Inquiry Access to Justice Arrangements

Our submission to the 2013-2014 Productivity Commission inquiry into Access to Justice Arrangements focuses on access to justice in the family law system for women experiencing family violence and relationship breakdown.

We consider the family law system to be a key part of the civil justice system. Almost half of all marriages in Australia will end in divorce according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. As such, family law is an area of law that affects many Australians. Outcomes in family law impact on their social and economic well-being, as well as that of their children.

Relationship breakdown has a close nexus with family violence. Family violence against women and children is one of the most prevalent forms of violence in our community. The family law system has an important role to play in protecting children and minimising the risk of family violence.

Given this social context, it is particularly important that the family law system is accessible, effective and responsive.

Our submission identifies the barriers to accessing the family law system from the perspective of the women that we work with. Our client group consists of women from a range of different cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. The women we assist are low income earners and have experienced other forms of disadvantage such as physical and mental disability.