In today's podcast, Dannielle Young will walk us through recent legislative developments.

A few weeks ago, we learned that proposed amendments to the Family Law Act have passed through both houses of Parliament. This signals imminent change to the legislation. With royal assent granted on November 6, 20223, the alterations were sent to take effect, barring an earlier proclamation, on May 6, 2024. 

One significant change involves the elimination of the long-standing presumptions of equal shared parental responsibility, in place since 2006. This presumption entails both parents sharing the responsibility for making long-term decisions for the child. Currently, the Family Law Act requires the court to consider equal-time orders when this presumption applies, leading to confusion for parents navigating the system. The upcoming changes will abolish this presumption and remove the references to equal time, addressing concerns about confusion among parents. 

Additionally, the upcoming changes will simplify the section 60CC factors used by the court to assess a child’s best interest in deciding parenting orders. Currently, 2 primary considerations and 14 secondary considerations are outlined in section 60CC. The impending amendments aim to streamline these considerations, reducing them to a more concise set of 6.