Richard Chisholm

Cautionary notes on the shared care of children in conflicted parental separation

Abstract The Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 has brought into sharp focus the issue of shared physical care of children, post separation. In this paper, we explore new data suggesting accumulative risks for children whose care is divided between parents who lack the core relational infrastructure to support a healthy environment for shared care. Developmental background is provided, giving context to the complex dynamics at play, particularly for young children who experience divided care in a hostile climate. A discussion of the amendments shows that, rather than endorsing an assumption of shared care, the legislation supports and indeed requires professionals to engage in active consideration of the child’s ‘best interests’ in each case. The paper outlines a tighter safety net’ of considerations through which the ‘best interests’ question might be filtered. Implications for supporting separated parents to develop and maintain adequate foundations for shared care are discussed.

The meanings of 'meaningful' within the Family Law Act amendments of 2006: A legal perspective

Abstract The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) was amended in 2006, and the amendments gave explicit consideration to a ‘meaningful relationship’ between parents and children. The author considers the significance of this term in the context of the legislation, reflecting on the ways in which social scientists and lawyers use language, and on the importance of social science to inform legal determinations about the best interests of children.