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A-G cannot proceed with ‘fundamentally flawed’ family courts bills
Australian families “deserve much better” than the bills for structural reform to the family law system that have been presented to the parliament, argues Tim Game SC.
Jerome Doraisamy
NSW Bar Association president Tim Game SC said the federal government has a “unique opportunity” to consider and implement long-term and effective structural reform to the family law system, in a manner that delivers timely and proper justice to Australian families.
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However, the proposed changes as they currently stand are “fundamentally flawed”, he posited.
“The Bar Association welcomes the Attorney-General’s prioritisation of reform in this crucial area. The family law system and its courts are a critical piece of social justice infrastructure which have been neglected for far too long,” he said.
“However, the Attorney-General must not simply seek to press on with the fundamentally flawed bills presented to parliament before the election. Australian families deserve much better.”
The current plan of Attorney-General Christian Porter, Mr Game said – which was “devised without the benefit of the ALRC report and recommendations” – seeks to abolish the standalone, specialised family court.
“There has been widespread agreement among the legal profession and domestic violence service providers that the bills are not the solution and should not be passed. The bills have no regard to the recommendations of the ALRC and provide no response to the issues that its report identified and do not address widespread concerns from multiple sectors,” he argued.
“There remains a real risk that the bills, if enacted, will only further increase costs and delays, which in turn will impact on families and children.”
As such, the government needs to grab the opportunity to “undertake a considered discussion in the light of the [Australian Law Reform Commission’s] recommendations [from its “first root and branch review of the Family Law Act 1975 in more than 40 years] which demand a rethink of the government’s approach”, Mr Game surmised.
“The NSW Bar Association joins the call for a thorough reconsideration of the government’s plan, involving broad consultation with affected groups, an open discussion of all options available to reform this most important of systems and investment of further funds in legal assistance, the family court and the federal circuit court.”
The comments follow last week’s news that several legal bodies – including the Law Council of Australia, Women’s Legal Services Australia (WLSA), Rape & Domestic Violence Australia, and three academics of the UTS Faculty of Law – 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.
