Impact of New Family Law Legislation

• Applications may be file by:

• Parents• Grandparents• Other Persons concerned with the care, welfare and

development of the child

• What has Changed?

• Grandparents included in parenting plans and court orders

Involvement of Grandparents Post Separation

• Most grandparents continue to spend time with their grandchildren

• Children living with the mother are likely to spend more time with their maternal grandparents and vice-versa

• Non-resident parents provide an important link between their parents and the children

• Grandparents who have a good relationship with the parent(s) are better able to maintain a close bond with their grandchildren

Important Role of Grandparents Post Separation

• Providing activities• Confiding• Support• Provision of Care• Support to the parents• Providing stabilising influence • Maintain a connection with family history to help

develop a firmer sense of self-identity in children

Grandparents in the Family Law Courts

• Influence of grandparents can be both positive and negative – mostly positive

• Grandparents seen in the Court environment are usually involved in an highly acrimonious relationship with a parent

• Impact of hostility between grandparents and parents on children is uncertain

• Research evidence suggests children benefit from time with each parent except in cases of high parental conflict

• Psychological impact of parental conflict on children is severe

• Children more likely to adopt the view of the parent or suffer the pain of divided loyalty

Focus of the Courts

• On the best interest of the child, not on what parents want or on what grandparents want

• On the quality of the relationship between grandparents and the child, which is normally developed prior to the parental separation

• On the likely effect on the child of any separation fro a grandparent with whom that child has a relationship

• On the capacity of the grandparents to provide for the needs of the child.

Dispute Resolution Services

• Family Relationships Centre

• Conflict Resolution Service

• Parenting Orders Program

• Centacare

• Relationships Australia