Children will be the biggest losers in a review of the Family Court which recommends that the court’s highly successful counselling service be cut. This is despite the government framing proposed changes as ‘putting children first’.
Catholic Social Services counsellor Gail Teale says it is likely couples who want to separate will bypass the court completely which means the dominant partner’s wishes will override those of the more vulnerable partner – usually the woman – and any children will lose out completely. ‘The risks for families where there are abuse issues are likely to increase.’
Gail Teale says the existing counselling currently sees more than 80 percent of couples who attended counselling manage to resolve their differences and avoid further involvement with the court.
The government announced a Family Court review last year and Catholic Social Services and the Law Society were among those who made submissions advocating the needs of children within the proposed changes. But the latest plan does not appear to have been influenced by these submissions.
Couples must access a Family Dispute Resolution service (FDR) for which they will be charged around $900. ‘Many couples will not be able to afford this fee. Then there are the fees they must pay every time they file applications with the court or go through a court hearing.’
Gail Teale says it is unrealistic to expect that couples will be able to resolve the dispute themselves. Many are at breaking point by the time they reach this stage.
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