law is driving many fathers to suicide. “According to Australian statistics, males aged 25-44 are most at risk of suicide.

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Legal minefield for deceived fathers

During an interstate access visit, and a trip to the Melbourne Show, Bill told his 14-year-old son he was going to take him for an allergy test.
The test was in reality a DNA parentage test, to establish the likelihood of Bill being the boy’s biological father. The fallout is set to force the Federal Government to amend the Family Law Act so that men who prove they are not the biological fathers can recover child maintenance payments.

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