1st Dec 2020, 5:00 PM – Representatives Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bill 2019 - Second Reading - Family Court

The majority voted in favour of keeping the usual second reading motion - which is "that the bill be read a second time" - unchanged. Reading a bill for a second time is parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of a bill. This vote was put after a motion (see below) was introduced to change the wording of the usual second reading motion.

Motion text

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: "whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:

(1) recognises the critical importance of the family law system to the wellbeing and safety of families across our nation;

(2) notes that:

(a) the Family Court of Australia was established in 1975, and has served Australian families for 45 years;

(b) after seven years of neglect by Liberal Governments, the family law system is in a state of unprecedented crisis; and

(c) if passed, these bills will cause further harm to vulnerable children and families in need of specialist family law assistance; and

(3) calls on the Government to withdraw these dangerous bills and to instead get to work doing things that would actually help Australian families in times of need, including:

(a) responding to the sixty recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission's landmark 2019 review into the family law system;

(b) increasing resources to the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court in order to reduce case backlogs and the stress current delays are causing to families;

(c) increasing resources to legal assistance services that provide vital help to vulnerable families in crisis, including Legal Aid Commissions, Family Violence Prevention Legal Services, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, Women's Legal Services and other Community Legal Centres; and

(d) consulting with experts and progressing meaningful reforms to improve the experience of all users of the family law system".