Inquiry into the provisions of the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Bill 2005

Information about the inquiry

On 7 February 2006 , the Senate referred the above Bill to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 27 March 2006.

The Bill amends the Family Law Act 1975. The changes proposed by the Bill include:

• the introduction of a presumption of joint parental responsibility;
• the requirement for parents to attend dispute resolution and develop parenting plans before taking a parenting matter to court;
• improvements to enforcement of parenting orders;
• and better recognising the interests of children in spending time with grandparents and other relatives

Lodging Submissions

Submissions are called for by 24 February 2006. Submissions become Committee documents and are only made public after a decision by the Committee. Unauthorised release of submissions is not covered by parliamentary privilege. Further assistance can be obtained by phoning the secretariat on (02) 6277 3560.

For further information, contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Phone:	+61 2 6277 3560
Fax:	+61 2 6277 5794
Email:	legcon.sen@aph.gov.au