Introduction

Chapter 14 considers the interaction of state and territory child protection laws with the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). The principal interaction issues include: the jurisdictional overlap and intersections, and the determination of which courts should deal with parenting disputes that raise serious child protection issues; the communication of information between the child protection system and the family courts; the participation of child protection agencies in family law matters; and the potential for children to fall into the gaps between the two systems.