What are your experiences with the Family Court?

Opinion

KEY POINTS:

• What are your experiences with the Family Court?

Family Court statistics for 2005, released yesterday, show that most of what are now called "day-to-day care" parenting orders are still awarded to mothers. But most orders also go to whoever applies for them, whether they are mums or dads. Mothers end up getting more orders in their favour only because they are more likely to apply for them.

The figures straddle the introduction of the new Care of Children Act in July 2005, which changed the terminology from custody to day-to-day care. Women lodged 68 per cent of the applications for custody of children in the last six months of the old law, and gained 69 per cent of the custody orders.

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