Natasha Stott Despoja (SA, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

I move Democrat amendment (1) on sheet 4866 revised:

(1)    Page 3,(after line 11), after clause 3, add:

4 Review of operation of Act

        (1)    Within 2 years of the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent , the Minister is to arrange to receive from the Australian Institute of Family Studies a report which the Institute has prepared on the review of the operation of the effectiveness and implications of the amendments made by this Act, with particular regard to:

             (a)    the impact of mandatory dispute resolution; and

             (b)    the extent to which the following people have equal access to services:

                   (i)    people in rural or remote areas;

                  (ii)    people with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds;

                 (iii)    indigenous people;

                 (iv)    people with health or mental health issues;

                  (v)    people with low incomes;

                 (vi)    people without access to technology;

                (vii)    any other group identified by the Institute; and

             (c)    any change in exposure to violence and abuse of both children and adults; and

             (d)    how effective the changes have been in achieving better outcomes for children, particularly the presumption of equal shared parenting and the new structure established by this Act for determining children's best interests.

        (2)    The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be laid before each House of the Parliament with 5 sitting days of that House after the day on which the Minister receives the report.

This amendment is in relation to a review of the operation of the act. What the Democrats would like to see is a review of the impact of the changes brought about as a consequence of this bill within two years of its commencement. This amendment has been motivated by concerns that have been expressed across the board about the potential impact of the changes contained in the legislation. This amendment will implement a comprehensive ambit of review. It will review the impact of the regime of mandatory dispute resolution, the change in exposure to violence and abuse of both children and adults, and the effectiveness of the bill in generating better outcomes for children. It will also look at a range of target groups to identify whether access to services has indeed been equal.

The review is proposed to be undertaken by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, who have the mandate under the Family Law Act to undertake research associated with the Family Law Act. The Democrats hope this review will help identify areas in which the bill is lacking, with the aim of improving the legislation to create better outcomes for families.

I do not think there is any failure to understand that this is a complex, significant and at times very emotional area of the law. Some of us have expressed a number of concerns with this legislation and we hope to rectify or ameliorate those during tonight’s committee stage. Regardless of the outcome of this deliberation tonight and whether amendments are passed or not, there is very good reason to analyse and review the changes made within a period of, say, two years, and that is the effect of the Democrat amendment. I commend it to the chamber and hope that it will receive support from the other parties.