De Facto Relationships

The case of Jonah v White (2012) 48 FAM LR 562 wishes to appeal the original decision of Murphy J, in which his Honour asserted that the appellant, (“Ms Jonah”) and the respondent (“Mr White”) had not been in a de-facto relationship in correspondence with the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (“the Act”). The appeal is bought before May, Strickland and Ainslie-Wallace JJ in the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia in Brisbane. The case seeks to question and determine what constitutes a law-binding de-facto relationship.

Identify and investigate these contemporary issues relating to family law and evaluate the effectiveness of legal and non-legal responses to these issues

It includes the right to protection from abuse, the right to express their views and have them listened to and the right to care and services for disabled children or children living away from home. Although the Government has said it regards itself bound by the Convention and refers to it in child protection guidance, it has not become part of UK-wide law.

The convention on the rights of the child 1989- The Convention's objective is to protect children from discrimination, neglect and abuse. It is the principal children's treaty, covering a full range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It grants rights for children in peacetime as well as during armed conflict, and provides for the implementation of those rights. It can promote anti-discriminatory practice by giving children protection and rights. It can also make sure that children will be given somewhere safe to be; not near any war zones and hazardous areas which could cause ill- health.

The United Nations convention on the rights of the child is to promote all aspects for the care, development and education of children, non discrimination on the grounds of gender, religion, disability, language, ethnic/social origin, civil and political rights, economic, social, cultural and protective rights.

The aim of Australia’s family law while responding the ever changing values of society, is to achieve justice in any activity it undertakes. The success of this is valued and determined by whether any significant action has been taken as a result, and what the effects of such actions are on improving the situations of all parties involved. The effectiveness of family law on changing values cannot be determined when regarded as a whole. However, when broken down into certain values, such as in the topic of best interest of the child during separation and the issue of surrogacy, it can be seen that Australia’s family laws are not effective in levelling with the community’s changing values.

Some of the current legislations include the “United Nations Convention in the Rights of the child 1989” which is the act that gives the right to protection from abuse, the right to express their views and have their

There are many different kinds of families that range from traditional (i.e. married) to untraditional families such as divorced, remarried, same- sex, and brady-bunch style. In this day and age, the overall consensus is that families vary and that is okay. There is no right or wrong way of doing things anymore, at least to some extent. I come from a family that is divorced and remarried a few times, and I have many brothers and sisters that share anywhere between all blood, some blood, and no blood. I love them all the same. For my case study project, I thought it would be interesting to observe a family which is somewhat similar to my own.

Family law is the most complex aspect of the Australian legal system as it is constantly under review and reform pursuing to adopt society’s continual change in values and principles. The changing of laws in an attempt to be parallel with society is a strenuous process. Nevertheless, legislations are reflective of contemporary society’s values and ethics. Numerous legal issues arise in regards to family including, same sex relationships, domestic violence and divorce ideally on the best interest of the child, where family laws have been imposed to protect individuals and aim to achieve justice.

Legislation: Children Act 1989; Children Act 2004; Every Child Matters (England); Education Act 2002; UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)

Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 (causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable adult).

However, in 1990 The Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified in Australia, meaning that the Australian Government has committed to make sure every child has the rights under all 54 articles. Article 37 and 40 specifically relates to juvenile crime; article 37(b) outlines that “arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.” Article 37(c) states that “every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity… shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child’s best interest.” Furthermore, Article 40 states that “the establishment of a minimum age below which child shall be presumed not to have the capacity to infringe the penal law.” Internationally, the acceptable minimum age of criminal responsibility is 12 and in all Australian states and territories it is 10. The current law in Australia has been criticised by the United Nations and has not kept up with these international standards. Specifically, the law in Queensland shows inconsistency; in the Child Protection Act 1999 (Qld), a child is an individual under 18 years old, whereas in the Youth Justice Act 1992 (Qld) the definition of a child is a person under the age of 17 allowing for children who turn 18 with at least six months of their

The main points of legislation that support the safeguarding of children are the Children Act 1989, Children Act 2004 and the Childcare Act 2006. The Children Act in 1989 set out principles to guide the work of local authorities and courts and also defined ‘significant harm’ and a child ‘in need’ of intervention. The Children Act 2004 provides the legal basis for children’s services set out in the Every Child Matters: Change for Children document.

The United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (1989) is an international human rights treaty that grants all children a comprehensive set of rights. The convention has 54 articles and it sets out in detail what every child needs to have for a safe, happy and fulfilled childhood. Article 19 states children’s rights to be ‘protected from all

This law reflects the universal thought that cultural practices, or traditions cannot be used as an excuse to harm children physically in such a way that a ‘normal development’ will be impossible and that it is unjust to discriminate on the basis of gender.