The welfare of a child is a “paramount consideration” when making any decision that may affect them. This fundamental principle is formalised by the Family Law Act 1957 (‘FLA’), echoing the re-quirements of the Convention of the Rights of the Child to give children a voice in court…

Modern marriages have become expensive public statements without contractual teeth. Women (and men whose wives have much greater earning potential) have lost the ability to constrain their own or their spouses’ future behaviour…

The idea that young children under four should not spend any nights away from their primary attachment figure usually the mother, is a hotly contested idea.

English parenting guru Penelope Leach has quoted Australian researchers in her new book about separated families, but the researchers say they are unhappy with her interpretation of their research.

What does this Australian research actually say and how is it being used in the Family Court?..

De facto couples – even those who have a child and live together – have significant social, financial and emotional “differences” to married couples, according to a Federal Circuit Court judge…

A Parenting Order specifies where a child is to live, the time they are to spend with each parent and how they can communicate with their parents…

As Gough Whitlam’s attorney general, he was Australia’s first law officer. Today he and his wife keep his and hers jars of the banned drug Nembutal for the day they decide they want to die..

A mother who secretly took her son to live overseas in the middle of a custody dispute says she did so to stop the boy’s father abusing him, asking a jury “what would you risk if you thought your little boy was in danger?”..

Whether it’s tweet-happy judges or YouTube-wielding family law litigants, social media is dramatically reshaping our court system. Two judges speak candidly about the many challenges that social media poses to our courts and the unprecedented opportunity it offers for a more transparent legal system…

The threats to kill, strangle and maim pets are becoming part of the regular revenge tactics of divorcing couples as they argue over the custody of children and animals…

In Australia a pre-nup is simply a binding financial agreement that sits under the Family Law Act. It’s a legal contract that can be entered into by married couples, same-sex couples and those in de facto relationships…