Commonwealth family law judges should have more powers to protect children and be able to force state welfare authorities to intervene, Attorney-General George Brandis has told a major national family law conference in Sydney last week. Senator Brandis has called for a review of the ‘fundamentally flawed’ system, which Family Court judges say, allows at-risk children to slip through the cracks between state and federal court systems.
Senator Brandis says family law judges should be given similar powers to the state’s children’s courts to make orders for the protection of children.
“Senator Brandis will ask the Family Law Council to examine whether changes can be made to make it easier for cases to be transferred between family and children’s courts, or for family law courts and children’s courts to have overlapping powers.”
The review will also explore the need for increased collaboration between the family law courts and other services such as child protection, mental health, family violence, drug and alcohol, Aboriginal and migrant settlement services.
If you have any questions about Care and Protection matters, particularly whether they may impact your Family Court matter, please do not hesitate to contact Cristina Huesch at Alliance Family Law.
Read more: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/family-law-judges-need-power-to-protect-children-at-risk/story-e6frg97x-1227083151714
