15. Sexual Assault and Family Violence
Part D of the Consultation Paper concerns the second Term of Reference of the Inquiry. This requires the Commissions to focus on the impact of inconsistent interpretation or application of laws in cases of sexual assault occurring in a family violence context, including rules of evidence, on victims of such violence.Chapter 15 canvasses what is …
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Read moreLegal framework for interaction between the two systems
Another issue for this Inquiry is the need to ensure that each system knows about what the other is doing. Matters involving allegations of child abuse or neglect often end up being heard simultaneously in family law and child protection proceedings. This can happen if the fact that there are proceedings in a court in …
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Read moreAdministrative arrangements
A number of the problems identified in the area of child protection are caused by a lack of communication and coordination between the child protection and family law systems. This section considers the administrative arrangements in place to facilitate communication and coordination between the systems.Protocols and memorandums of understandingSome state and territory child protection agencies …
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Read moreFamily dispute resolution and family violence
Family dispute resolution (FDR) is defined broadly in s 10F of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) as any non-judicial process where an independent FDR practitioner helps people affected, or likely to be affected, by separation or divorce, to resolve some or all of their disputes with each other.Broadly speaking, the current legislative framework encourages …
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Read moreRemoving impediments to information sharing
Information sharing has been identified as an ongoing challenge in ensuring the safety of victims of family violence in proceedings in federal family courts and state and territory courts. Time for Action recommended that information-sharing systems and protocols should be developed and supported by all organisations in response to sexual assault and family violence. It …
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Read moreProtection orders and injunctive relief
Injunctions available under the Family Law ActSection 68B of the Family Law Act permits a court to grant an injunction to protect the welfare of a child. The injunction may be:for the personal protection of the child, the child’s parent, a person with a parenting order in respect of the child, or a person who …
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Read moreA gap in protection?
Protection orders subject to parenting ordersThe Family Law Council has noted that, as a matter of practice, state and territory judicial officers often avoid inconsistency between state and territory protection orders and parenting orders by making contact ordered under the Family Law Act an exception to the prohibitions contained in the protection order. This may …
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Read moreConsideration of pre-existing orders
Parenting proceedings under the Family Law ActAn ongoing challenge in the interaction between family violence protection orders and conditions for contact under parenting orders is the evidentiary weight to which protection orders—as distinct from family violence per se—should be accorded in parenting proceedings. The Family Law Act currently involves a compromise position, whereby all protection …
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Read moreExisting legal framework or new legislation?
9.49 A preliminary question is whether it would be better to amend existing anti-discrimination laws to clarify their application, or enact new legislation dealing specifically with genetic discrimination. The question has been prompted, in part, by the Genetic Privacy and Non-discrimination Bill introduced into the federal Parliament by Senator Natasha Stott Despoja in 1998.[22] The …
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Read moreAssociates
9.100 Because of the familial nature of genetic information, it is possible that individuals will be discriminated against, not on the basis of information about themselves, but on the basis of information about their genetic relatives. Employers may seek to rely on the fact that genetic information about a member of a person’s family may …
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