Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

All of us in this place acknowledge that, tragically, Australia is suffering from an epidemic of family and gendered violence. Indeed, the authors of the Rapid Review of Prevention Approaches report described the situation as 'more than a national crisis'. They labelled it a 'national emergency'. The full title of the report is Unlocking the prevention potential: accelerating action to end domestic, family and sexual violence. It was commissioned by the Albanese Labor government in the context of horrific weekly headlines about gendered violence and highlights 21 substantial recommendations.

The amendments in the Family Law Amendment Bill 2024 are in line with recommendation 16 of the rapid review, which states:

The Commonwealth government should build on work that is already underway and prioritise systems where significant harm is occurring, such as: family law, child support, immigration, and taxation.

This emphasised how the Attorney-General characterised the family law system: it is complex and confusing, and it fails to respond effectively to family violence. I'm sure the person who wrote those words would agree with that.

The Family Law Amendment Bill 2024 is a continuation of the Albanese Labor government's action on critical family law reforms. The overarching goal is to reform the family law system so that it is simpler to use, safer and more accessible and delivers justice and equity for Australian families. The Family Law Amendment Bill 2023 focused on clarifying the needlessly confusing framework in the Family Law Act for making decisions about parenting arrangements, including the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility. The legislation made it clear that the priority in all decision-making must be in the best interests of the children, something for which I fought for a long time while in opposition.

Amongst other reforms, the 2024 bill focuses on recognising the economic impact of family violence on a party, directly addressing concerns made in the rapid review. Currently, family law property settlement is primarily decided based on the contributions of each party to the relationship, as well as the future needs of each party. In most cases up until now, the conduct of the parties is not considered to be relevant to the division of property, but the devil was in the detail, and the devil often sabotaged the details. These reforms underpin the Albanese Labor government's commitment to addressing the economic consequences of family violence on separated families. Statistically, women are the victims of family violence at much higher rates than men, and First Nations women are disproportionately represented in this group.

The 2017 Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs inquiry stressed how relationship breakdown is well recognised as a contributing cause of poverty in Australia and how a lack of equitable access to financial assets can be a major barrier to the recovery of families affected by violence. The report, titled A better family law system to support and protect those affected by family violence, also stated that seven in 10 women who left a violent relationship had to leave property or assets behind. Furthermore, the inquiry found that, when assets are divided, those who have experienced family violence are more likely to accept unfair property settlements. Victims of violence are three times more likely to receive less than 40 per cent of the property.

There have been more than two dozen inquiries in the past decade into the family law system, including a parliamentary inquiry that I was on that handed down a report in December 2021 called Improvements in family law proceedings, which was chaired by former MP Kevin Andrews, and an important inquiry and report delivered by the Australian Law Reform Commission in 2019. It has long been recognised that improvements to the family law system are required to better support participants through the process and in informing the end judgement. They also identified overly complex and confusing legislation and long-drawn-out and harmful litigation processes. I recall that there were up to 42 steps in the process that a judge would have to consider.

This bill addresses some of these issues. It clarifies the framework used by the courts and separated couples negotiating their own settlement to make decisions on property and financial disputes. The new legislation codifies the steps to be taken in reaching a property settlement. The law must be clear and understandable for all. A fair property settlement can be a big part of avoiding poverty following family violence. Importantly, this legislation recognises that there may be an economic impact of family violence on a party. It therefore expressly allows the courts to consider this effect on a party's contributions to the property of the relationship and on their future needs. It also enables the effect of family violence to be considered as part of a spousal maintenance application.

The amendments further recognise that the parental requirement to provide appropriate housing for children may be relevant in property and spousal maintenance decisions. Children who have been impacted by family violence may suffer from trauma, and this can be compounded by housing instability and financial insecurity after an unfair property settlement.

Another aspect of this bill that will substantially help Australian families going through property settlements is the inclusion of pets in the legislation. Currently, pets are treated like any other property, which can lead to confusion and anxiety for separating couples and their children. In cases of family violence and separation it is, sadly, not unusual for the beloved family pet to become a pawn used in the continuation of abuse. This bill seeks to alleviate this distress by enabling courts to apply particular consideration to pets to help ensure that they are not used as ongoing weapons in family violence. The courts will be able to decide the ownership of the pet as part of the property settlement. Matters to be taken into consideration will include the extent to which each party has cared for the pet, any history of cruelty to the pet by a particular party and, if applicable, a child's or children's relationship with the pet. These measures reflect the nature of the special relationships that people can have with their pets.

Some perpetrators of family violence use the family law system to continue exerting control or abusing their ex- partners. This bill gives the courts greater powers to protect parties and innocent children from the effect of long and antagonistic legal proceedings. It also provides for confidentiality of parties' counselling and medical records. This will stop records being viewed by the other party or used as evidence where the harm in doing so outweighs the need for evidence. This is a significant step to reduce harm to survivors and victims of family violence. Simultaneously, the legislation requires that some disclosure obligations are elevated from court rules into the Family Law Act. This prompts parties to share all relevant financial information—particularly supporting separated couples who are negotiating their own settlement.

A further amendment to the act is to provide a regulatory framework for children's contact services. This will ensure additional safety, reassurance and predictability for families post-separation. It will help children whose families are having difficulty managing their parental contact arrangements—a source of much conflict.

This bill also includes a raft of amendments that further clarify and simplify the Family Law Act. The first of these is the clarification of the arbitration framework, consolidating issues that can be arbitrated and giving arbitrators the power to apply to the family law courts for procedural directions. There will also be increased certainty about the costs in family law matters and how these apply to independent children's lawyers. The bill will also permit the court to decide sole applications for divorce where there are children under the age of 18 without having both parties attend. This will significantly reduce legal cost and stress for families.

It promotes the timely resolution of parenting disputes through a range of administrative improvements and also clarifies Commonwealth information order provisions regarding timely and accurate information about the location of a child. Importantly, it widens the safety net around children by expanding the category of family member and persons about which information of actual or threatened violence must be provided.

As you can see, this bill responds to the calls from advocates working in the gendered and family violence space for the system to be more responsive to the victims of family violence. The amendments in this bill are positive; they'll provide greater consistency in the court's approach. They acknowledge the impact of family violence on the wealth and welfare of Australian families. Crucially, they indicate how a property settlement between a separated couple should be adjusted to reflect the hardship of family violence, thereby providing economic equality. The bill includes a provision for the statutory review of the reforms three years after these amendments start. This reflects the prioritisation of family violence matters and the willingness to adopt different approaches in increasing the safety of families and the fair resolution of family law matters.

Finally, these reforms send a message to the victims and survivors of family and domestic violence: that the law advocates for them and wants fairer outcomes from legal processes. I wholeheartedly commend the bill to the House.

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