Finalised reports from the Government inquiry into Family Law and CSA

ImprovementsinfamilylawproceedingsDownload


9.-Second-Interim-Report-Media-Release-1Download


3rd-Interim-Report-Nov-2021Download


Finalreport-Family-Law-CSA-inquiry-Nov-2021Download


After all that work and information that was supplied to The Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System this is what they came up with! It’s pathetic!

You can read all about the 1, 2, 3 and final reports in the attached files:

From the final report:

List of Recommendations

Recommendation 1

1.32 The committee recommends that the three-year screening and triage pilot,

known as the Lighthouse Project, be expanded to:

 all Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia registries; and

 to include all parenting; and parenting and property matters.

1.33 The committee also recommends that the expanded Lighthouse Project be

appropriately resourced with additional funding for Senior Registrars and

Registrars, and relevant professional and technical support staff.

Recommendation 2

1.38 The committee recommends that, subject to a positive evaluation, the

Priority Property Pools under $500 000 pilot, also known as the PPP500, be

expanded to all Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia registries.

1.39 The committee also recommends that the expanded Priority Property Pools

under $500 000 program be appropriately resourced with additional funding

for Senior Registrars and Registrars, and relevant professional and technical

support staff.

Recommendation 3

1.47 The committee recommends that if the Family Law Amendment (Federal

Family Violence Orders) Bill 2021 is passed, the Australian Government

continues to consult closely with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of

Australia to ensure that it has sufficient resources to implement and enforce

Federal Family Violence Orders.

Recommendation 4

1.64 The committee recommends that the Australian Government, subject to a

positive evaluation of the two-year trial of lawyer-assisted mediation by

legal aid commissions, considers funding and establishing a national

arbitration scheme, similar to Legal Aid Queensland’s arbitration program,

for property-only disputes in cases where net combined assets are valued at

$500 000 or less.

1.65 Development and implementation of this program should be in consultation

with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, legal aid

commissions and other relevant stakeholders

Pauline Hansen has put in an opposing response and this can be viewed at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkaFIfoTJMk

Now were going to be faced with Federal Family Violence orders. See a section of the Explanatory Memorandum below: or go to this address to download the proposed act and explanations ParlInfo – Family Law Amendment (Federal Family Violence Orders) Bill 2021 (aph.gov.au)

FAMILY LAW AMENDMENT (FEDERAL FAMILY VIOLENCE ORDERS) BILL 2021

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

(Circulated by authority of the

Assistant Minister to the Attorney-General, Senator the Honourable Amanda Stoker)

 

                                                                                                        

 

FAMILY LAW AMENDMENT (FEDERAL FAMILY VIOLENCE ORDERS) bILL 2021

General Outline

  1.  The Family Law Amendment (Federal Family Violence Orders) Bill 2021 (the Bill) would amend the Family Law Act 1975 (the Family Law Act) to establish new federal family violence orders which, if breached, can be criminally enforced. Federal family violence orders would offer stronger protection for victims of family violence than existing family law personal protection injunctions which can only be enforced civilly.
  2.  Family violence is unacceptable and has no place in our society. Australians expect a strong legislative response to address this behaviour. This Bill would strengthen the protections offered by the family law system from perpetrators of domestic violence by introducing criminally enforceable federal family violence orders.
  3.  The Bill would allow a listed court to make a federal family violence order where the court is satisfied that a person has been or there are reasonable grounds to suspect that it is likely that they will be subjected to family violence or, in the case of children, the child has been or there are reasonable grounds to suspect that it is likely that they will be subjected or exposed to family violence. The Bill would provide that where the federal family violence order is in relation to a child the order must be appropriate for the welfare of the child, and where the federal family violence order is in relation to party to a marriage, the order must be appropriate in the circumstances.
  4.  The order may require the person against whom the order is directed to comply with conditions which prohibit certain behaviours, restrict their contact with protected persons or limit their ability to go to certain locations or within a certain distance of a protected person.
  5.  Under the Bill, the orders could be made for the personal protection of a child, a parent of a child, a person who is to spend time, communicate, or live with a child under a parenting order, a person who has parental responsibility for a child, or a party to a marriage in specified circumstances. The Bill would establish the categories of persons who would be eligible to apply for a federal family violence order, the statutory tests for the making of a federal family violence order, the matters that the court must take into consideration and the obligations on the court when making a decision whether to make such an order.
  6.  The Bill would also set out the circumstances in which a federal family violence order may be varied, revoked or suspended by a court. It would allow State and Territory courts, in specified circumstances, to suspend or revoke federal family violence orders when issuing or varying a State or Territory family violence order.
  7.  The amendments would provide that a breach of a federal family violence order would be a criminal offence, carrying penalties of up to two years imprisonment, 120 penalty units or both. State and Territory police would have authority to enforce these breaches under the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme in which case local penalties would apply.
  8.  The Bill would prevent a perpetrator from relying on self-induced intoxication as a consideration for whether conduct was accidental or whether a person had a mistaken belief about facts, and would ensure that victims cannot be charged with aiding and abetting the offence if their actions invite a breach.
  9.  The Bill would reinforce the Government’s strong view that family violence is not a private matter, but a criminal offence of public concern. Currently, personal protection injunctions are enforceable only by civil action brought in the family law courts. These amendments would remove the onus on family violence victims to bring a private application for contravention of a protection order. Bringing a civil matter against the perpetrator can present a range of difficulties and challenges for the victim and, where they do initiate contravention proceedings, can lead to an escalation in conflict between parties to the order. By establishing criminally enforceable federal family violence orders, this Bill would send a message to family violence perpetrators that breaches of these protection orders will be taken seriously.
  10.  The Bill would reduce the need for families to interact with multiple courts across the federal family law and State or Territory family violence systems. Access to federal family violence orders would mean that persons before a family law court would not be required to initiate separate proceedings in a State or Territory court for a criminally enforceable protection order, but can seek the protections they need in the court where their existing matter is already being heard.
  11.  The Bill would align with Australia’s continued obligations to protect women and children under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child . Although family violence can be experienced by anyone, regardless of gender, women are overwhelmingly more likely to be subjected to family violence. Similarly, children are incredibly vulnerable to family violence. Federal family violence orders, though accessible to persons of any gender, would provide additional protections for women from family violence, and safeguard the wellbeing of children.
  12.  The Bill would implement recommendations to improve the family law system. Several recent reports and inquiries have considered the need for changes to the Family Law Act and the broader family law system. The Bill would address:
  13.  Part of Recommendation 131 of Victoria’s 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence, and
  14.  Recommendation 17-4 of the Australian and New South Wales Law Reform Commissions’ 2010 report Family Violence – A National Legal Response.
  15.  The Bill would also support the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (the FCFC)’s arrangements for the use of registrars and broadened use of conferencing beyond those relating to property settlement proceedings, by making clear that the Chief Executive Officer, a Senior Registrar or Registrar are provided with the same protection and immunity as a Judge of the Court in conducting conferences related to family law or child support proceedings. Explicitly broadening the immunity of Registrars in conducting conferences will support increased and broadened use of alternate dispute resolution (ADR).
  16.  The Bill would likewise provide the Registrars of a Family Court of a State with the same protection and immunity as a Judge of the Court in conducting a conference relating to a matter relevant to a proceeding.

Sue Price
Men’s Rights Agency
Mob: 0409 269 621