Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Child law reforms in Australia: a shifting landscape
Other Titles:	Child and family law quarterly
Authors:	Rhoades, Helen
Keywords:	Family law
Year:	2000
Publisher:	Jordan Publishing
Citation:	12 (2), 2000
Notes:	Changes to the Family Law Act were designed to reduce disputes, promote co-operative parenting and to maintain relationships between children and their parents after separation. The Reform Act also includes a number of provisions specifically designed to protect children and their carers from domestic violence. This article reports interim findings of the first stage of research into the effects of the reforms. It explores the impact of the tension inherent in reforms which on the one hand give children a right to contact, and on the other attempt to protect them from violence. Some other changes to family law occurred around the time that the reforms came into operation, including more rigorous legal aid guidelines (resulting in an increased number of self-represented litigants and consequent increased delays between interim and final hearings), and the establishment of government funded contact services. Found that there was an increase in ‘symbolic’ shared arrangements and that many interim shared residence orders had been made in circumstances where there were allegations of domestic violence. Whereas, in pre-Reform Act interim cases, a cautious approach was taken to access, as the allegations of violence had not been tested, in post-reform interim cases, the response was to try to maintain contact between that father and child for the same reason – i.e. that the allegations have not been tested. While orders for ‘no contact’ were made in 21% of 1995 interim judgements, only 4% of interim cases post the reforms had an order for ‘no contact’. Yet at final hearings, there were similar outcomes for pre- and post- Reform hearings (21% no access pre-reform; 23% no contact post-Reform.) The study also found that the ‘right to contact ‘ principle appears to be influencing the issue of relocation. The aim of reducing litigation does not appear to have been achieved.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/13786
ISSN:	1358-8184
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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