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Legal bodies urge government to abandon family court merger
Several legal bodies have joined forces in urging the federal government not to reintroduce “flawed” family court merger bills, noting such a move will hurt, rather than help, children.
Emma Musgrave
The Law Council of Australia, Women’s Legal Services Australia (WLSA), Rape & Domestic Violence Australia, and three academics of the UTS Faculty of Law — Miranda Kaye, Dr Tracey Booth and Dr Jane Wangmann — have issued a joint statement, pleading the government to abandon the family court merger proposal.
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Instead, the bodies say the government should consider and consult on alternative measures, including models of “structural, holistic reform” to benefit children, families and victims of family violence.
Furthermore, the joint statement called for further funds and resources to be invested in legal assistance as well as the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court.
“The government has acknowledged that the merger proposal was only a ‘short-term fix’, but it is not even that,” LCA president Arthur Moses SC said.
“Families need real, long-term solutions that will improve the cost, length and accessibility of justice, not mirages or band-aid fixes that increase confusion and complexity.
“The merger was not passed by the 45th Parliament with good reason, and should not be passed now.”
The remaining bodies are united on this front, with WLSA spokesperson Angela Lynch AM saying the merger will be unable to address core issues affecting the family law system.
“Our organisations represent different sectors of the community, but we are united by grave concerns that the merger will only hurt families and children already at their most vulnerable, not solve the problems plaguing the family law system,” Ms Lynch said.
“Each day our members see first-hand the system’s impacts on Australians in need of specialist family law assistance. We must pursue reform that is best for children, families and victims of domestic violence and not one that is solely driven by economics.”
Commenting further, executive officer at Rape & Domestic Violence Services Australia Karen Willis said: “Successive governments have failed to do what must be done to improve the system: provide adequate funding and sufficient resourcing of the courts and legal aid and the legal assistance sector, and a coherent structure to stop children and victims of family violence falling through the cracks.
“The merger will not address these matters and could result in the potential loss of specialisation.”
