ABSTRACT: “Is it safe enough?”

The importance of the family legal system in delivering just and safe outcomes to victims-survivors of domestic and family violence (DFV) and their children, cannot be underestimated. Research by the New South Wales Law and Justice Foundation into the legal needs of DFV victim-survivors found victim-survivors are 16 times more likely to experience a family law problem than those who do not experience DFV. Recent statistics from the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) confirm the core business of the Court is family violence and child abuse, with 80% of matters involving family violence allegations and 70% raising child abuse allegations.

The Albanese Government introduced the Family Law Amendment Bill 2023 into parliament in March this year. The Bill removed the problematic presumption of equal shared parental responsibility and made other amendments, including a rewrite of the Section 60 CC Best Interests Principles that guide the court when making decisions about children. This presentation will consider these changes through a safety and family violence lens and highlight further legislative and systems reforms required to promote better and safer outcomes for children and victim-survivors in family law including, for example, the need to ensure a history of family violence is treated as relevant to future arrangements in parenting matters and an upskilling of all players in the fanily law systems to better recognise and respond to family violence and provide a more trauma focussed and victim survivor focussed response.