Family Law Reflecting Moral and Ethical Issues

The juristic system continuously endeavours and reforms to provide effective legislative remedies and modify existing legislation to reflect the changing nature of the Australian family structure. Family law has al routes been a colossal aspect of Australian purchase order with many effective measures in place for family matters. Numerous values and their military posture lay down been debated through various features of family law, and these debates continue to the present day.Divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage by an official court conclusion and was once frowned upon within hunting lodge, and prior to 1974, espouse couples who wished to divorce had to apply at a lower place the Matrimonial Causes Act 1959 (Cth) on the ground of fault that is, on the tail that one or both spouses admitted to acting in a way that undermined their marriage (for example, adultery, cruelty, insanity and desertion).However, the first major falsify to family law in Australia occurre d when the law took reform in this aspect with the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), which states that the entirely ground for divorce is the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, such as the case in the marriage of Todd (1976), one or two of the spouses must consent for divorce. The declining influence of religion and the idea that marriage does not forever and a day last for demeanor were social factors that influenced this change.The erosion of the concept of fault and the asylum of a single ground for divorce thus demonstrates changing societal values and how law is changed over time. Australian society believes that it is important to cherish the disadvantaged, or those who cannot act to preserve their own rights particularly children. After a marriage has been dissolved, it is the responsibility of both pargonnts to provide financial get for their children as the case of Campbell and Campbell (1998) established that it is in the best interests of the child to maintain the m odus vivendi to which they have grown accustomed.The Australian Bureau of Statistics Marriages and Divorces 2011 Media release indicates there argon 44,000 children under 18 affected by divorce. As such, the Child sustain (Assessment) Act 1989 (Cth) requires that children receive a proper level of financial support from their parents and the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 (Cth) ensures that periodic amounts payable by parents towards the alimony of their children are paid on a regular and timely basis. prior(prenominal) to the Acts, plainly 40% of claims for child maintenance were being met, whereas after the Acts were passed, some 70% of claims are being met. The new emphasis on childrens rights and parental responsibility reflects the social perception that children are vulnerable members of our society and thus require greater legal protection.Another important change in social attitudes has been the increasing acceptance of same-sex relationships, and r ecent law reforms have centred on providing same-sex couples with the same rights as de facto heterosexual relationships, and removing contrast based on sexuality. At the State level, the De Facto Relationships Act 1984 (NSW) was amended to the Property (Relationships) Act 1984 (NSW), for the ontogeny acceptance of heterosexual and homosexual relationships highlighted by news article Partners who good cant wait (2010) which states the growth in unmarried couples brio together.It now recognises same-sex relationships as having the same legal standing as heterosexual de facto relationships, and thus provides protection to people in same-sex de facto relationships in property division, heritage and decision-making in illness and after death. The Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationships) Bill 2008 (NSW) creates amendments to 57 pieces of state legislation to ensure de facto couples (including same-sex couples) are treated equally with married couples.This Act also create s amendments to the Anti-discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) to ensure that same-sex couples are protected from discrimination on the basis of their marital or domestic status in employment, accommodation and access to goods and services, articulated in the Daily Telegraph cheery couple win foster care case (2008), after a gay couple won $10,000 in damages when their application to convey foster carers was refused. However in terms of federal laws at present, same-sex couples are unable to marry.The Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others voluntarily entered into for life, a definition established by the case of Hyde v Hyde and Woodmansee (1866) and tell in the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). In 2004, the Commonwealth Government reconfirmed the handed-down concept of marriage as the union of a man and a woman when it passed the Marriage Amendment Act 2004 (Cth) meaning same-sex marriage is automatically quash in Australia, ncluding overseas marriages. Over time, both State and federal governments in Australia have enacted legislation to encourage and enforce practices which are not only in the public interest, but also reflect the moral and estimable standards of society. While legislative mechanisms have been reasonably successful in achieving this terminal with regard to the introduction of no-fault divorce and the protection of children, there is the need for foster review and reform of legislation concerning same-sex couples.