Hi, to All Those Who Are Still Working This Close to Christmas

e-NewsletterDecember2014

Hi, to all those who are still working this close to Christmas.

Again, we seem to be in the minority – however as always, clients needs are being meet and this time of year the real spirit of Christmas can be seen flowing through into service delivery. Well done to the many organizations providing additional support and activities over this period.

To the stalwarts “still on deck” - I wish you, your families and clients, the Christmas that you would wish for yourselves and may you continue to make a difference in your community and find real satisfaction in your work in 2015

During the Christmas period, as usual you will find up to date CQFLPN information at

For more of the latest information on the Family Law Sector please see below.

Date- claimers.

Parenting Plan Workshop: Presenter - Joanne Madden of Joanne Madden Solicitors. FREE. January 20th 2015. Registration from 9.30am. Start 10am – finish 11.30am. Morning tea provided. Family Relationship Centre, (corner of Fitzroy St & East St). To register please email FULLY BOOKED.

If you have booked and are now unable to make the day – please let me know ASAP.

Notice of Risk

The new Notice of Risk form is now available. This new form cannot be used until12th January 2015.The Notice of Risk is a mandatory form which must be used by any person who files an Initiating Application or Response seeking parenting orders on or after 12 January 2015.It is also the prescribed notice when allegations for the purposes of subsections 67Z(2) or 67ZBA(2) of the Family Law Act 1975 are raised on or after 12 January 2015. IF A PERSON TICKS 'YES' TO QUESTION 2 OF THE FORM, the prescribed child welfare authority must be provided a copy of this Notice of Risk by the Registry Manager who may provide such other court documents and information as is required to enable investigation of the contents of the Notice of Risk.The form also fulfils the court's obligation under paragraph 69ZQ91)(aa) of the Family Law Act 1975.

Background to the development of the Notice of Risk

• The Federal Circuit Court is a high volume court and intake lists regularly contain more than 20 matters.
• Screening to identify various risk factors at the earliest opportunity is desirable to aid the effective early intervention case management pathway of the Federal Circuit Court.
• There has been ongoing non -compliance with the legislative requirements.
• The Court’s experience is that there has been an under reporting of child abuse, family violence or risk of same.
• The Form 4 does not identify a range of other risks that are relevant in parenting proceedings.

For more information please click on Federal Circuit Court Notice of Risk

Holiday arrangements for Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support

DHS: 5th December 2014

Department of Human Services customers will notice some changes to payments and services over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. All service centres and most phone lines providing Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support services will be closed from 25 to 29 December 2014 and on New Year’s Day.

The department’s Express Plus mobile apps and phone self-service options, as well as online services through myGov, would still be available every day. Customers can check their reporting dates, update details and report earnings quickly and easily using these options. Where DHS clients are due to receive a payment on a national public holiday, they may be paid before the holiday, so will need to budget for a longer period between payment dates afterwards.

People may also need to report their job search efforts or income early if their usual reporting date falls on a public holiday. People who use self-service options to report on a public holiday will be paid within the next two working days. Those reporting must include estimates of earnings or other changes for their normal 14 day assessment period. Although the reporting date may be different, the assessment period remains the same. People can transfer funds to their BasicsCard on public holidays by calling 1800132594 from 8 am – 5 pm, and BasicsCard balances can be checked at any time by calling 1800057111. Calls to both lines are free.

There are no changes to the usual child support payment arrangements, however parents should note late payments made after 24 December may be further delayed by public holidays. The automated Child Support Information Service on 131 107 will still be available.

All essential 24/7 Medicare Provider Services for doctors will remain open and available over the Christmas/New Year period, and customers can lodge some Medicare claims at their doctor’s office or via online services as usual.

To read the original article or for more information is available at DHS Holiday Information

Australia's first publicly accessible registration system for community workers

The Australian Community Workers Association (ACWA) has officially launched Australia’s first easily accessible national registration system for community workers. This historic initiative brings community workers in line with other registered professions that provide essential services and is foremost concerned with public safety, transparency and quality service.
The Community Workers Register is a tool for practitioners and the public to ensure that those working in the sector are appropriately qualified and work to a Code of ethics.Read the information sheet HERE.

When Can a Court Grant an Injunction in a Family Law Matter? Simon Creek. My Family Law

An injunction is a kind of order made by a court that requires a person to do, or refrain from doing, a particular act.The circumstances in which a court exercising jurisdiction under theFamily Law Act 1975(“the FLA”) can grant injunctions can be diverse. It can extend from orders restraining a person from removing a child from the jurisdiction of the court, to restraining the disposal of property or the payment out of money and can, in certain circumstances, extend to restraining a third party and which affects the rights of a third party.

The power to grant injunctions is contained in two separate sections of theFLAone in relation to the courts’ child welfare jurisdiction, and the other in the courts’ jurisdiction in relation to matrimonial causes (matters arising from the marital relationship). To read the complete article please click on My Family Law

Professor Rosalind Croucher reappointed President of the ALRC

Professor Rosalind Croucherhas been reappointed as President of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC). Since becoming President in 2009, Professor Croucher’s strong leadership and law reform expertise has ensured that the ALRC has enhanced its respected public image. Professor Croucher has agreed to continue her role at the ALRC for a further 12 months.

Professor Croucher is currently leading the ALRC’s Review of Commonwealth Laws for Consistency with Traditional Rights, Freedoms and Privileges (known as the Freedoms Inquiry), which concludes in December 2015.The Freedoms Inquiry is one of the most comprehensive and important ever undertaken by the ALRC. It will identify where traditional rights, freedoms and privileges are unnecessarily compromised within the legal structure of the Commonwealth and, where encroachments exist, the Inquiry will determine whether they are justified.

Service Information

New Holiday Closures(a number of services were covered in the November e-newsletter).

Youth Connections closures.

Gladstone Office will close on the 22nd of Dec and will not reopen after 31stDec . For support during this period please call the Rockhampton Office on 49285 243

Emerald Office will close on the 22nd Dec and will not reopen after 31st Dec. For support during this period please call the Rockhampton Office on 49285 243

Rockhampton Office will be closed on the 24th , 25th Dec and will reopen on the 29th Dec and close for the final time on the 31st Dec 2014.

Lotus Place

Lotus Place will close down at Xmas on Tuesday December 16 and reopen on a limited basis on Tuesday January 5 and fully reopen again on Monday January 19. The Centre will be staffed on Tuesdays during this time

Roseberry Community Services

Office closed from 24th December to 5th January.

Roseberry House and Jacks House will be open over the Christmas period.

Legal Aid Queensland

LAQ: closed from 2.00 p.m. 24 December 2014 until 9.00 am, 2nd January 2015.

News

Sexual assaults have boomed in mining towns. Adam Davies. Gladstone Observer. December 3rd

ILLEGAL prostitution and sex trafficking has boomed along with the mining industry in towns and cities across the state, with some regions reporting an eight-fold increase in the number of sexual assaults. A report also expressed concerns over whether young migrant women are being transported to Queensland's mining towns to operate as sex workers. The Queensland Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee has spent the past six months hosting a series of public consultation hearings in a bid to reduce and prevent criminal activity across the state.

Gladstone Women's Health Centre and Sexual Assault Service believes the huge industry-related increase in population had increased women's vulnerability to sexual assault. To read the complete article please click on Gladstone Observer

Australian legal aid services 'need $200 million more a year' – Productivity Commission.Jane Lee. Sydney Morning Herald. December 3rd.

The Abbott government should add $200 million a year to legal assistance services around Australia and reverse cuts to indigenous legal services to meet widespread legal need, the Productivity Commission says.The Productivity Commission's year-long inquiry into access to justice arrangements on Wednesday found significant gaps in free legal help for family law matters, including family violence and child protection. It was particularly worried about the gap in independent lawyer services for children.

Its report said the funding boost would enable legal aid commissions, community legal centres and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services to maintain their frontline services and provide more legal help to more people. It would make about 400 000 more people eligible for civil legal aid grants and about 10 per cent of households eligible for legal aid services, in line with the proportion of disadvantaged Australians.Its findings defy the Coalition's plans to slash more than $40 million from the legal assistance sector over the next four years, and comes amid growing pressure to increase funding to it.Legal aid commissions have cut their services in recent years, as funding has not kept up with growing demand for freelegal help. To read the complete article please go to Sydney Morning Herald

Porn and domestic violence: NSW Police says respect for women from young men crucial. Emma Partridge. The Sydney Morning Herald. December 7th.
NSW Police assistant commissioner Mark Murdoch said teaching young men how to respect women was a critical 'battle front' in the fight against domestic abuse. "Common sense would tell you there has to be a linkage between pornography and lack of respect in relationships between young people," Mr Murdoch said. "The fastest growing part of the problem of domestic violence is young people. We are seeing more young people put before courts than we have ever seen," he said. "The high use of pornography by young men is astounding...the highest users are [aged] between 14 and 25." Mr Murdoch, the corporate spokesman on domestic violence, says it was critical for fathers to teach their sons and communicate about behaviour that was not acceptable.To read the full article please click on Porn and domestic violence: NSW Police says respect for women from young men crucial.

Court Decisions of Interest

Full Court (Appeals Judgments)

Holden & Wolff [2014] FamCAFC 224 – 24/11/2014 - View PDF

FAMILY LAW – APPEAL – JURISDICTION – De facto relationship – Where the appellant contends that the parties were not in a de facto relationship – Where directions were made requiring the appellant to file current financial evidence in anticipation of a hearing to determine an application for urgent financial orders – Whether the court had power to make orders prior to a challenge to jurisdiction being determined – Consideration of Norton & Locke (2013) FLC 93-567 – Where the court’s powers to make the orders sought can only be granted in a de facto financial cause – Where there is no de facto financial cause until a de facto relationship is established – Where the court has jurisdiction to make directions in contemplation of a determination of the issue of jurisdiction – Where the orders related to preparation of the hearing of the financial matter – Where, until the jurisdictional facts are established, there is no power to coerce the provision of financial information – Appeal allowed.

FAMILY LAW – APPEAL – ORAL HEARING – Where order was made in chambers without an oral hearing – Where r 15.03 of the Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001 (Cth) prescribes that a Judge may make a decision without an oral hearing if the parties consent – Where consent was neither sought nor given – Appeal allowed.

FAMILY LAW – APPEAL – HEARING DE NOVO– Where the appellant’s application was for a review of a decision of a Registrar – Where r 20.03 of the Federal Circuit Court Rules provides that any review of an exercise of power by a Registrar must proceed by way of a hearing de novo – Where an order made in chambers and absent the parties consent without an oral hearing does not constitute a hearing de novo – Appeal allowed.

New First Instance Judgments

Independent Children’s Lawyer & Rowe and Anor [2014] FamCA 859 – 09/10/2014 - View PDF

FAMILY LAW – CHILDREN – urgent ex parte application by Independent Children’s Lawyer for immediate change of residence of children – application prompted by content of single expert’s report and recommendations.

GeorgiadesGeorgiades and Ors [2014] FamCA 856 – 08/09/2014 - View PDF

FAMILY LAW – PROPERTY– Final Orders – Constructive Trust – former matrimonial home constructed on land owned by husband’s parents – wife sought a declaration that the third parties hold their entire interests in the former matrimonial home upon trust for the husband and the wife – wife alleges constructive trust or equitable estoppel – wife submits house was constructed using husband’s funds – wife submits husband’s parents gifted the property to husband and wife during a dinner party – where husband maintains no such representations were made – consideration of elements of constructive trust and equitable estoppel – where wife has failed to establish representation was made – where wife was failed to establish detrimental reliance.

FAMILY LAW – PROPERTY – Final Orders – Add backs – where wife submits large cash withdrawals made by the husband should be included in the asset pool – where husband and husband’s parents have failed to adequately disclose the financial circumstances of the family business – evidence of husband and husband’s parents unreliable – monies may still be available to the husband – consideration of notional property following Stanford v Stanford (2012) 247 CLR 108 – appropriate to add back aggregate cash withdrawals.

FAMILY LAW – PROPERTY– Final orders – where wife seeks a distribution of property 55/45 in her favour – wife’s proposed orders included the former matrimonial home in asset pool – where husband seeks an equal division of property – wife has made significant homemaker contribution while husband provided financial contribution with the assistance of his parents – where husband likely to have the ongoing financial support of his family – wife is primary caregiver for their two young children – consideration of just and equitable – orders made for final adjustment of property in terms of 62.5/37.5 in favour of the wife.

Resources

Parent Training to Reduce Behavioural and Emotional Problems in Children with Developmental Disabilities. AICAFMHA: December eNewsDecember 9th

Children with developmental disabilities have an increased risk for developing behavioural and emotional problems, with parents reporting difficulties at a young age and at rates 3 - 4 times higher than for typically developing children.
Published in Journal of Mental Health for Children and Adolescents with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities:An Educational Resource, this article discusses the Stepping Stones Triple P program. Stepping Stones Triple P has been adapted for families who have a child with a disability from the evidence -based Triple P –Positive Parenting Program.For further information go to website contactAICAFMHAon phone (08) 8367 0888.

Download FREE myFamilyLaw App

myFamilyLaw is a free family law app where you can submit your family law query to a real family lawyer in your State in Australia. Also find information about divorce, property settlement, parenting arrangements, child support, family violence and your financial future. You can also use myFamilyLaw to find and connect with family law professionals, view inspiring motivational quotes and attend family activities listed in myFamilyLawEvents. myFamilyLaw is available for Android, iPhone and iPad devices.

Reports

New child safety practice framework
In August 2014, the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services announced Children's Research Center (CRC) and SP Consultancy (SPC) would work with the department, child safety professionals and community organisations to develop the new Queensland child safety practice framework. The new framework will strengthen the way we currently work with families and enhance Queensland’s child protection practice.
To ensure the new framework is tailored to meet Queensland’s needs and our diverse cultures and geography, CRC and SP Consultancy has held briefings and focus groups around the state over the past three months. More than 520 participants have had the opportunity to provide their perspectives about what good practice for Queensland should look like.Find out more >

Grants

John T Reid CharitableTrusts Enquiries open in late January2015

The Trusts distribute funding (no average amount is specified) within sixmain categories: aged & palliative care; arts & cultural heritage; community &social welfare; education & youth support; environment; health support. Theyconsidersupporting creative and innovative programs and projects, researchand development and capital works. Their application process is in twostages:Enquiries; and Submissions. Initially, they ask all applicants to complete anenquiryform. To see if you are eligible to receive an enquiry form, you will need to goonto their website and complete the Contact Us information. Enquiries areconsidered by Trustees, who will decide on whether to obtain a fullsubmission.