Source: http://blog.reardons.com.au/?p=550
Timestamp: 2014-04-20 16:20:20
Document Index: 790485527

Matched Legal Cases: ['§60', '§60', '§60', '§60', '§60', '§60', '§60', '§60']

Domestic Violence & Family Law Legislation changes are on their way
Monday, 21 April, 2014.
Reardon & Associates Lawyers – The Blog
The Federal and State governments have for over two decades now been struggling with dealing with family and domestic violence complaints coming before the Courts. In Queensland the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 1989 has been the centrepiece legislation in the State response to the problems of domestic and family violence. At the Commonwealth level the Courts exercising jurisdiction under the Family Law Act 1975 and its various revisions have been repeatedly challenged with dealing with the issue of family and domestic violence as it impacts children and families in the context of proceedings brought under the Family Law Act.
When the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 1989 came into force in Queensland the world was a very different place. For instance the internet was in its infancy, the world wide web was more than half a decade away, mobile telephones were the size of house bricks attached to briefcase sized power packs and the province of only the most important and highly funded of individuals. Since that time the world has changed markedly, technology has made individuals accessible and interconnected via mobile smart devices which also make telephone calls, the world wide web is now in its second generation, social media and text messaging are the standard and cyberspace is now where most individuals with capacity to access the internet interact on a daily basis.
In 1994 Alexander Downer quipped of in relation to the Liberal Party’s policy on domestic violence as ‘the things that batter‘ which policy responded to the perceived need for change in the legislative and judicial approach to domestic violence issues at that time. There have been changes in legislation and in judicial approach since then and now change is upon us once more. This time the change is not merely on the edges but a two pronged overhaul of the way in which domestic and family violence is policed and treated judicially in Australia the objective of which is to bring the response to the problem posed by domestic and family violence into the 21st Century and also to bring the relevant legislation into line with Australia’s international treaty obligations 1.
The first round of changes scheduled to take effect on 7 June 2012 is a raft of amendments to Part VII Family Law Act 1975. Key among these is the changes to be made to §60B and §60CC Family Law Act which set out the principles underlying Part VII and the considerations to which the Court must have regard when determining what is in a child’s best interests respectively.
The amendment to §60B inserts the requirement that the principles underlying Part VII be applied consistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This does not have the effect of incorporating the convention into Australian Law but, rather, requires that ambiguities as to the interpretation of the legislation be resolved consistent with Convention.
The changes to §60CC of the Act will effectively give primacy to the need to protect relevant children from the effects of being exposed to domestic and family violence over the desirability to promote the relationship between a child and both parents under the Primary Considerations set out under §60CC(2) by the insertion of §60CC(2A) 2 and repealing the so-called ‘friendly parent‘ provisions in §60CC(3)(c), (4) and (4A).
§60CC(3)(c) Family Law Act 1975