Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

It is a fact that some parents will seek to manipulate or pressure their children to express certain views in family law matters. This is a complex problem. However, it is not a reason to deprive children of their human rights. Not allowing children to be heard in matters affecting them so significantly as the creation of orders about who they live with and where and where they get to see each of their parents can have devastating impacts on them. It can disempower and frustrate them, it can exacerbate any trauma they have experienced and it can lead to the creation of orders that are not in their best interests and, in the worst cases, unsafe. It is not anticipated that any of the reforms will lead to a higher degree of parental alienation or pressure from parents on children in the family law system.

Key measures in the bill focus on enhancing the practice of professionals in the family law system. Over time, these are intended to contribute to ensuring that more fulsome evidence about the context of a child's relationship with their parents is provided to decision-makers, including to identify circumstances where a parent may be seeking to pressure or manipulate a child. This would enable decision-makers to consider the implications of such conduct in relation to any views the child has expressed, as well as how the conduct might be weighted in determining a child's best interests. These measures include codifying the requirement for independent children's lawyers to meet with and seek the views of the child and establishing powers to improve the standards of family report writers. The courts will also continue to have discretion around how much weight to place on the child's views in the circumstances of the case.