Actions for the 48th Parliament of Australia
Improve access to justice and safety for victim-survivors of family violence in family law proceedings, particularly in regional and remote communities
The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia consistently reports that over 80% of family law matters it deals with involve family violence. The family law system must be properly funded, its processes accessible, and legal professionals trained in family violence and trauma-informed practice to ensure that women and children are protected, and users of violence cannot weaponise the system to continue their abuse.
Problem: the family law system is chronically under-resourced, which harms victims-survivors of domestic and family violence
The family law system is chronically under-resourced. Courts have significant delays and backlogs, which can leave victims-survivors of violence trapped in legal proceedings for years. Women who once had means to hire a private lawyer can quickly run out of money and be left destitute and facing ongoing legal proceedings without help. People who use violence can too easily weaponise the overstretched family law system to drag out proceedings further until a victim-survivor runs out of resources for legal help, and to aggressively pursue property and parenting outcomes that put women and children at risk of poverty, homelessness and further violence.
First Nations people face additional barriers in accessing the family law system. Some First Nations women fear the family law system because of past negative experiences or genuine fears about child removal. Research shows many First Nations women who have experienced family violence are failed by parts of the legal system. First Nations women who have experienced systemic racism, biases and discrimination in the legal system may be less likely to engage with the family law system.
Solution:
Increase investment in the family law system to improve outcomes for people experiencing domestic family and sexual violence. This should include:
- Increased resourcing for the Family Court of Australia to address backlogs, implement trauma-informed processes, and improve cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
- Providing regular training to ensure all family law professionals are family violence and trauma-informed, culturally safe, child-rights focussed, and disability and LGBTIQ+ aware. Training should be delivered, developed, and regularly evaluated by subject-matter and lived experience experts.
Problem: a complex and costly divorce system heightens the risk of systems abuse
The current process for divorce in Australia is complex, costly, and prone to conflict. This increases risks of systems abuse for victims-survivors of domestic and family violence.
A cheaper, simpler and more accessible system would enable more people to manage divorce applications without needing a lawyer to help. More of community legal centres’ time could be spent helping people whose circumstances are more complex. Less court time would be spent on unnecessarily complex applications for different types of service.
The current divorce process has a requirement for parenting arrangements to be considered before a divorce can take effect. The purpose of a divorce is to end the legal relationship between spouses. Parenting arrangements are dealt with through a separate and distinct legal process. Requiring consideration of parenting arrangements before applying for divorce causes confusion and can lead victims-survivors of family violence to believe they must agree on parenting matters before they can apply for a divorce. This causes unnecessary delays, emotional and financial strain, and provides an opportunity for systems abuse. It may also pressure parties into hasty or coerced parenting agreements without legal advice, potentially impacting future legal proceedings and Centrelink applications.
Solution:
Simplify divorce proceedings and improve protections for applicants impacted by domestic, family and sexual violence by:
- Expanding hardship exemptions for family law filing fees to divorce applications
- Allowing electronic service and dispensation of service where safety is at risk
- Removing the requirement for parenting arrangements to be made before applying for divorce.
Problem: too many victims-survivors face the family law system without the community legal centre help they need
Family law services made up 31% of community legal centres’ total services in 2023-24. Many of the people community legal centres assist with family law matters are victims-survivors of domestic and family violence.
In 2023-24, between 40-50% of community legal centres’ clients disclosed that they were impacted by domestic and family violence – in family law as well as in other areas of law like renting and access to social security payments. This rose to 72-78% for rural, remote and very remote community legal centres.
However, community legal centres that provide free, specialised family law advice and representation services remain significantly under-funded to meet need. Nationally, centres are forced to turn away hundreds of thousands of people every year due to a lack of resources. This includes over 400 victims-survivors of domestic and family violence every single day.
This problem is even worse in regional and remote communities, where family law courts sit less frequently, delays are greater and access to legal assistance is even more limited.
Solution:
Increase funding for community legal centres to provide advice and representation to women involved in Family Court proceedings. Begin with targeted investments in 2026-27 and 2027-28 for community legal centres in regional, rural, remote, and very remote (regional and remote) communities.