What Shared Parental Responsibility Means For Divorced Parents And Their Children
There is a core principle within Australian family law which basically means that whenever a couple gets divorced or they separate, the parental responsibility for any children they may have is shared equally. A family lawyer will explain to you that even if the child’s two parents are not on speaking terms, and one regards the other as an unfit parent, the Family Court will order joint parental responsibility in almost all cases.
We say almost all cases because although shared parental responsibility is usually the default position, there are some circumstances in which instead of shared, sole parental responsibility will be ordered, although it may only be temporarily. The reasons for this are very narrow and only apply in cases where one of the parents is deemed unfit to have the responsibility.
This will be where a parent is known to be violent or abusive towards their child, or the other parent. Another example is when one parent is absent and there is no expectation of being able to contact them, and even if possible, they have shown that they have no interest whatsoever in the welfare of their child.
Other than these types of examples, which thankfully are rare, the presumption will be that shared parental responsibility will exist. This places a legal obligation on each of the child’s parents that any decisions they make will be in the best interests of that child. In addition, they will be expected to discuss and agree upon any of the major decisions that will impact the child and their upbringing.