Attorney General of Australia - Media Release

Media Release 118/2005

24 June 2005

FAMILY LAW AMENDMENTS PASSED

The Government's ongoing reform of family law achieved another milestone with the passage of the Family Law Amendment Bill 2005 by the Senate, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock announced today.

"One important change is to the language of divorce procedures.  We have introduced the term 'divorce' to replace outdated terms such as 'dissolution of marriage'," Mr Ruddock said.

"Very importantly there will also now be a clear right of recovery of wrongly paid child maintenance, in cases where a person is later found not be a parent liable to support a child."

"This right will apply in all cases unless there are exceptional circumstances.  People who have wrongly made payments in these circumstances have a right to expect to recover those monies," he said.

Apart from many technical reforms intended to improve the operation of the Family Law Act, the Bill contains some practical changes to help family law litigants.

For example, many contravention applications are brought because the original parenting order is unworkable.  These orders may be made by the parties by consent, and the practical implications are not apparent when the order is made.  In these cases, the court now will have the power to vary the original order to make sure the order is practical for the parent's day-to-day circumstances.

"The Bill is just part of the major ongoing reform of family law currently being undertaken by the Government," Mr Ruddock said.

Yesterday, the Government released an exposure draft of the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Bill 2005, part of the most significant changes to the family law system in 30 years.

Media Contact: Charlie McKillop Parliament House Phone: 61 -2 6277 7300 Fax: 61 -2 6273 4102