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A Court must consider the ‘best interests’ of your child/children. The six factors a Court will consider when deciding what is in the ‘best interests’ of your child/children are:

  • the safety of your child/children and the people who care for your child/children (including any history of family violence and family violence orders);
  • your child’s/children’s views;
  • the development, psychological, emotional and cultural needs of your child/children;
  • the capacity of each person who will be responsible for your child/children to provide for your child’s/children’s developmental, psychological, emotional and cultural needs;
  • the benefit to your child/children of having a relationship with their parents and other people who are significant to them (e.g. grandparents and siblings); and
  • anything else that is relevant to the particular circumstances.

Pursuant to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), the primary considerations a Court must make when determining the ‘best interests’ of your child/children are:

  • the benefit/s to your child/children of having a meaningful relationship with both parents; and
  • the need to protect your child/children from physical or psychological harm, from being subjected to or exposed to abuse, neglect or family violence.

In applying the above considerations, the Court is to give greater weight to the need to protect your child/children.

Recent amendments to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) have removed the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility and hence a Court is no longer required to consider equal time or substantial or significant time with each parent. Any allocation of responsibility for major long-term decisions is  now based on what is in your child’s/children’s ‘best interests’.

In essence, the recent amendments have focused on moving the primary considerations of the Court away from any set position and instead shifted the focus on the needs of your child/children, ensuring their individual needs.

At the Centre for Mediation, your Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner will assist you to focus on the ‘best interests’ of your child/children at all times. We will also assist you to determine the short and long term and major long term issues and the decision making, whether it be joint parental decision making, sole parental decision making or sole parental decision making for particular long-term issues and joint parental decision making for the remainder of the issues. Your Family Dispute Practitioner will encourage you to make a genuine effort to resolve the short and long-term issues affecting your child/children, ensuring your focus is on your child’s/children’s safety at all times. 

The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) also requires a Parenting Agreement to be in writing, signed and dated by both parents. It must be made free of any threat, duress and coercion to a parent. The Court wants you to work out your Parenting Agreement if you can and to avoid going to Court and relying on the Court to make decisions for you.

At the Centre for Mediation, your Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner can draft a ‘heads of agreement’ regarding your child/children for you to finalise with your lawyer. Or your Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner can draft and finalise your Parenting Agreement with you. Either way your Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner will assist and guide you towards considerations as to what:

  • is in the ‘best interests’ of your child/children;
  • are the needs of your child/children;
  • are the long term issues affecting your child/children;
  • are the options and solutions regarding the short and long term issues; 
  • framework is most appropriate for you to co-parent your child/children, and
  • is considered safe for your child/children.

Parenting Agreements are not legally enforceable however you can make an application to the Court to make an order within the terms of the Parenting Agreement and once made, the orders known as Consent Orders, are legally binding.