Family Law Act 1. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Family Law Act 1. FLA by legal practitioners, is an Act of the Australian Parliament. It has 1. 5 parts and is the main Australian legislation dealing with divorce, parenting arrangements between separated parents (whether married or not), property separation, and financial maintenance involving children or divorced or separated de facto partners. Purpose and Development of the Act. One of the main innovations was the introduction of no- fault divorce. The Family Law Act 1975 Pdf MergeCouples no longer needed to show grounds for divorce, but instead, just that their relationship had suffered an irreconcilable breakdown. Due to the division of power between the Commonwealth and the Australian states under the Australian Constitution, the Act initially could only deal with children born or adopted into a marriage, it was not until later years that the Family Law Act dealt with matters relating to ex- nuptial children. However, the states referred these powers to the Commonwealth and, until the 2. Chapter VII of the Act. For limitations on recognition of de facto couples inside and outside of Australia see Section 5. Australian Constitution. The Family Law Act has clearly, over time, been one of the most controversial pieces of Australian legislation and has been subject to numerous changes and amendments since its creation. A great number of amendments have reflected the political climate of the times: liberal Australian governments, such as those led by the Australian Labor Party, stengthened the relevancy of non financial contribution of the stay- at- home mother in property matters; conservative governments, such as those led by the Liberal Party of Australia, have furthered the wishes of fathers' groups by extending the rights and responsibilities in negotiating parenting arrangements. The 2. 00. 6 amendments changed the way matters involving children are dealt with. These included: a progression towards compulsory mediation (before Court proceedings can be filed, in an effort to ensure matters do not reach litigation),greater examination of issues involving family violence, child abuse or neglect,more importance being placed on a child's family and social connections, anda presumption that parents have equal parental responsibility - NOT equal parenting time. Divorce. It also reduced the time for a decree nisi for a divorce to take effect from three months to one month. Amendments in 2. 00. The Family Law Act 1975 Pdf ViewerThe twelve- month separation requirements remained, subject to some exceptions, and the one- month waiting period for a divorce order to take effect remained. Children. The relevant provisions are found in Part VII of the Act, which were amended significantly in 1. Children's matters are determined on the basis of who the child will 'live with' and 'spend time with' (terms which were formerly labeled 'residence' and 'contact' respectively). Although the term custody often refers to where children live, the concept was abolished in 1. Family Law Reform Act. The concept of custody gave much wider decision making powers to the parent with whom children lived, than either the concept of 'residence' or 'live with'. Since 1. 99. 5 both parents legally have the same (but not shared) parental responsibility for children, regardless of where and with whom the children live, until and unless a court makes a different order (s. C). Parental responsibility is the ability to make decisions that affect the day- to- day and long term care and welfare of the child, and can include things such as what school they attend and what their name is. The Act does not specify that the person with whom the child is to reside or spend time with must necessarily be their natural parent, and provision is made under section 6. C for anyone 'concerned with the care, welfare or development of the child' to apply to the Court for orders. In all proceedings, the paramount consideration is the 'best interests of the child', and the Court will not make an order that is contrary to these interests (section 6. CA). If there is a dispute about parenting matters and the case is placed before a court, then the Court must apply a presumption that it is in the best interests of children that their parents have equal shared parental responsibility for the children (section 6. Family Law Act 1975 This article needs additional citations for verification. The Family Law Act was enacted in 1975 by the Australian government. Families, policy and the law. Confidentiality and 'family counselling' under the Family Law Act 1975. Download as printable PDF. Family Law Act 1975 Act No. 53 of 1975 as amended This compilation was prepared on 17 January 2012 taking into account amendments up to Act No.
DA). In practical terms this means that parents must consult one another about major decisions affecting the care of children (but not day- to- day decisions), whereas without that order parents can make decisions together or without consulting each other. The presumption does not apply in circumstances of family violence or there has been any abuse (including sexual abuse) of a child, a parent or any family member living with the child. There is no presumption of equal time with the child, however, if the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility has not been mitigated, the Court must consider allocating it. If the decision is made to not allocate equal time in such circumstances, then the Court is required to consider allocating 'substantial and significant' time instead (section 6. DAA). Substantial and significant time includes weekends, weekdays, special days and holidays, and in practical terms usually means more than every second weekend. The basis on which who the child lives with and spends time with (and how much time is spent) is determined firstly with reference to the best interests principle under section 6. CA. What is in the child's 'best interests' is determined with reference to the primary and secondary considerations found under section 6. CC, and it is by reference to these factors that argument proceeds in the Federal Circuit Court and the Family Court of Australia. Full custody (a 'live with' order) will usually be awarded to the parent who is better able to demonstrate that they can meet the child's best interests. Property. After many years the Federal government accepted powers referred to it by the States to include all de facto couples (including same sex couples) under the Family Law Act. The changes passed by the Labor government came into effect in March 2. Prior to this de facto and same- sex couples did not have the same property rights as married couples under the Act, and so had to rely on their state's de facto relationship legislation. Such claims were often much harder to prove than under the Family Law Act, and did not include all the same considerations as under the Family Law Act,and could result in a more uneven or diminished distribution of property than would otherwise be possible. It is necessary to bring a property claim before or within 1. A standard section 7. Identify the marital assets and ascribe a value to them. The assets which may be distributed under the Act include the totality of the parties' joint and several assets. The amount of property is determined at the date of hearing rather than at the date of divorce, so this can also include property acquired after separation. Superannuation is also considered to be a marital asset under section 9. MC, but will not be available for distribution until it 'vests'. Look at each party's contributions to the marriage under section 7. This section of the Act contains a list of factors by which the Court can determine who contributed what to the marriage. Broadly, the contributions can be taken as financial in nature (for example, paying off a mortgage) or non- financial in nature (for example, taking care of the children). The party who can demonstrate a larger contribution to the marital relationship will receive a larger proportion of the assets. Look at each party's financial resources and future needs under section 7. The court then considers whether the proposed distribution is just and equitable. After the parties' contributions have been established, a final adjustment is made according to their individual future needs. These needs can include factors such as an inability to gain employment, the continued care of a child under 1. This is often used to account for a party who has not shown a great deal of substantive contributions, but will require money to live on as a result of factors largely outside of their control. The system results in payments to wifes (economically weaker spouses) between 5. These allocations take between 2 years and 4 years, although delays up to 1. The system is likely to be reformed. Reform options include specifying outcomes in law rather than relying on judicial discretion, more mediation, or making divorce a non lawyer lead process. Creation of courts. Appeals from the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia (the appellate jurisdiction) are to the High Court of Australia. In 2. 00. 0, in a somewhat controversial move, the Australian government created the Federal Magistrates' Court of Australia as a second court to handle matters under the Family Law Act. Appeals from the Federal Magistrates' Court are to the Family Court of Australia, but its decisions are not considered inferior to the Family Court. Western Australia has continued to refer its family law matters to the Family Court of Western Australia by virtue of the Family Court Act 1. WA). Powers of the Court. In the most extreme cases, as confirmed by the 2. Amendments, this can include sentences of imprisonment (up to 1. In most cases, however, the most effective method of penalising a person is to award legal costs against them. In fact, the 2. 00. Amendments encourage this to be used as a sanction where people make improper or false allegations about someone else before the Court. Polygamous Marriages. The Act also abolished prison as a penalty for maintenance defaulters and imprisoned those held in contempt of the court.
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