'Most parents' agree courts should award care to mums

Peter Boshier

Mothers get the majority of day-to-day care of children in parenting orders made by the Family Court, but new statistics indicate that's the way most parents want it.

The gender-based statistics released by the court for the first time since 1990 show 65 per cent of day-to-day care (previously called custody) orders are awarded to mothers, 11 per cent to fathers, about 12 per cent to another party, and that 12 per cent share the care.

Most parenting orders - 74 per cent - are reached by consent between parents. Only 5.4 per cent of orders are made by a judge at a defended hearing and the remainder (20.6 per cent) by a judge at a formal proof hearing where only one parent attends, usually because the other parent chooses not to participate.

"Mothers and fathers seem to be saying that they prefer it that mothers care for children in the vast majority of cases," said Principal Family Court Judge Peter Boshier. "In all probability what the Family Court is doing is mirroring social reality."

He said the small proportion (5.4 per cent) of cases that came before a judge occupied a lot of court time. "Some of these cases are litigated and relitigated by parents who are unable to put their own issues second to those of their children," he said.

Judge Boshier pointed out that judges awarded a higher percentage (18.4 per cent) of day-to-day care to fathers in defended hearings that parents agreed to by consent (11.1 per cent).

But the new figures do little to dispel the concerns of protesting fathers' groups. "There is a clear bias in favour of mothers getting the day-to-day care of the children," said Bruce Tichbon of Families Apart Require Equality (Fare), a member of the protesting Fathers' Coalition.

"Our belief is the majority of fathers go into these hearings on the back foot, so when they give consent that means they've admitted defeat."

The Department of Statistics stopped collecting gender data in 1990 when sole maternal custody was 74 per cent, sole paternal custody 13 per cent, and joint custody 9 per cent. The new figures, which cover 2105 of 5865 parenting orders made in the year to the end of June, were requested by the Herald three months ago.

Judge Boshier said he wanted the figures to be available to show what is going on in the Family Court.

He was surprised the figure for shared parenting at 12 per cent was so low. "Most of the day-to-day care orders that I make are shared and many of my colleague judges take that view as well," Judge Boshier said.

Mr Tichbon said the low shared parenting figure "debunks the assertion that shared parenting is getting any kind of favour".

The Herald also requested information about the frequency of contact (previously called access) orders awarded by the court. Of 2751 orders made in the six months to the end of May, 1196 recorded relationship details related to contact orders.

The information showed 72 per cent of fathers and 28 per cent of mothers had contact orders giving them access to their children. Most of those orders (86 per cent) involved a frequency of contact other just than weekends or holidays. Just over 1 per cent had contact only during holidays, 9 per cent during weekends, and 3 per cent were given indirect contact by letter, telephone or email.

Judge Boshier said he hoped for more detailed statistics to show how much time children spent with each parent. He said judges approached the sharing of time on the basis of availability of parents, parenting aptitude and the children's wishes.

He said he was keen for the Families Commission to promote some discussion and research among fathers' protests groups, but that should be more than just listening to men's anecdotes. "I'm afraid that many have just got a disappointed expectation," he said.