Summary

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The majority voted in favour of agreeing with the resolution of the Senate, which means it passed.

Resolution text

(1) That a joint select committee, to be known as the Joint Select Committee on Australia's Family Law System, be established to inquire into and report on the following matters:

(a) ongoing issues and further improvements relating to the interaction and information sharing between the family law system and state and territory child protection systems, and family and domestic violence jurisdictions, including:

(i) the process, and evidential and legal standards and onuses of proof, in relation to the granting of domestic violence orders and apprehended violence orders, and

(ii) the visibility of, and consideration given to, domestic violence orders and apprehended violence orders in family law proceedings;

(b) the appropriateness of family court powers to ensure parties in family law proceedings provide truthful and complete evidence, and the ability of the court to make orders for non-compliance and the efficacy of the enforcement of such orders;

(c) beyond the proposed merger of the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court any other reform that may be needed to the family law and the current structure of the Family Court and the Federal Circuit Court;

(d) the financial costs to families of family law proceedings, and options to reduce the financial impact, with particular focus on those instances where legal fees incurred by parties are disproportionate to the total property pool in dispute or are disproportionate to the objective level of complexity of parenting issues, and with consideration being given amongst other things to banning 'disappointment fees', and:

(i) capping total fees by reference to the total pool of assets in dispute, or any other regulatory option to prevent disproportionate legal fees being charged in family law matters, and

(ii) any mechanisms to improve the timely, efficient and effective resolution of property disputes in family law proceedings;

(e) the effectiveness of the delivery of family law support services and family dispute resolution processes;

(f) the impacts of family law proceedings on the health, safety and wellbeing of children and families involved in those proceedings;

(g) any issues arising for grandparent carers in family law matters and family law court proceedings;

(h) any further avenues to improve the performance and monitoring of professionals involved in family law proceedings and the resolution of disputes, including agencies, family law practitioners, family law experts and report writers, the staff and judicial officers of the courts, and family dispute resolution practitioners;

(i) any improvements to the interaction between the family law system and the child support system;

(j) the potential usage of pre-nuptial agreements and their enforceability to minimise future property disputes; and

(k) any related matters.

(2) That the committee consist of 10 members:

(a) 3 members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Government Whip or Whips;

(b) 2 members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Opposition Whip or Whips;

(c) 1 member of the House of Representatives to be nominated by any minority party or independent member;

(d) 2 senators to be nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate;

(e) 1 senator to be nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate; and

(f) 1 senator to be nominated by Pauline Hanson's One Nation.

(3) That participating members may be appointed to the committee, may participate in hearings of evidence and deliberations of the committee, and have all the rights of a member of the committee, but may not vote on any questions before the committee.

(4) That every nomination of a member of the committee be notified in writing to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(5) That the members of the committee hold office as a joint select committee until the House of Representatives is dissolved or expires by effluxion of time.

(6) That the committee elect as its chair a member nominated by the Government Whip or Whips.

(7) That the committee elect a non-Government member as its deputy chair who shall act as chair of the committee at any time when the chair is not present at a meeting of the committee, and at any time when the chair and deputy chair are not present at a meeting of the committee the members present shall elect another member to act as chair at that meeting.

(8) That, in the event of an equally divided vote, the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, has a casting vote.

(9) That 3 members of the committee constitute a quorum of the committee, provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include 1 Government member of either House and 1 non-Government member of either House;

(10) That the committee have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of 3 or more of its members, and to refer to any subcommittee any matter which the committee is empowered to examine;

(11) That the committee appoint the chair of each subcommittee who shall have a casting vote only, and at any time when the chair of a subcommittee is not present at a meeting of the subcommittee the members of the subcommittee present shall elect another member of that subcommittee to act as chair at that meeting;

(12) That 2 members of a subcommittee constitute a quorum of that subcommittee, provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include 1 Government member of either House and 1 non-Government member of either House;

(13) That members of the committee who are not members of a subcommittee may participate in the proceedings of that subcommittee but shall not vote, move any motion or be counted for the purpose of a quorum;

(14) That the committee or any subcommittee have power to call for witnesses to attend and for documents to be produced;

(15) That the committee or any subcommittee may conduct proceedings at any place it sees fit and sit in public or private;

(16) That the committee or any subcommittee have power to adjourn from time to time and to sit during any adjournment of the Senate and the House of Representatives;

(17) That the committee may report from time to time, but that it present its final report by no later than 7 October 2020; and

(18) That the provisions of this resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders.

Votes Passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Adam Bandt Melbourne Australian Greens No
Australian Labor Party (90% turnout) 0 Yes 61 No
Anne Aly Cowan No
Sharon Bird Cunningham No
Chris Bowen McMahon No
Tony Burke Watson No
Linda Burney Barton No
Josh Burns Macnamara No
Mark Butler Hindmarsh No
Terri Butler Griffith No
Anthony Byrne Holt No
Jim Chalmers Rankin No
Lisa Chesters Bendigo No
Sharon Claydon Newcastle No
Libby Coker Corangamite No
Julie Collins Franklin No
Pat Conroy Shortland No
Milton Dick Oxley No
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs No
Justine Elliot Richmond No
Joel Fitzgibbon Hunter No
Mike Freelander Macarthur No
Steve Georganas Adelaide No
Andrew Giles Scullin No
Patrick Gorman Perth No
Chris Hayes Fowler No
Julian Hill Bruce No
Ed Husic Chifley No
Stephen Jones Whitlam No
Mike Kelly Eden-Monaro No
Matt Keogh Burt No
Peter Khalil Wills No
Catherine King Ballarat No
Madeleine King Brand No
Andrew Leigh Fenner No
Richard Marles Corio No
Emma McBride Dobell No
Brian Mitchell Lyons No
Rob Mitchell McEwen No
Daniel Mulino Fraser No
Peta Murphy Dunkley No
Shayne Neumann Blair No
Brendan O'Connor Gorton No
Clare O'Neil Hotham No
Julie Owens Parramatta No
Alicia Payne Canberra No
Graham Perrett Moreton No
Fiona Phillips Gilmore No
Tanya Plibersek Sydney No
Michelle Rowland Greenway No
Joanne Ryan Lalor No
Bill Shorten Maribyrnong No
David Smith Bean No
Warren Snowdon Lingiari No
Anne Stanley Werriwa No
Meryl Swanson Paterson No
Susan Templeman Macquarie No
Matt Thistlethwaite Kingsford Smith No
Maria Vamvakinou Calwell No
Tim Watts Gellibrand No
Anika Wells Lilley No
Josh Wilson Fremantle No
Tony Zappia Makin No
Anthony Albanese Grayndler Absent
Nick Champion Spence Absent
Jason Clare Blaxland Absent
Luke Gosling Solomon Absent
Ged Kearney Cooper Absent
Amanda Rishworth Kingston Absent
Kate Thwaites Jagajaga Absent
Rebekha Sharkie Mayo Centre Alliance Yes
Mark Coulton Parkes Deputy Speaker Yes
Helen Haines Indi Independent Yes
Zali Steggall Warringah Independent Yes
Andrew Wilkie Clark Independent No
Bob Katter Kennedy Katter's Australian Party Absent
Liberal National Party (100% turnout) 4 Yes 0 No
Angie Bell Moncrieff Yes
Julian Simmonds Ryan Yes
Phillip Thompson Herbert Yes
Terry Young Longman Yes
Liberal Party (91% turnout) 51 Yes 0 No
John Alexander Bennelong Yes
Katie Allen Higgins Yes
Karen Andrews McPherson Yes
Kevin Andrews Menzies Yes
Bridget Archer Bass Yes
Russell Broadbent Monash Yes
Scott Buchholz Wright Yes
David Coleman Banks Yes
Vince Connelly Stirling Yes
Peter Dutton Dickson Yes
Warren Entsch Leichhardt Yes
Trevor Evans Brisbane Yes
Jason Falinski Mackellar Yes
Paul Fletcher Bradfield Yes
Nicolle Flint Boothby Yes
Josh Frydenberg Kooyong Yes
Ian Goodenough Moore Yes
Celia Hammond Curtin Yes
Andrew Hastie Canning Yes
Luke Howarth Petrie Yes
Greg Hunt Flinders Yes
Steve Irons Swan Yes
Craig Kelly Hughes Yes
Andrew Laming Bowman Yes
Julian Leeser Berowra Yes
Sussan Ley Farrer Yes
Gladys Liu Chisholm Yes
Nola Marino Forrest Yes
Fiona Martin Reid Yes
John McVeigh Groom Yes
Ben Morton Tangney Yes
Ted O'Brien Fairfax Yes
Tony Pasin Barker Yes
Gavin Pearce Braddon Yes
Christian Porter Pearce Yes
Melissa Price Durack Yes
Rowan Ramsey Grey Yes
Stuart Robert Fadden Yes
Dave Sharma Wentworth Yes
James Stevens Sturt Yes
Michael Sukkar Deakin Yes
Angus Taylor Hume Yes
Dan Tehan Wannon Yes
Alan Tudge Aston Yes
Bert Van Manen Forde Yes
Andrew Wallace Fisher Yes
Lucy Wicks Robertson Yes
Rick Wilson O'Connor Yes
Tim Wilson Goldstein Yes
Jason Wood La Trobe Yes
Trent Zimmerman North Sydney Yes
Alex Hawke Mitchell Absent
Melissa McIntosh Lindsay Absent
Scott Morrison Cook Absent
Ross Vasta Bonner Absent
Ken Wyatt Hasluck Absent
National Party (93% turnout) 14 Yes 0 No
George Christensen Dawson Yes
Pat Conaghan Cowper Yes
Damian Drum Nicholls Yes
Andrew Gee Calare Yes
David Gillespie Lyne Yes
Kevin Hogan Page Yes
Barnaby Joyce New England Yes
Michelle Landry Capricornia Yes
David Littleproud Maranoa Yes
Michael McCormack Riverina Yes
Llew O'Brien Wide Bay Yes
Ken O'Dowd Flynn Yes
Keith Pitt Hinkler Yes
Anne Webster Mallee Yes
Darren Chester Gippsland Absent
Tony Smith Casey Speaker Absent
Totals (90% turnout) 73 Yes – 63 No