House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

Circulated By Authority of the Attorney-General, the Honourable Robert Mcclelland MP

SCHEDULE 4 - OTHER MEASURES

Family Law Act 1975

Item 1: At the end of subsection 60I(8)

373. This item inserts a new paragraph in subsection 60I(8)(d) of the Family Law Act 1975 to add an additional circumstance in which a family dispute resolution practitioner may give a certificate to a person which can be filed with an application to a court to hear an application for an order under Part VII of the Act as required under subsection 60I(7).

374. The additional certificate is required to cover the situation where a family dispute resolution practitioner becomes aware during the course of the family dispute resolution that it would be inappropriate to continue the family dispute resolution due to factors prescribed in the Family Law Regulations 1984 . These are envisaged as including:

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the history of violence (if any) among the parties

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the likely safety of the parties

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the equality of the bargaining power among the parties

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the risk that a child may suffer abuse

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the emotional, psychological and physical health of the parties, and

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any other matter that the family dispute resolution practitioner considers relevant to the continuation of the family dispute resolution.

375. The certificate currently provided for in paragraph 60I(8)(aa) of the Act is insufficient for this purpose as it only enables the issue of a certificate on these grounds on the basis of the intake and assessment process that occurs prior to the conduct of family dispute resolution.

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

Item 2: Paragraph 330(4)(ba)

376. This item makes a drafting correction to the opening words of paragraph 330(4)(ba) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 , to correct a grammatical error in the original version of that Act. The commencement provisions in the table set out in clause 2 of the Bill apply this amendment from the commencement of that Act, in accordance with drafting practice for rectifying technical errors of a statute law revision nature.