June 23, 2023. In response to Australia’s proposed legislation to repeal shared parenting provisions in its 2005 Shared Parental Responsibility Act, ICSP has made submissions to both the Government Consultation Phase and the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee against the proposed repeal.
The core argument for repeal by the current Labor Government is the wording for a presumption of equal shared parental responsibility (often termed joint legal custody in other jurisdictions) is confused with an entitlement to equal shared care (i.e., equal parenting time) notwithstanding clarifying explanatory text in current legislation.
ICSP has argued that the proposed repeal is an unwarranted “throw the baby out with the bath water” over-reaction that could instead be simply and appropriately remedied by additional clarifying legislative text. ICSP notes that the current legislation was highly supported according to a massive evaluation report commissioned by earlier governments and continues to be popular today with 33% prevalence of shared parenting according to Australian government statistics. The benefits of shared parenting are largely settled science.
Submissions are available at:
- Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee- Submission 23
- Family Law Amendment Bill – Published Responses: International Council on Shared Parenting
Contact Information:
For more information, please contact: ICSP Secretary-General