George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

If family violence allegations are made in the course of parenting management hearings, then the matters will be referred back to the Family Court or the Federal Circuit Court. That's the immediate answer to your question, Senator Griff. But, in this area, of all areas, there are a variety of strongly held views. That is why we're rolling out these parenting management hearings as a pilot program, because we want to learn, from the way they are conducted, all that we can to inform us about future law reform. Although Professor Parkinson's name is associated with this kind of more consensual, mediation based dispute resolution, it would be quite wrong to think that Professor Parkinson alone is the author of this idea. I've discussed it with Professor Parkinson, but I've discussed it with many specialists in the field as well.