Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Changes to federal family law and state domestic violence legislation
Other Titles:	Family matters
Authors:	Caruana, Catherine
Keywords:	Family law;Impact on children and young people;Risk assessment;Legal issues;Specialist courts;Legislation analysis
Year:	2005
Publisher:	Australian Institute of Family Studies
Citation:	(70), Autumn 2005
Notes:	This article outlines some recent changes to Family Law Act 1975 and State domestic violence legislation. The changes to the Family Law Act focus on promoting shared parenting and introduce the Children’s Cases Programme, in which there is a less adversarial and lawyer driven focus. Parties in conflict over parenting matters must now participate in primary dispute resolution such as mediation and conciliation before initiating court proceedings. Property and maintenance may also be recovered if a parent is subsequently found not to be a parent through DNA testing. Tasmania:introduced the Family Violence Act 2004 (effective 30 March 2004) which prescribes arrest, charge and prosecution in response to family violence and introduces concepts such as economic abuse and intimidation as crimes. There is also a presumption against bail, and increased police responsibilities and initiatives are outlined, including a crisis line and risk assessment and safety audits. In Western Australia:, amendments to the Restraining Orders Act 1997 (effective 1 December 2004) broaden the definition of family relationships and introduce the concept of “emotionally abusive behaviour”. Orders may protect children from domestic violence and expand police powers to investigate alleged violence. The Victorian:Magistrate’s Court (Family Violence) Act 2005 (effective 1 April 2005) enables the court to intervene when a child has witnessed violence and places an obligation on the court to inquire about any children involved when making an intervention order. It also restricts the use of children as witnesses and establishes the new Family Violence Court Division. In New South Wales:, there are plans for 2 new specialist domestic violence courts to improve responses to domestic violence at each stage of the criminal justice system.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/13741
ISSN:	1030-2646
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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