Lost in Translation: An Examination of Judicial Application of the Family Violence and Child Abuse
Abstract
Description
This honours paper was supervised by Dr. Juliet Behrens. This paper analyses judicial application of s 61DA(2), Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). The 2006 reforms to the Family Law Act introduced a strengthened message of the need to protect victims from 'further risk of harm'. Simultaneously, the reforms have emphasised the importance of 'increasing shared parenting outcomes' in court orders. Section 61DA(2) provides that an order for shared parental responsibility 'will not apply' where 'there are reasonable grounds to believe' that family violence or child abuse has occurred. This paper examines the effectiveness of s 61DA(2) in practice and whether the message of protection is heard by courts or 'lost in translation'.
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Keywords
Child abuse, Family, Law