RESEARCH REPORT Compliance with and enforcement of family law parenting orders: Final report
The current regime for responding to breaches of family law parenting orders is contained in div 13A of pt VII of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). This is the second report from an ANROWS project examining compliance with and enforcement of family law parenting orders under the Act. Prior to this research, there was no current empirical evidence on how the contravention scheme was operating in Australia.
This mixed-method project was designed to examine the drivers of non-compliance with parenting orders and the operation of the parenting order enforcement regime in Australia. This report sets out insights from three parts of a four-part research program, with the first part – which summarises the views of legal professionals and judicial officers – published in an earlier report. This report sets out findings from contravention matter court file analysis, an online survey of separated parents with parenting orders, and an analysis of international approaches, and synthesises findings from all four parts of the research.
The research found a lack of mechanisms in the family law system to monitor the implementation of parenting orders. The family law system was not well equipped to adapt to issues with parenting orders either, for example, responding to the changing needs of children. Children and young people are not given sufficient opportunity to participate in post-separation decision-making that directly affects them in terms of their care and living arrangements. The research also found that most parents and carers who have issues with compliance do not use the contravention regime to address them. Some parents and carers were distrustful of the system – with some even fearful of it. Other parents and carers feared systems abuse, in terms of litigation causing a resumption or escalation in violent or abusive behaviour by the other party. As a consequence of these issues remaining unaddressed, the research found some children are living with parenting arrangements that are not consistent with their safety and wellbeing.
Professionals, parents and carers all articulated the need for a well-resourced family law system – including support services designed to address the issues underlying non-compliance – to support compliance with parenting orders. At a broad level, the evidence reflects a conceptual tension at the heart of the contravention regime between, on the one hand, the aims of legal enforcement mechanisms focused on deterrence and, on the other, the aims of decision-making informed by the best interests of children.
Publication details
This work is part of the ANROWS research reports series. ANROWS research reports are in-depth reports on empirical research produced under ANROWS’s research program.
Authors
DR RACHEL CARSON
Senior Research Fellow, Australian Institute of Family Studies
DR RAE KASPIEW
Research Director, Australian Institute of Family Studies
DR LIXIA QU
Senior Research Fellow, Australian Institute of Family Studies
JOHN DE MAIO
Research Fellow, Australian Institute of Family Studies
PROFESSOR HELEN RHOADES
Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne
EMILY STEVENS
Senior Research Officer, Australian Institute of Family Studies
DR BRIONY HORSFALL
Senior Research Officer, Australian Institute of Family Studies
LOUISE PRESS
Research Officer, Australian Institute of Family Studies
DR GEORGINA DIMOPOULOS
Lecturer, Swinburne Law School
ISBN: 978-1-922645-51-7 (paperback) | 978-1-922645-52-4 (PDF)
182 pp.
Suggested citation
Carson, R., Kaspiew, R., Qu, L., De Maio, J., Rhoades, H., Stevens, E., Horsfall, B., Press, L., & Dimopoulos, G. (2022). Compliance with and enforcement of family law parenting orders: Final report (Research report, 20/2022). ANROWS.