2024 is a big year

The federal government has passed significant changes to the Family Law Act. 

Some of these changes took effect from 6 May 2024. The kind of orders the court makes after this date may well be very different. You should obtain independent legal advice about how these changes may affect you and your situation. There are a number of very significant changes that can impact many disputes.

The presumption of equal shared parental responsibility has been repealed.

The numerous factors the court must take into account when deciding on parenting arrangements are changing dramatically. The new provisions are designed to address:

• what arrangements best promote the safety of the child and the child’s carers, including safety from family violence, abuse, neglect or other harm  

• any views expressed by the child  

• the developmental, psychological and emotional needs of the child   

• the benefit of being able to maintain relationships with each parent and other people who are significant to them, where it is safe to do so  

• the capacity of each proposed carer of the child to provide for the child’s developmental, psychological and emotional needs, having regard to the carer’s ability and willingness to seek support to assist them with caring, and  

• anything else that is relevant to the particular circumstances of the child. 

There are also a number of significant changes proposed to the property and financial provisions. They have not yet taken effect. 

These changes do not affect children born from parents who were not married. The state government has not yet made similar changes to the Family Court Act 1997.