Family law
Year 12 Legal Studies Family Law The main Australian law dealing with married couples, parents and children is the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). It covers the rights and duties of husbands and wives, their children, property and maintenance, the grounds for divorce and other family related matters. The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) was instigated primarily with the principal aim to reform the law governing the dissolution of marriage (divorce). The reason behind the restructure was due to a widespread growing dissatisfaction across Australia with the existing law. ... (Family Court) The definition of marriage that is applied in Australian law originated from the 1866 English case, Hyde vs. ... Lord Penzance defined marriage in this way: “I conceive that marriage, as understood by Christendom, may be defined as the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all other” (Lord Penzance) The Family Law Act was designed to provide some certainty and fair dealing between parties to a broken down marriage. If the parties are unable to reach an agreement then it is up to the Family Court to resolve such issues such as where and with whom the children are to reside with, how or whether children will maintain contact with both parents and how the property of a marriage is to be divided. With this various factors are taken into account: • Financial contribution • Homemaker • Parent The issues relating to maintenance and child maintenance are also covered by the Family Law Act. The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) not only altered Australian family law significantly but also formed the Family Court of Australia.