This paper is not an analysis of the psychological literature, but is written from the perspective of a solicitor who acts for parents who display alienating behaviour to their former partners and parents whose relationship with their children appear to have been...
Publications
Author: Jacky Campbell
Section 79A – setting aside property settlement orders: Procedural courtroom challenges in Family Law
There has been much hype around the setting aside of financial agreements, particularly following Thorne v Kennedy (2017) FLC 93-807. Additional uncertainty arises as to whether financial agreements are binding or can be “saved”. Consent orders are the fall-back and...
But wait – there are more amendments to the Family Law Act in 2018
The two Bills restructuring the Family Law Courts have been delayed by Parliament for further consideration in 2019. This gave family lawyers hope that 2018 would be a quiet legislative year. But, we were mistaken. Instead, the floodgates have opened. First we had the...
Hot Cases in family law – 2018
The most important cases in 2018 have been diverse. This paper looks at some of these. Financial agreements continue to raise new legal issues, and defining a de facto relationship continues to be far more problematic than one would expect. An unusual case involved...
Australian Law Reform Commission discussion paper
The Australian Law Reform Commission Discussion Paper on the Review of the Family Law System was released on 2 October 2018. The Discussion Paper is over 300 pages, asks 33 questions and makes 124 proposals for changes to the family law system. Many other proposals...
The Family Court: Restructure, Destruction or Fade Away?
"Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got till it's gone They paved paradise And put up a parking lot" "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell The Family Court of Australia (FCofA) was established in 1976 as a best practice model offering in-house...
Bullet-proof financial agreements—rare as hens’ teeth? Looking at financial agreements after Thorne v Kennedy
There is probably no other aspect of family law which has been subject to such a barrage of legislative changes, prospective legislative changes and contradictory judgments, than financial agreements. The High Court delivered its judgment in Thorne v Kennedy [2017]...
Family Violence – changes to the Family Law Act
The Family Law Amendment (Family Violence & Other Measures) Act 2018 ("Family Violence Act") commenced operation on 1 September 2018. Its changes will impact on the law, practice and procedures in family law matters, not only where there are family violence...
Treaties and international agreements relevant to family law proceedings in Australia
In family law disputes, the parties often have a significant connection to Australia: they are born here or have become Australian citizens, they have all or most of their property here, and they live in Australia when they separate. But, there are also many cases...
Tomaras– is the Family Law Act an escape hatch to avoid tax?
The Australian Taxation Office recently appealed to the High Court of Australia on the question of whether there was power under the Family Law Act 1975 (FLA) for the husband to be substituted for the wife in relation to a tax debt owed by the wife of over $250,000...