Posted on: 30-01-2010
Comments Off
Category : Family Law News
A REPORT on family law recommends a change to the legal definition of violence to encompass behaviour that is “economically abusive”, threatening or coercive.
The report, by the Family Law Council, says changes made to the Family Law Act (1975) by the Howard government narrowed the definition of violence and was “conservative in its drafting”.
The review was one of three reports released this week on family law, one of which warned that women and children were at a greater risk of violence, The Australian reports.
The Family Law Council report said the definition of violence in the act was in “some ways reminiscent of the common law definition of assault”.
“It is questionable whether it encompasses the debilitating psychological abuse by controlling conduct,” the report says.
It argues that the definition of family violence should be amended to encompass behaviour that is not only physically or sexually abusive, but also economically abusive, threatening, coercive, “or in any other way controls or dominates” the other party.
Read more…Change to the legal definition of violence – Wheretofindpedia
Posted on: 28-01-2010
Comments Off
Category : News
SEPARATED fathers are not entitled to a 50-50 time split with their children, and legislation introduced by the Howard government in 2006 should be amended to make that clear.
A 300-report by retired family court judge Richard Chisholm recommends five changes to the so-called “shared parenting” law, which he described as a “tangle” that had taken the focus off “what is best for the children”.
The hotly anticipated Chisholm report, which was ordered by Attorney-General Robert McClelland after the shocking death of Melbourne girl Darcey Freeman, who was thrown to her death from the West Gate Bridge last year, says the shared parenting law has made it difficult for women to raise allegations of violence in the Family Court system.
Read more…Separated fathers face access changes after Chisholm report – Wheretofindpedia
Posted on: 13-01-2010
Comments Off
Category : Child Custody, News
One of the most contentious areas of the law has been the way it has been interpreted in cases where the children are under the age of two.
THE Rudd government is preparing changes to the controversial shared parenting laws, to make it harder for separated fathers to argue for a 50-50 time split if their children are under the age of two.
The changes will come after the Attorney-General’s Department releases a massive report on child custody for public discussion, probably in the first week of next month.
The report, by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, is believed to be 1200 pages long, with a 30-page executive summary.
It was compiled with input from 28,000 people, making it one of the largest public consultation documents produced in Australia.
Contributors include parents, lawyers, judges, psychologists and others who work at the coalface of family law.
Read more…Change to child custody laws will make access harder for fathers – Your Family Network
