Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by the authority of the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Mal Brough MP)Schedule 12 - Shared parental responsibility
Summary
Technical amendments are made to provisions in the Family Assistance Act and the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (the CSA Act) as a consequence of the recent family law reforms relating to shared parental responsibility.
Background
As part of the family law reforms contained in the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 (the amending Act), certain terms used in Family Law Act such as 'contact' are being changed, and defined terms in Part VII of the Family Law Act are being moved to subsection 4(1) of the Family Law Act, which is the general definitions section.
There remains a reference to 'contact' in the Family Assistance Act that is being replaced by the concept of 'spending time'.
Some of the amendments to the Family Assistance Act and the CSA Act in the amending Act have been misdescribed. The relevant amendments are remade made by this Schedule.
Explanation of the changes
Item 1 amends the definition of 'family law order' in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act by replacing the existing reference to 'section 60D' of the Family Law Act with a reference to 'section 4'. This amendment remakes an amendment that was misdescribed in the amending Act. The amendment is consistent with changes made in the amending Act to relocate the definition of 'family law order' in section 60D of the Family Law Act (which contained definitions for Part VII about children) to the general definition provision in subsection 4(1) of the Family Law Act.
Item 2 makes a technical amendment to paragraph 22(3)(c) of the Family Assistance Act by replacing the existing reference to 'have contact' with a reference to 'spend time'. This amendment reflects the changes in terminology to remove the reference to 'contact' in the Family Law Act, made by the amending Act.
Item 3 amends the definition of 'court order' in subsection 8A(7) of the CSA Act by replacing the existing reference to 'section 60D' of the Family Law Act with a reference to 'section 4'. This amendment remakes an amendment that was misdescribed in the amending Act. The amendment is consistent with changes made in the amending Act to relocate the definition of 'court order' in section 60D of the Family Law Act (which contained definitions for Part VII about children) to the general definition provision in subsection 4(1) of the Family Law Act.
The commencement of these amendments is linked, by clause 2 of this Bill, to the commencement of similar amendments in the amending Act. While this is retrospective, the amendments are technical only and will not adversely affect customers.