For CALD families to fully engage with the family law system, access must mean more than availability of resources, writes Dora Ko.
We know that Australia’s population is richly diverse. According to the 2021 census, 27.6 per cent of Australians were born overseas, and 22.8 per cent speak a language other than English at home. More than 850,000 people self-reported that they don’t speak English well or at all. Of those people, over 415,000 have lived in Australia for more than 10 years. These figures challenge the assumption that time in the country naturally leads to integration or confidence in navigating Australian systems, including family law.
As family law professionals, we serve clients within our communities. But what’s less visible is who is not coming through our doors. The court does not currently collect data about the cultural or linguistic backgrounds of litigants except for those who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. This limits our understanding of how culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families interact with the legal system and how well the system is serving them. Anecdotally, though, many CALD families are underrepresented in the family law system.
Why aren’t CALD families accessing the family law system?
There are likely many reasons to explain why the number of CALD clients we have is disproportionate to their representation in society. Some CALD families may not experience the same rate of separation or conflict as others. Some may be relying on extended family, community, or religious networks to resolve their disputes.
But there may also be structural barriers precluding CALD people from accessing legal help to reach fair, safe, and equitable resolutions, including:
What the courts offer for CALD parties
In recent years, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) have made significant efforts towards improving access for CALD families. These include:
These tools are very helpful for CALD families who need the court’s intervention. But to be effective, people must know they exist and be able to access them. For example, the translated resources are hosted on the court’s website, which requires a fair degree of English literacy to navigate. Without help, CALD people may never find them.
What can the profession do
As practitioners, we can help CALD families access the legal system by practising in ways that are proactive and sensitive to the barriers they may face. Some actions we can take are:
The way forward
Australia’s multiculturalism is not just a social feature; it’s a legal reality. But for CALD families to fully engage with the family law system, access must mean more than availability of resources. There must be gateways for CALD people to navigate the system and be represented well.
The FCFCOA has undertaken important work to increase accessibility for CALD parties. As a profession, we can do more to ensure that no one within our communities falls through the cracks.
Dora is a multilingual Mediator, FDRP, and parenting coordinator at Dora Ko Mediations. She is a former judicial registrar of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and is a first-generation migrant from Hong Kong and speaks Chinese – Cantonese and Mandarin, and Japanese.