Family Law
- Submitted by: hotstuff
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- Category: Politics
- Date Submitted: 10/28/2014 03:13 AM
- Pages: 4
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The law has an important role regarding the care of protection of children and young people. Because of this, federal and state legislation is constantly changing and evolving in order to insure the safety, well-being, and welfare of children, young people and families. Law reform can be defined as the process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing changes in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency. An example of contemporary law reform which will be further discussed in this essay is The Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Act 2011, which amended the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006.
Prior to the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Act 2011, The Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 had significant problems. The old legislation contained failures which dissuaded women from raising allegations of family violence. One section of the legislation outlined that the awarding of court costs against the party that maliciously raises untrue allegations of violence, which was widely interpreted by the community to the point where people were rarely filling the form required under the Act to bring the allegations to the attention of the court. There were also sections of the Act which promoted the accusing party as ‘unfriendly’ for raising allegations of violence. This gave the party a negative connotation when applying for a residence or contact order. These areas for reform were brought to attention by the many agencies such as the Women’s Legal Service Victoria. An article in the Sydney Morning Herald, titled ‘Shared babies at risk of anxiety’ also put forth research by The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, which found that children under 4 in shared care arrangements with separated parents suffered on a range of developmental measures. This included higher anxiety levels, eating...
Prior to the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Act 2011, The Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 had significant problems. The old legislation contained failures which dissuaded women from raising allegations of family violence. One section of the legislation outlined that the awarding of court costs against the party that maliciously raises untrue allegations of violence, which was widely interpreted by the community to the point where people were rarely filling the form required under the Act to bring the allegations to the attention of the court. There were also sections of the Act which promoted the accusing party as ‘unfriendly’ for raising allegations of violence. This gave the party a negative connotation when applying for a residence or contact order. These areas for reform were brought to attention by the many agencies such as the Women’s Legal Service Victoria. An article in the Sydney Morning Herald, titled ‘Shared babies at risk of anxiety’ also put forth research by The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, which found that children under 4 in shared care arrangements with separated parents suffered on a range of developmental measures. This included higher anxiety levels, eating...