In this day and age there are many variations of what constitutes a couple or family in comparison to many years ago. Long ago the idea of a ‘nuclear family’ was considered the norm; it consisted of the conventional husband, wife and children . But as our society progressed through the years this definition became less conventional and criticisms were made, this definition of ‘family’ did not account for gay unions, soul parents nor did it acknowledge the prevalence of extended family. The definition of family has changed over time, as have the socially defined roles of mothers and fathers. Within these varied family units, situations occur in which divorces and separations take place and a lot of the times these tricky situations may involve children, which can make an already tricky situation even more problematic. There are pieces of legislation which are in place which aim to protect the best interests of a child during the time their parents are going through divorce but sometimes these avenues can be more problematic and ultimately destroy unions whereas other avenues of dispute resolution such as mediation, albeit with its own criticisms, helps to keep relationships afoot in that it provides an opportunity for peaceful and mutual agreements to be made in a more laid back environment.
In the Commonwealth of Australia’s Constitution Act s 51, powers of the Commonwealth Parliament to legislate on family law subjects is laid out, it states:
“The Parliament shall, subject to the Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: (xxi) Marriage: (xxii) Divorce and matrimonial causes; and relation thereto, parental rights and the custody and guardianship of inf...
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...amily Law, 4th edn, Lexis Nexis, Australia
McDonald, P 1984, Can The Family Survive? - Change in Australia, Discussion Paper no. 11, Australian Institute of Family Studies, accessed 10 April 2012 http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/dp11.html
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act s 51, Prepared 2003,
Accessed 3 April 2012, http://fedlaw.gov.au/comlaw/comlaw.nsf/440c19285821b109ca256f3a001d59b7/57dea3835d797364ca256f9d0078c087/$FILE/ConstitutionAct.pdf
Commonwealth Consolidated Acts, Family Law Act 1975, Australasian Legal Information Institute (Austlii), http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/fla1975114/
Goode v Goode (2006) FamCA 1346 (http://www.familylawwebguide.com.au/attachment.php?id=43&keep_session=21863255)
Marriage Act 1961 (Cth)
Family Law Act 1975(Cth)
• s 60I
• s 60CC
• s 60CC (3)(a)
• s 60CE
• 61DA
• s 65DAA
Weeks, W & Quinn, M. (2000). Change and impact of restructure on Australian families: An introduction to key themes. Issues facing Australian families: Human services respond. Longman.
Law Foundation, L.F. 1997. A Bill of Rights for Australia - But do we need it? [Online]. [20th December 2016]. Available from:
Common law is the law made by judges when deciding a certain case before the court. The reasoning the judge applies becomes a precedent, to be followed by other lower courts in future matters of similarity. This is the basis for the doctrine of precedent. A precedent is either a binding precedent, the reason for a decision of a higher court that must be followed by a court of lower status in the same hierarchy; or a persuasive precedent, meaning a reason for a decision of another court that is not binding, and should only be considered for its persuasive value. It is the role of the judge in the common law system to develop and expand the common law where he or she sees fit. It is paramount for judges to base their decisions on cases on judicial precedents. The system of precedent can only operate effectively if the respective precedents are recorded. From as early as the beginning of the sixteenth century, judges produced significant cases in law reports. This process still occurs today, but is now systemised and is controlled by Councils of Legal Education in each jurisdiction (Williams 1998).
There are four sources of Law in the Australian Legal System. They are Statute Law, which is made in Parliament, Common Law and the Law of E...
The Commonwealth of Australian Constitution Act (1900) sets out a type of separation of powers between the legislative power (section 1), executive power (section 61) and judicial powers. (section 71) The legislative arm of the Commonwealth consists of the Queen, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, is this is known as the lawmaking body in the Country. The Judiciary power of the Commonwealth is vested in the Federal High Court and other courts within federal jurisdiction and is the body for the ad...
...ion of Australia. This campaign aims at promoting rights for shared equal parenting, with amendments to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) in 2006; of which dealing with family matters and relationship strains in non-court-based services to ensure that children are able to maintain an earnest relationship with both of their parents subsequent to a divorce. Thus, the role of such pressure groups are aimed at community empowerment and taking action in the area of law reform as the values of society continue to change.
The Australian legal system, through the process of law reform, aims to keep the nation a safe which, to a significant extent, is effective in creating a more just society. The Law reform, is the process of introducing changes to existing laws in the legal system. In order to suit contemporary society, laws are improved to in which reflects societal values and thus, accommodate the needs of majority of Australia. However, there are instances where the legal system may not be as effective in these changes. Issue such as the native title, marriage equality and the lock out laws cases can justify whether the law reform is effective.
...f] Queensland: Queensland Law Reform Commission. pp. 2 - 20. Available through: QLD Government http://www.qlrc.qld.gov.au/wpapers/wp37.pdf [Accessed: 2 Mar 2014].
Herring J., ‘The Human Rights Act and the welfare principle in family law – conflicting or complementary?’ [1999] C.F.L.Q.11 (3), 223-235
When Australia was first colonised by English settlers, they brought with them the English laws and applied them to the new colony. All states in Australia in the late 19th and early 20th century had laws forbidding abortion. These laws were first adapted in 1861 from the Person Act in the UK, which was reformed in the UK in 1967. However, since then most states and territories have re-examined and reformed their laws on abortion in different ways.2 The current Queensland abortion laws are still almost identical to the Offences against the Persons Act introduced in England in 1861. In the early 1970’s Queensland, women had very limited access to abortion services due to laws that made abortion a crime. The abortion Laws in Queensland are outlined in the Queensland Criminal Code Act 1899. Section 313(1) of the Act creates an offence of killing an unborn child in the circumstances where the child is about to be delivered. If guilty, this offence results in life imprisonment. In Addition, S224 of the Act deals with doctors carrying out abortions. This offence states that any person with the intent to procure a miscarriage of a women or
Family Law (Law Express) 2th edition, by Jonathon Herring, published by Pearson Education Limited 2009
This essay will begin by examining the relevant case law in the ECtHR, specifically regarding family life and same-sex couples. The essay will then continue on to look at Irish case law on the non-marital family and how the jurisprudence of the European court has influenced this. This essay will finish by examining the impact in society of this treatment of non-marital families and ways this could change.
Divorce is a growing epidemic in Canada and the United States. It affects both parties involved, being the spouses, and also has a profound affect on children of the marriage. Recently our government has been revising the old divorce act. It was apparent that it was time to revise the act because it did not properly protect the children from being caught in the middle of things.
Divorce can be a very draining process involving a conglomerate of variables, that can affect a child directly or indirectly. As a definition, divorce is the action of legally dissolving a marriage, but when children are added to the equation, the divorce process takes a different route. In the united states, divorce rates are higher that in other countries around the world, with a 40 % of children of varying ages experiencing their parents’ legal separation (Santrock, 2013, p.308).
Australia, formally known as the Commonwealth of Australia, was formed in 1901. This was the result of six independent British colonies that came together to form a new nation. The foundation for this federation, as they refer to themselves by, is known as the Australian Constitution. This written document acts as the basis for which how the government can operate and what it can do. Under the Constitution, the Australian Government is a federal system of government. Utilizing this system powers are divided between the central, Australian Government, and states of the nation, the six state governments. For the Australian Government, the central power, laws written and passed by this governing half of the entire system affect all Australians. In essence it is the law of the land and should be followed by all. The Australian Government is split into three arms. The first is known as the legislative arm, or parliament, and is responsible for the debate and vote of new laws to be initiated. These laws, if passed, are introduced under the power of section 51 of the Australian Constitution. Section 51 of the Australian Constitution in principle defines what the government can decide upon. The second of three arms of the Australian Government is the executive arm. This third is responsible for authorizing and sustaining the laws established by the legislative arm. Some members of the legislature, entitled ministers, are members of both the legislative and executive arms of the Australian Government. These specific members are tasked with special responsibilities for certain areas of the law. Lastly, the third of the three arms of the Australian Government is the judiciary. This is the legitimate arm of the Australian Government, and by t...