Evidence of a different nature: the child-responsive and less adversarial initiatives of the family court of Australia

This article charts the constellation of vision and research that underpin a new era in the Family Court of Australia,focusing on the development and outcomes of two programs that have attempted to meaningfully reinforce thecentrality of children’s rights and needs in family court proceedings. The Less Adversarial Trial and its frontendChild Responsive Program (CRP) both aim to minimise the potentially negative effects on parents of alitigation process by application of a more intensive case management model adopted with the intention of alteringthe parents’ experience of the journey. Key features of this approach include the adoption of inquisitorialtechniques, which include direct consultation with children through the CRP, modified application of the rulesof evidence, and strong judicial management rather than being party driven. Findings from two studies into thepilot Children’s Cases Program (now the Less Adversarial Trial) and the CRP are discussed. Significantly, evidenceis outlined around the capacity of the new processes to impact on both the co-parenting and parent–child relationshipsand to influence short-term adjustment of complex families in high-conflict dispute. In encouraging amore active focus on children’s needs and views and by facilitating a stronger voice for children in proceedingsthat affect them, both initiatives advance Australia’s commitments under the United Nations Convention on theRights of the Child