Child-related proceedings under Pt VII Div 12A of the Family Law Act: What the Children’s Cases Pilot Program can and can’t tell us

Abstract

The new Pt VII Div 12A of the Family Law Act mandates a less adversarial approach to trials in child-related proceedings. The Children's Cases Pilot Program, run in the Sydney and Parramatta Registries of the Family Court in 2004-2006, provides the template for the court's less adversarial approach under Div 12A. This article discusses the findings of the evaluation of the Pilot Program, in terms of the lessons that can, and cannot, be drawn concerning the operation of less adversarial proceedings under Div 12A. It specifically addresses the types of cases that entered the Pilot Program, the achievement of better outcomes for children, the costs of the Children's Cases Program, and the new roles played by judges, solicitors, counsel, children's representatives and mediators within a less adversarial approach to child-related proceedings.