Family Law Information Sharing
Children, families and individuals affected by family violence, child abuse or neglect often interact with both the federal family law system and state and territory systems and agencies responsible for responding to family violence and child protection. It is important that decision‑makers across these systems have timely access to family safety information to support informed decision-making to protect and promote the best interests and safety of any children, their families and individuals impacted by family violence or child-abuse risk.
We are involved in several projects to improve collaboration between these systems to streamline processes and practices.
National Framework
The National Strategic Framework for Information Sharing between the Family Law and Family Violence and Child Protection Systems (National Framework) is an agreement for nationally consistent, two-way information sharing between the federal family law courts and state and territory courts, child protection, policing and firearms agencies.
The National Framework was endorsed by Attorneys-General on 12 November 2021, at the then Meeting of Attorneys-General.
The primary objective of the National Framework is to promote the safety and wellbeing of adults and children affected by family violence, child abuse and neglect while supporting informed and appropriate decision-making in circumstances where there is, or may be, a risk of family violence, child abuse or neglect.
The National Framework responds to recent inquiries into the family law and family violence systems that identified the need for better information sharing between the family law system and state and territory family violence and child protection systems. The National Framework will build on the success of the Co-location Program to remove barriers to information sharing and eliminate gaps between these intersecting systems.
Co-location Program
The Co-location Program involves the co-location of state and territory child protection and policing officials in select family law registries around Australia. The Co-location Program supports the timely sharing of relevant information between family law courts, child protection and policing agencies, fostering a more coordinated response to family safety issues in family law disputes. This is helping to ensure family law judges have relevant information about family violence and child-abuse risks as early as possible in proceedings.
The Co-location Program complements the National Framework’s enhanced information sharing framework. The National Framework implementation includes extending Commonwealth funding for the successful Co-location Program until 30 June 2025.
The Co-location Pilot has been independently evaluated.
Read a copy of the Co-location Pilot Evaluation – Final Report