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Australian Brotherhood of Fathers AUSTRALIAN BROTHERHOOD OF FATHERS Submission to the Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System The Joint Select Committee on Australia's Family Law System was appointed by resolution of the Senate on 18 September 2019 and resolution of the House of Representatives on 19 September 2019. May 2020 1 Recommendations Summary ............................................................................. 4 2 The Australian Brotherhood of Fathers (ABF) ................................................... 13 2 (a) Introduction ......................................................................................... 13 2 (b) Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System. ................... 13 2 (c) The ABF ................................................................................................ 14 2 (d) Our unique perspective ........................................................................ 15 2 (e) Serve all, help all .................................................................................. 16 2 (f) Who we work with and what we do ..................................................... 16 3 The Family Law System .................................................................................... 17 3 (a) Previous Family Law Reports and Studies ............................................. 20 4 Domestic Violence ............................................................................................ 22 5 Parental Alienation ........................................................................................... 41 6 System abuse ................................................................................................... 45 7 Family Law System from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups .............. 47 9 LGBTIQ Families ................................................................................................ 48 9 Defence Force Personnel .................................................................................. 49 10 The Solutions .................................................................................................. 51 10 (b) An Alternate Model: Non-Adversarial Approach ................................ 52 11 Terms of Reference......................................................................................... 53 a. ongoing issues and further improvements relating to the interaction and information sharing between the family law system and state and territory child protection systems, and family and domestic violence jurisdictions, including: ...................... 53 i. the process, and evidential and legal standards and onuses of proof, in relation to the granting of domestic violence orders and apprehended violence orders, and 53 ii. the visibility of, and consideration given to, domestic violence orders and apprehended violence orders in family law proceedings; ................................ 53 2 b. the appropriateness of family court powers to ensure parties in family law proceedings provide truthful and complete evidence, and the ability of the court to make orders for non- compliance and the efficacy of the enforcement of such orders; .... 73 c. beyond the proposed merger of the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court any other reform that may be needed to the family law and the current structure of the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court; ................................................................. 84 d. the financial costs to families of family law proceedings, and options to reduce the financial impact, with particular focus on those instances where legal fees incurred by parties are disproportionate to the total property pool in dispute or are disproportionate to the objective level of complexity of parenting issues, and with consideration being given amongst other things to banning ‘disappointment fees’, and: .................................. 87 i. capping total fees by reference to the total pool of assets in dispute, or any other regulatory option to prevent disproportionate legal fees being charged in family law matters, and ............................................................................... 87 ii. any mechanisms to improve the timely, efficient and effective resolution of property disputes in family law proceedings; ........................................... 87 e.the effectiveness of the delivery of family law support services and family dispute resolution processes; ........................................................................................ 96 f. the impacts of family law proceedings on the health, safety and wellbeing of children and families involved in those proceedings; ......................................... 106 g. any issues arising for grandparent carers in family law matters and family law court proceedings; ................................................................................... 133 h. any further avenues to improve the performance and monitoring of professionals involved in family law proceedings and the resolution of disputes, including agencies, family law practitioners, family law experts and report writers, the staff and judicial officers of the courts, and family dispute resolution practitioners; .................................... 138 i. any improvements to the interaction between the family law system and the child support system; ........................................................................................... 143 j. the potential usage of pre-nuptial agreements and their enforceability to minimise future property disputes; and.................................................................... 150 k. any related matters ..................................................................... 152 13 The Experience of Fathers…. ........................................................................ 158 14 The Experience of Mothers…. ...................................................................... 162 15 References: Inquiry Submission ................................................................... 165 16 Appendices ................................................................................................. 166 3 Submission to the Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System 1 Recommendations Summary Urgent Recommendations Previous Reports 1. Do not adopt the recommendations of the April 2019 Australian Law Reform Commission tabled: Family Law for the Future — An Inquiry into the Family Law System: Final Report, comprising 574 pages and 60 recommendations. a. Endorse the engagement of an independent multiple stakeholder and advocacy group to produce a consolidated report of all Family Law Reform reports, inquiries, studies, research and recommendations produced in the since 2005. Including analysis of: i. whether they now represent sensible measures for reform ii. whether they are high priority, medium priority or low priority iii. and the relationship (if any) of each high and medium priority recommendation to current work in progress Negative Recommendations 2. Do note endorse: b. The merger the of Family Court and Federal Circuit Court c. The introducing legislation that would criminalise breaches of family law personal protection injunctions. Royal Commission 3. Endorse a Royal Commission to report on the impact, cost and harm of the Family Law and Child Support Systems on Australian society since enactment of the 1975 Family law Act. Family Law Oversight Body 4. Endorse the creation of a multiple stakeholder (not solely staffed by industry stakeholders) independent statutory body (A Family Law Commission) that operates effectively and deserves public confidence, to undertake inquiries on systemic issues in relation to Family Law Associated Services. a. undertake ongoing and systemic monitoring, and b. conduct inquiries by reference from Government or on own motion Collection of Data 5. The Family Court to immediately commence: 4 c. The regular collation of data based on administrative sources to assess patterns in family court filings and patterns in services usage of the family law services d. In relation to the below research, provide the legislative mandate to access all Family Court records for the purposes of the research, including family law documents e. Remove publishing and reporting restrictions associated with section 121 on matters not listed as Magellan cases f. (The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) be reformed to ensure that there is a clear process to be followed for bona fide researchers to be able access all records, data, files, documents and party contact details filed in family law proceedings, this rule operates as an exception to any restrictive order) Research 6. Endorse funding and support for ongoing research, in relation to: Family Law Reform (accessing all court files and records) a. Overview and status assessment of Family Law reviews, reforms, reports, inquiries (etc) and recommendations b. Impact and cost to individuals and to society of the Family Law System c. Suicide rates of those people traversing the Family Court System (parents and children) d. Family court statistics: populations/outcomes etc e. False allegations/perjury in the Family Court Domestic violence f. Review of the research underpinning the Domestic Violence industry and narrative in Australia g. Definition, forms, causes and prevalence of domestic violence in Australian society h. Parental alienation status as abuse Demographics and the Family Law system i. Father and Mother outcomes in Family Law System j. Family Law
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