Australian Family Law encourages and enables broad understanding of, and critical thinking about, contemporary Australian family law. Description and analysis of the law is set in a broad context that includes theoretical and policy debates surrounding the law and the family as well as discussion of relevant empirical and research literature and reference where relevant to developments in overseas jurisdictions. Recent years have seen a burgeoning of empirical research relevant to family law and policy, and this research enables the authors to convey a rich sense of the law in action, social norms (both attitudes and behaviours), and the contexts of the field.

• Follows the introduction in 2006 of some of the most wide-ranging reforms of Australian family law (particularly in the areas of child support and post-separation parenting) since the introduction of the Family Law Act in 1975
• Thematic approach distinguishes it from law textbooks generally and from other family law texts on the market
• The use of theoretical frameworks, and comparative and interdisciplinary materials means that the substantive law is presented in a highly contextualized way, which will appeal to a wide range of readers and enhance understanding of the legal principles

Preface

Table of Cases

Table of Statutes

1. Introducing Contemporary Australian Family Law

2. The Constitutional Framework: Fundamentals of Fragmentation

3. The Jurisdictional Framework: Mechanics of Fragmentation

4. The Legal Recognition of ‘Family' Relationships: Testing Our Respect for Diversity

5. Violence and Abuse in Families: Fragmented Legal Responses

6. Decision-Making in Children's Matters: Towards Shared Parenting?

7. Processes for Decision-Making about Children: Somewhat Private, Somewhat Child-Centred

8. Child Support: The Politics of Competing Interests

9. Property on Relationship Breakdown: ‘Partnership' and Its Limits

10. Spousal Maintenance: Almost Gone?

11. Conclusion: Current Trends and Future Issues in Contemporary Australian Family Law

Belinda Fehlberg - Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Melbourne

Juliet Behrens - Associate Professor, College of Law, Australian National University