The Australian Government has now responded to the Australian Law Reform Commission Report 135: Family Law for the Future – An Inquiry into the Family Law System details the government's position on each of the commission's 60 recommendations for reform.
In the report, the ALRC recommends that the resolution of family law disputes be returned to the states and territories and that the federal family courts eventually be abolished. Under the current system, children fall through the gaps between the family law courts, the child protection systems and the state and territory responses to family violence. This can be remedied only by having a single court focused on the best interests of the child that is able to resolve all family law, child protection and family violence issues together.