Good Evidence, safe outcomes in parenting matters involving family violence: Analysing current family report writing practice
Cases in which a family report is ordered are amongst the most complex dealt with by Australian family court judges, not least because the safety of the family is at issue. Family reports provide crucial evidence in parenting cases and are often the only social science evidence before the court. For this reason family reports need to provide the best evidence possible to enable decisions that are in the best interests of children, and that work to protect children from physical or psychological harm. They are also influential in pre-trial negotiations and family dispute resolution (mediation) as well as in the making of decisions in relation to legal aid. The impact of family reports in both court and out-of-court contexts is therefore significant.
However, concerns have been expressed about the possible inadequate treatment of allegations of family violence in family reports and it has been suggested that the report writing practice could be improved to better ensure that the best interests of children are met in matters involving family violence. The purpose of this research is to commence an investigation into the ways in which family violence is currently dealt with in the process of family report writing.
Aims
- To investigate the ways in which family violence is currently dealt with in the process of family report writing
- To make recommendations for evidence-based good practice for the writing of family reports that will increase the efficacy and value of family reports as evidence in parenting matters involving family violence
Project Leader: Dr Samantha Jeffries (Griffith University)
Project Team: Ms Zoe Rathus (Griffith University); Associate Professor Rachael Field (Queensland University of Technology)
Industry Partners: Women’s Legal Service (Queensland)
Project Value: $10,088
Type of Funding: Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration
Dates: 2014- 2015
Theme/s: Justice, Law and Society; Violence