For fifty years, Family Court has entrenched gendered violence. Created in 1975 to be child-centred, it became adversarial and lawyer-driven — treating children as possessions and monetising family violence. In 2006, after men’s-rights lobbying, John Howard entrenched “equal shared parental responsibility” and “friendly parent” rules punishing mothers who report abuse. Though repealed on paper in 2024, entrenched bias and victim-blaming remain. Women and children are discriminated against, with safety subordinated to fathers’ rights. A review of 27 Magellan List judgments (Mar 2023–May 2025) found two-thirds of child sexual abuse allegations dismissed or minimised, and 70% of children placed with their father — often the alleged perpetrator. Over 16,340 Australians have signed petitions (How Dare She, National Plan to Save Women and Children’s Lives, Transform Family Court). Their voices, now joined by the Family Court Accountability Network’s submission to the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review, shows Australia is breaching treaties including CRC and CEDAW. Children have been murdered, forced into violence, and even into sexual exploitation under Family Court orders. Like the Stolen Generations and forced adoption, this state-sanctioned atrocity must stop now.
We therefore ask the House to 1. Establish an independent rapid review of unsafe orders and a Federal Royal Commission. 2. Ban moratoriums, “parental alienation” tactics, coercive reunification, and profit-driven supervision centres. 3. Deliver a National Apology. 4. Repeal the Family Law Act 1975, replace it with a trauma-informed Family Justice & Safety Act. 5. Establish a Federal Judicial Commission extending accountability to all court professionals. 6. Provide redress and housing security. 7. Guarantee survivor co-design.
Very informative. I appreciate the effort.