To what extent has law reform been effective in achieving just outcomes for family members and societyin Australia?

Law reform has also been moderately effective in achieving just outcomes for family members and society through the increased recognition of de facto relationships. Prior to the creation of the De Facto Relationships Act, de facto relationships were not legally recognised in Australia. This did not achieve justice for family members, as the individuals involved in the relationships were not having their rights recognised under Australian law. The creation of the De Facto Relationships Act achieved justice for family members and society as it increased equality amongst married and de facto couples throughout Australia, as it enabled both types of relationships to be equally recognised under the law. However despite this, it is still more difficult for a de facto relationship to be proven in court than a married couple in the event of a separation, thus not achieving complete justice as inequality is still evident. This is seen in Davies v Sparkes (1990), in which a 10yr de facto relationship was unable to be proven due to the privacy of the relationship, resulting in one of the parties being unable to receive a settlement in the separation of the relationship. This does not achieve justice for family members or society, as equality is not being completely achieved as married couples do not have to prove the existence of a relationship in the event of a separation. Law reform has been moderately effective in achieving just outcomes for family members and society in the recognition of de facto relationships.

Law reform has also been of mixed effectiveness in achieving just outcomes for family members and society through the increased recognition of same-sex relationships. In the Marriage Act 1961, no explicit definition of marriage was provided, until Prime Minister John Howard introduced his definition of marriage in 2004 as “a union between a man and a woman”. This did not achieve justice for society, as equality between heterosexual and homosexual couples was not being achieved, and homosexual couples rights were explicitly excluded under Australian legislation. However due to the 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite, the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 (Cth) was created. This act reformed the definition of marriage to be “the union of two people”, thus increasing equality for same-sex family members and achieving just outcomes for society through reflecting their increasing acceptance of same-sex couples. However, the Religious Freedoms section of the act did not completely achieve equality, as it widened the opportunity for religious based organisations and businesses to discriminate against homosexual couples, thus not achieving justice. Various groups are calling for further reform to this act, as seen in the 2018 The Guardian article, “LGBT community pushing for reform to religious freedoms act”, in which LGBT+ lobby groups are rallying for further equality in the religious branch as well as legal recognition in the definition of marriage. Law reform has been considerably effective in achieving just outcomes for family members and society through increasing recognition of same-sex relationships.

Law reform has been of mixed effectiveness in regards to achieving just outcomes for families and society in issues of domestic violence. The increased number of domestic violence cases has led to greater law reform, thus achieving justice through heightened responsiveness. An example of this reform is the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and other measures) Act 2011 (Cth), which broadened the definition of domestic violence to include psychological and financial abuse, thus increasing enforceability through enabling victims of these types of domestic abuse to take legal action as they are now recognised under Australian law, thus achieving just outcomes for family members involved in issues of domestic violence by protecting their individual rights to safety. However, law reform has not been entirely effective in achieving justice  in issues of family violence, as seen in the 2018 SMH article, “Delays in tenancy law reform placing domestic violence victims in danger”. This article describes how promised law reforms regarding the 14-day notice policy for rental property leavers have not yet been enacted, and thus are placing victims of domestic violence living in rental properties in danger. This does not achieve justice for family members as individual rights to safety are not being effectively protected. Therefore, law reform has been moderately effective in achieving just outcomes for family members and society in regards to issues of domestic violence.

Law reform has been of mixed effectiveness in achieving just outcomes for family members and society in regard to divorce, de facto relationships, same-sex relationships and domestic violence. Law reform has made significant progress towards the consistent achievement of justice for all family members and society in regard to many areas of family law, however there are many substantial limitations to its overall effectiveness.