PART 2 Background

On 26 June 2003, the former Attorney-General and the former Minister for Children and Youth Affairs jointly referred to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs an inquiry into child custody arrangements in the event of family separation.

The committee’s report, Every picture tells a story, released on 29 December 2003, recommended a range of reforms to the family law system. On 29 July 2004, the Prime Minister released a Framework Statement which outlined the government’s proposed response to the committee’s report.

Because of the far-reaching nature of its proposed package, the government decided to consult the community about the reforms. On 10 November 2004, it released a discussion paper, A new family law system: implementation of reforms. Over 400 written submissions were received in response to the paper and officers of the Attorney-General’s Department and the Department of Family and Community Service held face to face meetings with over 300 agencies, service providers and interest groups. These consultations greatly assisted the government as it shaped this final response to Every picture tells a story.