The seven factors that judges must consider – which have been simplified from the previous list of 15 – include a child’s safety,their views,the benefit of having relationships with both parents,and the child’s developmental,psychological,emotional and cultural needs.
The factors removed from the list include the lifestyle and background of a child and their parents,the attitude to parenthood demonstrated by each parent,how a change in circumstance would affect the child,and the parents’ prior efforts to spend time with the child.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on Tuesday said he would move amendmentsthat aligned with a Senate review – which called for explicitly adding the family violence condition – when the bill reaches the upper house in coming weeks.
But the most significant change will beabolishing the presumption of “equal shared parental responsibility” that separated parents have been entitled to since 2006,when it was introduced by the Howard government to address a historical bias against fathers’ custody.
It meant courts had to start with the presumption each parent gets an equal say in major decisions about their children,and included an associated provision that also required courts to consider time arrangements for children to spend with each parent.
However,the Australian Law Reform Commission found the lawwas being misinterpreted to mean both parents should see the child for an equal amount of time.
While Australian Institute of Family Studies research says only 3 per cent of separating families have their parenting arrangements determined by a court,the government believes the law serves as a guide to the rest of the families who negotiate their own arrangements.