View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.
The Australian Government wants to make sure the best interests of children are prioritised and placed at the centre of the family law system. The release of the draft Family Law Amendment Bill 2023 (the exposure draft) is an opportunity for the community to provide feedback on the proposed amendments that aim to achieve this outcome. The Bill will primarily amend the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (Family Law Act), with some consequential amendments to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021 (Cth) (FCFCOA Act).
The exposure draft proposes a first tranche of legislative reform addressing the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Final Report No. 135: Family Law for the Future - An Inquiry into the Family Law System (ALRC report). It also implements elements of the Government Response to the Joint Select Committee on Australia's Family Law System (Joint Select Committee).
The exposure draft also includes other amendments to clarify various aspects of family law and better support the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia’s new approach to case management.
The exposure draft contains 8 schedules that thematically present the proposed amendments. These are:
Please note the exposure draft may not necessarily reflect the scope of the final Bill that the Australian Government introduces to the Parliament following this consultation process.
We have prepared a consultation paper to explain the exposure draft and seek stakeholder views on key issues. It provides information on the amendments within each schedule of the exposure draft and the policies that they seek to implement. We strongly encourage you to download, read and refer to this paper in conjunction with the exposure draft in preparing your feedback.
For members of the public who wish to read a short overview of the Bill, but may not wish to engage with the level of detail in the consultation materials, a fact sheet and FAQ document is available for download.
We have prepared information slides to provide a summary of each measure in the exposure draft.
Note: the contents of the information slides are summaries only and should not be solely relied on. You should read the slides in conjunction with the consultation paper and exposure draft in preparing your feedback.
The Australian Government appreciates the time and effort involved in considering draft legislation. Your feedback and perspectives are invaluable to ensuring the effective operation of the proposed reforms.
We invite submissions in response to the wording of the proposed amendments and, in particular, to the specific consultation questions set out in this paper.
To make a submission, you can complete our online questionnaire on areas that are of interest to you or upload your submission as an attachment. Click 'Make a submission' below to get started.
We intend to publish submissions, where we receive permission to do so. However, we reserve the right to leave unpublished any submission, or part thereof, particularly those that provide identifying details, and may be in breach of s 121(1) of the Family Law Act. This section of the Family Law Act prohibits publishing specific details of family law proceedings.
We may redact certain elements of submissions before they are published, as appropriate.
Submissions close on 27 February 2023.
If you are unable to provide feedback via the Consultation Hub, you can email your written feedback to FamilyLawReform@ag.gov.au.
Please indicate whether you consent for your submission to be published (either under your name or anonymously) or not. If needed for accessibility reasons, you can email us about providing a submission in an alternative format.
Submissions may be subject to freedom of information requests, or requests from Parliament. We will consider and respond to such requests in line with regulatory requirements.
Family Law Reform
Attorney-General's Department
3–5 National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600
Email: FamilyLawReform@ag.gov.au
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