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

society?

Law reform has been of mixed effectiveness in achieving just outcomes for family members and
society. Law reform has allowed for familial disputes to be resolved with greater ease such as
divorce, however the separation of de facto families still remains an issue. Law reform has also
achieved greater recognition of alternative families, however same-sex relationships have still not
recieved absolute equality. Law reform has also increased awareness of domestic violence, yet it is
still a prevalent issue in Australian society. Law reform has been moderately effective in achieving
just outcomes for family members and society.

Law reform has been considerably effective in achieving justice for family members and society
regarding divorce. Initially, divorce was governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1959 (Cth), which
stipulated 14 grounds for divorce. This was not effective as ‘fault’ had to be proven in order for the
divorce to be achieved, thus many couples remained married due to being unable to prove guilt,
hence not achieving just outcomes for family members. This was reformed in the Family Law Act
1975 (Cth), which introduced the concept of ‘no-fault divorce’, and reduced the grounds for divorce
to one, “the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage”. This reform was highly effective in achieving
just outcomes for family members, as they are now able to divorce without proving guilt, thus
resulting in greater time efficiency and ease of the divorce process. This reform also achieves just
outcomes for society as it mirrors their changing values of acceptance towards divorce over time.
However, this reform is somewhat limited in effectiveness as it resulted in a spike in divorces, which
creates an influx of court cases and expenses. The improved access to divorce through these reforms
has achieved just outcomes for family members and society, as seen in the 2012 ABC article;
“Divorce: it’s easier than you may think”, which highlights how the reforms to divorce laws have
allowed for greater access to the process, and how this has achieved justice by resulting in greater
peace in society and families. Law reform has been of mixed effectiveness in achieving just outcomes
for family members and society through increasing access to divorce.

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.