Landmark Family Law Reforms Commence
Today, legislation comes into effect that will make Australia’s family law system simpler, safer and fairer for all families.
The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 builds upon the reforms made in the first term of the Albanese Government that demonstrate our strong commitment to addressing the scourge of family violence in Australia.
In our first term, we passed the Family Law Amendment Act 2023 and the Family Law Amendment (Information Sharing) Act 2023 which established new information sharing arrangements to protect families against safety risks and placed the best interests of children at the centre of all parenting decisions in family law matters.
Labor’s additional reforms will ensure the economic impacts of family violence are considered when property and finances are being divided between separated couples.
They also provide a specific framework in the Family Law Act for determining ownership of family pets as well as preventing animals from being used to further perpetrate family violence.
Furthermore, the reforms provide family law courts a new power to prevent sensitive information being viewed or used as evidence in family law proceedings, where the harm in doing so outweighs the need for the evidence.
These changes underscore the strong and ongoing commitment across the Albanese Government to address family violence in Australia.
This includes funding to support the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia expand their Lighthouse model, a world-leading initiative which continues to improve risk screening, triage and assessment of family law matters.
The Albanese Government acknowledges the efforts of the family law sector to prepare for these significant changes which will provide real change for vulnerable individuals leaving a violent relationship.
https://ministers.ag.gov.au/media-centre/landmark-family-law-reforms-commence-10-06-2025