Do you believe Australia’s family court system is in need of significant reform? If so, you can help this happen by writing today to your local MP.

On 2 Feb 2016, the Australian Senate passed a motion calling for a major review and reform of Australia’s family courts. It’s now important to follow this up with a letter to your local MP to make sure something actually happens.

If you don’t know who your local MP is, or how to contact them, visit
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian_Search_Results?expand=1&q=&mem=1&par=-1&gen=0&ps=100&st=1
Here, you can put in the name of your MP to find out contact details, or simply your postcode, to find out who your local representative is.

A short, one-page letter or email will be most effective, especially if it focusses on the key issues (you could simply cut-and-paste these points into your own letter if you prefer not to write something yourself):

1) The current family court system is very harmful to families, and especially children; it is not “fit for purpose”;

2) On 2 February 2016, the Australian Senate formally recognised this and called on the government to adopt the recommendations of the major 2003 report “Every Picture Tells a Story”, which recommended implementation of a new, non-adversarial system;

3) Our family courts are inevitably slow, unaffordable and adversarial. And their nature and procedures inevitably contribute to harming children; they can’t be moulded into the system our children need and deserve. They’re the wrong tool for the job;

4) There are alternative systems that could be readily implemented – and Australia can look to some other countries that have much better systems, legislation or outcomes from family separation;

5) The policy paper “Children in Crisis” (downloadable on the home page of this website) outlines the policies, principles and rationale behind a new system.

Thank you.