Mediation laws help spare divided couples court pain
The Age
Thursday August 20, 2009
LAWS aimed at keeping separating couples out of court by forcing unresolved disputes to mediation may have contributed to a decline in bitter court contests.Since July 2007, it has been compulsory for separating couples who cannot agree to arrangements over the care of their children to attend some form of dispute resolution instead of going straight to the Family Court €” unless there are domestic violence concerns.Since the Howard government changes came into effect, applications for court orders over parenting and property matters have fallen. The reforms are being evaluated.Figures provided to The Age and that include the Family Court and the Federal Magistrates Court show applications fell from 20,350 in 2006-07 to 17,265 in 2007-08. The Family Court expects the applications for 2008-09 to be about 17,800. The figures include matters concerning children and property. Applications had peaked at more than 23,000 in 2003-04 and declined slightly thereafter. The biggest drop then came in the year the mediation requirement began.Family Court Chief Justice Diana Bryant believes several factors may have contributed to the decline, including the establishment of family relationship centres, education campaigns to encourage couples to try to reach agreements outside of court, the legal requirement to attend mediation and increased funding for dispute resolution."What it has meant for the courts is that although the number of cases filed dropped in one year [2007-08] the matters being filed are the more difficult ones," Justice Bryant said. "The 'simpler' cases are being resolved outside the courts and the courts are seeing only the more difficult conflictual cases."The court said the fall was mainly attributed to a decline in parenting matters ending up in court. Applications concerning property rose slightly.There are 65 family relationship centres funded by the Federal Government. The Age believes some are so busy some couples have to wait several weeks before they can be seen.La Trobe University clinical child psychologist and researcher Associate Professor Jennifer McIntosh said that if family relationship centres were preventing families from needing court action, that was good for children."It's very encouraging, when you think of all the children involved and hopefully what they're being spared," she said. "It's absolutely clear what happens over time for parents who get caught up in lengthy litigation."It does nothing for their ability to parent, it does nothing for their ability to co-operate and if the children have suffered through that long-term, the quicker we can get parents on to the road to recovery the better."A spokesman for Attorney-General Robert McClelland said it was pleasing that mediation was helping families.
© 2009 The Age
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