11.11.2010
November 2010 View original format
Final Report launched today!
I
am thrilled to announce that our Final Report into family violence laws
has been launched today by both the Federal Attorney-General Robert
McClelland and the NSW Attorrney General John Hatzistergos, and it is
now official! The Report, Family Violence—a National Legal Response,
makes 187 recommendations for reform, and comes in two volumes—plus a
Summary Report to provide an accessible overview of the policy framework
and recommendations in the full report (very easy to put into a
briefcase for reading on a flight between Canberra and any capital city
throughout the country!)
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have
helped the ALRC and NSWLRC in developing our recommendations, whether
through consulting with us, participating in one of our online forums,
making a submission or merely by maintaining an interest in this Inquiry
through your subscription to this newsletter. As our first Chair said
once, ‘law reform is much too important to leave to the experts’ and we
are extremely grateful for your engagement in our processes.
It’s worth mentioning that on the same day of the launch, the
Commonwealth Attorney-General released a draft of a number of
significant reforms to the Family Law Act, drawing upon the work of
Professor Richard Chisholm and the Family Law Council, published at the
end of January 2010, and also the work in the Consultation Paper in this
Inquiry, anticipating the direction of some of the possible reforms.
You are now able to purchase a hard copy and CD-ROM of the Final Report and Report Summary
from the ALRC’s website. Both documents are of course freely accessible
to read or download at the ALRC’s website. You will also find a podcast interview with myself and journalist Michael Pelly,
where we outline the key recommendations of the Report. Any feedback
you have on the report and its recommendations is very welcome. Email: feedback@alrc.gov.au.
As the Family Violence Inquiry is now officially over, this is the last
e-newsletter you will receive from us. There are links on the right-hand
side to publications and media items around the launch, and over the
next few days we will be adding more on the website, so please do check
in. We also encourage you to subscribe to the e-newsletter for our new
follow-on inquiry, Family Violence and Commonwealth laws (see below).
~ ALRC President, Professor Rosalind Croucher
New Inquiry: Family violence and Commonwealth laws
During
the Family Violence Inquiry, issues arose that were beyond its scope
relating to the impact of Commonwealth laws (other than the Family Law Act 1975) on those experiencing family violence. In July 2010, the ALRC was given new Terms of Reference.
The ALRC has been asked to report on the treatment of family/domestic
violence in Commonwealth laws, including child support and family
assistance law, immigration law, employment law, social security law,
superannuation law and privacy provisions in relation to those
experiencing family/domestic violence.
Now that the work for the original Family Violence Inquiry is complete,
work on this new Family Violence inquiry (FV2) has commenced. The
reporting date is November 2011.
If you would like to be kept up to date about this inquiry, please SUBSCRIBE to the new FV2 e-newsletter.