Child protection and family law… Joining the dots
Child protection and family law… Joining the dots
Daryl Higgins and Rae Kaspiew
In this paper, we look at the specific issues facing those responsible for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children in the context of parental separation, and the two separate legal systems: family law and child protection. There is a range of ways in which state-based child protection systems intersect with the federal family law system, with some gaps and some areas of overlap. Recent research—as well as reports from national inquiries—highlights the lack of clarity regarding responsibilities and how families and professionals navigate within and between the systems.
Authors and Acknowledgements
Daryl Higgins is the Deputy Director (Research) at the Australian Institute of Family Studies, and Principal Advisor to the National Child Protection Clearinghouse.
Rae Kaspiew is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Family Studies and was the lead author of the evaluation of the 2006 family law reforms.
The authors are grateful to Professor Patrick Parkinson and Dr Sharon Vincent for their very helpful and insightful comments and suggestions on the paper.
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