Family Law Amendment Act (part one) 2023
The Family Law Amendment Act 2023 took effect on 6 May 2024.
It has brought significant and wide-reaching changes to the Family Law Act; changes that will have a big impact on both our work and on outcomes for our clients who are victim survivors of family violence.
There are six key changes and while some of these are positive – such as the removal of the presumption of Equal Shared Parental Responsibility – we are concerned that safety is no longer prioritised in the best interest factors.
For almost two decades Women’s Legal Service NSW has been leading advocacy work for reform of the Family Law Act. Our team have written multiple submissions, open letters and media articles; provided evidence and case studies at hearings; spoken at inter-agency committee meetings; listened to and lobbied with frontline community service providers; reported to government bodies and much more.
We are delivering a range of community engagement activities and discussions about the best use of the new provisions to ensure evidence of family violence is presented clearly and explicitly before the court and given appropriate weight.
As a free legal service deeply committed to helping women and children stay safe while navigating the Family Law system, we are determined to ensure that our communities and networks receive the information and guidance they need to make sense of these amendments.
Presentations for Community Legal Centres NSW
- Community webinar, broadcast Thursday 2 May 2024: Is it safe enough? Part 1
- Slide handouts
- Comparison table of the changes to the ‘Best Interests Factors”
- Community webinar, broadcast Thursday 9 May 2024: Is it safe enough? Part 2
- Slide handouts
Resources for community workers and generalist lawyers
- Ask Lois webinar: Making Sense of the Family Law Amendment Bill (parenting)
broadcast Wednesday 1 November 2023 - Law Society Journal Article: Is it safe enough? Changes to the Family Law Act
published Friday 8 December 2023 - The Family Law Amendments Factsheet, May 2024
Background reading and resources for legal practitioners:
- Read our submissions
- Watch our evidence to the Senate Inquiry
Presentation for Women’s Legal Services Australia
- Making Sense of the Family Law Amendment Act – Tuesday 5 December, 2023 (password required to view this presentation)
Keep in touch