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🏛 House of Representatives3 readingsAmendments circulated
Family Law Amendment (A Step Towards a Safer Family Law System) 2020
✦ Plain-English Summary
# Family Law Amendment (A Step Towards a Safer Family Law System) 2020
## What it does
This bill removes the legal presumption that separated parents should automatically share equal parenting time with their children. Currently, Australian family courts start from the assumption that both parents should have roughly equal responsibility—unless proven otherwise. This change means courts will instead assess each case on its own merits, without that starting position.
## Why it matters
The change is intended to better protect children in high-conflict or unsafe family situations. When domestic violence or abuse is involved, the "equal parenting" default can put children at risk or complicate court decisions. By removing this automatic assumption, courts have more flexibility to prioritise a child's safety and wellbeing.
## Key details
- **What's being removed**: Three sections of the Family Law Act that currently enshrine the equal parenting presumption are being repealed entirely (sections 61DA, 61DB, and 65DAA)
- **When it starts**: The changes take effect immediately once the bill receives Royal Assent (the Governor-General's formal approval)
- **Who it affects**: The new rules apply to any parenting orders made after the law passes—even if the court case started before then
Official Description
Implements certain recommendations of the 2009 Family Law Council's report Improving responses to family violence in the family law system: An advice on the intersection of family violence and family law issues , the 2017 House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs' report A better family law system to support and protect those affected by family violence , and the 2019 Australian Law Reform Commission's report Family Law for the Future - An Inquiry into the Family Law System by amending the Family Law Act 1975 to remove provisions relating to the: presumption of equal shared parental responsibility when making parenting orders; and requirement that the courts consider, in certain circumstances, the child spending equal time, or substantial and significant time with each parent.
Audit History
Last updated on APH
10 Apr 2026
Last checked by Crossbench
yesterday
Full text indexed
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