Australian Government: Attorney-General's Department
Australian Government: Attorney-General's DepartmentAchieving a Just and Secure Society

Issue No 26 July 1999

Family Law Council Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE

Please address all correspondence and inquiries concerning the Family Law Council News to:

The Director of Research
Family Law Council
Robert Garran Offices
National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600
Telephone: (02) 6250 6375
Fax: (02) 6250 5917
Email: Brendan.MacDowell@ag.gov.au

INDEX TO ISSUES NO 1 - 25 OF FLC NEWS

The Council's Secretariat has prepared an index to Numbers 1 - 25 of the Family Law Council News. Copies are available on request from the Secretariat on:

telephone: 02-6250 6842 (Cate Wells)
facsimile: 02-6250 5917
email: cate.wells@ag.gov.au

REPORT ON MAY MEETING, PERTH

Council's May Meeting was held at the Family Court of Western Australia in Perth on 13 and 14 May 1999. The Chief Judge of the Family Court of Western Australia, the Hon Michael H Holden was a distinguished visitor with Ms Irene Thomas, Manager of Family Court Counselling. Council was also fortunate to meet with Ms Jasmine Shawcross and Ms Julie Jackson from Legal Aid Western Australia (LAWA), and Mr William Carr, President, and Ms Elaine Campione, Vice-President of the Family Law Practitioners Association of WA (FLPAWA).

All the visitors were concerned about the increasing levels of unrepresented litigants and the impact on the length and conduct of family law matters, particularly in child matters. A lack of resources was also being felt by all visitors.

The Family Court of WA visitors reported that the Counselling section had introduced a successful program for dysfunctional families which resulted in the reduction of complaints and re-litigation. This program was to be piloted in Melbourne and Dandenong. The Chief Judge was concerned that orders for child representatives are now only made in sex abuse cases because of legal aid cuts, so that other categories in Re K are not satisfied. Where there were litigants in person in child matters, there was also a need for child representatives.

Ms Shawcross had recently arrived from Brisbane to be the new Director of Family Law at LAWA. Ms Shawcross and Ms Jackson discussed issues of need, litigants in person and child representative matters with Council. They informed Council about the legal aid experience in WA and Ms Shawcross gave some comparisons and examples from Queensland. The legal aid visitors talked about the needs study being funded by the Commonwealth, and its regression analysis of applications. In children's matters, the arrangements between LAWA, the courts and the Department of Family and Children's Services (FCS) were discussed.

Mr William Carr, President of the FLPAWA and Ms Elaine Campione, Vice President, explained to Council that advice was available through offices in regional centres in the south west, while there was a community legal centre in the Kimberley and a legal aid office in Broome. The Family Court, Magistrates and Registrars all went on circuit to the north, and all regional court houses were being set up with video links. If applicants missed out on one circuit they could wait up to 6 months for the next circuit.

Matrimonial property paper

The main topic of business for Council at its May meeting was the submission in response to the Government's Discussion Paper, Property and Family Law: Options for Change.

The Financial Affairs Committee hoped to devise the best possible model which would then be compared with Options 1 and 2 and the current law. Council noted that it could make a distinctive contribution by injecting distinctive social sciences data; using the previously devised Principles to measure the current law and test the options; and focussing on the practical effects of the options.

Council agreed that whatever reforms take place, spousal maintenance and property factors should be separate even if duplicated. The submission should contain comments on the importance of integrated property regimes and spousal maintenance from our earlier work.

WORK PROGRAM UPDATE

Financial Affairs - The Committee has met on numerous occasions to prepare Council's draft submission to Government in response to the Government Discussion Paper on family property law reform. This work impacted on members' ability to undertake other committee work, in view of the short time frame given for submissions.

Child and Family Services - The Committee met in Sydney on Thursday 24 June. The Committee spent some time considering the structure of the next Discussion Paper and decided on an initial framework.

It was decided the committee needs to have a complete map of where children interact with Courts or Tribunals which take into account the best interests of children. The focus must be on family law proceedings with the Commonwealth legislation being central. The differences between all States and Territories and how that impacts on children need to be mapped. Family court protocols and constitutional problems also need to be studied. The project should look at mechanisms which try to address the problem, and then to consider what options are available, plus what initiatives have been undertaken to date.

The Committee was joined in the afternoon by Michael Tissard who is working on a SCCSISA project, who brought the Committee up to date on the work of the project and related projects. He said that the aim of the SCCSISA group was to get a national approach.

Litigants in Person - The Committee is awaiting data from the Australian Law Reform Commission.

Parenting Plans - The work of the Committee has been in abeyance pending completion of the property submission. The Committee intends to submit a final draft advice on registration of parenting plans to Council at the November meeting.

Child Support - The Committee maintains a monitoring role.

REPORT ON JUNE SPECIAL MEETING

Council convened a special meeting in Sydney on Friday 25 June to consider Council's draft matrimonial property submission.

Justice Chisholm outlined the progress of the paper to date and the work completed. More work was needed on several chapters. The aim of the submission was to subject the options to the scrutiny of practical assessment, to use the Council's previously developed principles against which to test the models, and to build into the submission as much analytical evidence as possible. The Committee had decided to reject Option 2 and to indicate its preference for a variant of Option 1.

Council agreed to revise several chapters of the submission for completion by mid-July. It has now been submitted to the Government.

SECRETARIAT - STAFFING CHANGES

Jenny Degeling has been appointed to an acting position as head of the Attorney-General's Department International Civil Procedures Unit, in the Family Law Branch, from 3 July. Council congratulates Jenny on her appointment, and acknowledges the amount of work Jenny has put into Council's output over the past couple of years and particularly recently, the work on the property submission. In Jenny's absence, Amanda Roberts has been appointed as acting senior legal officer. Amanda can be contacted on email: amanda.roberts@ag.gov.au, and telephone: (02) 6250 6810.

OTHER NEWS

Federal Magistrates Bill 1999

The Magistrates Bill was introduced on 24 June and is likely to be referred to a Parliamentary Committee. Copies of the Magistrates Bill have been circulated to Council.

It is likely that Council will form a committee to consider and comment on the practical issues in the Bill, for example, how it would operate in practice. This would be an opportunity to road test the legislation to avoid unintentional outcomes.

Update on Council's Discussion Paper: Violence and the Family Law Act: Financial Remedies

Council issued this Discussion Paper in August 1998. Numerous submissions were received. As foreshadowed in the last FLC News, (No 25), the Violence and the Family Law Act Committee considered the submissions and included a chapter on this issue in the submission in response to the Government's Discussion Paper, Property and Family Law: Options for Change.

The Family Law Council News is a quarterly news-sheet which aims at informing persons and organisations about the work of the Family Law Council. The News is produced under the auspices of the Family Law Council but the views expressed are those of the writer or the Editor and not necessarily of any of its members or members of its committees. The purpose of the News is to provide general information and not legal advice. Every care is taken in the preparation of the News but readers are advised to check the detail of any legislation, cases or other material in it. All inquiries about the Family Law Council News should be directed to the Director of Research, Family Law Council, Robert Garran Offices, National Circuit, BARTON. ACT. 2600.

A/g Editor: Brendan MacDowell Distribution: Cate Wells

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