Australian Family Law

The co-existing relationship between parents and their children build up the ‘basic unit of society’ a family. Australian law in s.63F the Family Law Act 1975 (Cwlth) is the source of source of parental statutory authority. This legislation provides a variety of legal rights and obligations for parents to act decisively in the best interest of their ‘under-developed’ and ‘legally disabled’ children. However, governments have shown a greater concern with reconignising and protecting the rights of children, limiting parental control as Chief Justice Nicholson approved, saying “The care and protection of children are no longer simply matters to be left to parents to decide”. Parents being contracted as their child’s legal guardian have the right to make decisions that relate to the child; in their religious upbringing and

Parents are responsible for disciplining their children. However, the discipline must be moderate and appropriate to the age of the child. A punch should never be used and a cupped hand may be appropriate for necessary correction of young children. Parents are obliged to care for the well being of their children under the Family Law amendment (shared parental responsibility) Act 2006 (Cwlth) as Professor Alan Hayes of the Australian institute of family studies said “It is important to maintain the primacy of focusing on the best interests of children” (“Evaluation of the 2006 Family Law reform finds mixed results”, 28th of January 2010). For example in R v BW &SW a 7 year old boy, diagnosed with autism, died in November 2007 as a result of starvation and negligence. After a five week trial, the girl’s mother and father were found guilty of manslaughter in failing their duty to care. The Supreme Court judge who handled the case said “Preserving life is at its highest with respect to children” inherently referring to the right of the children to be cared