Senate Passes legislation to protect Children from violence and abuse

On Wednesday 23 November the Senate passed the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2011,

“The Government takes the issue of addressing and responding to violence very seriously.  Family violence and the fear of family violence remain prevalent in our community and it is unacceptable that this continues to affect our families and our children” Mr Robert McClelland, Attorney General said.

The Government made a number of amendments to the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2011 in response to recommendations made by the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs’ report on the Bill, which will improve the effectiveness of the Bill in prioritising the safety of children in parenting matters.

“The Government thanks the Senate Committee for their valuable work which has helped refine the measures in this important legislation, and all those who made submissions during the Senate Committee’s inquiry” Mr McClelland said.

The amendments to the family violence measures of the Bill passed will:

• provide certainty around the commencement date of the provisions of the Bill, and which matters the amendments will apply to,
• simplify drafting of the new provision requiring the court to give greater weight to the protection of children from harm when determining what is ‘in a child’s best interests’, and
• better define what a court can consider in relation to family violence orders as part of considering a child’s best interests.

The Committee’s recommendation for an education campaign about how the amendments will affect separating families has also been accepted by the Government.

The Government supports happy healthy relationships between children and their parents.  As such the Family Law Act will continue to promote a child’s right to a meaningful relationship with both parents where this is safe for the child.

It is the Government’s strong view that all family violence and abuse of children is serious and it is important that the law sends this message clearly.  It is also crucial that resources to help children in need are prioritised so that those children most at risk can be easily identified and helped.

Mr McClelland also welcomed the recommendation made by the Australian Greens that a comprehensive risk assessment framework for family violence and child abuse be explored.

“It is important that professionals in the family law system are able to identify and address family violence and child abuse in the early stages of entering the family law system.

“I am pleased to announce that the Attorney-General’s Department has recently contracted Relationships Australia South Australia to develop a standardised frontline screening process to identify safety risks for clients across the family law system.

“A key aim of this project is to create a shared understanding across all disciplines in the family law system about the predictors of risks to safety, how they can be better identified and how to effectively respond to these risks.

“I welcome the Senate’s passage of this important piece of legislation.  These are significant reforms which will increase protection for children and their families from abuse and family violence” Mr McClelland said.

The Senate Committee’s report is available online at:

www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/legcon_ctte/family_law_familyviolence/index.htm