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Contact details
Purpose
Description
Definition of family and domestic violence
Relationship to Defining the data challenge for family, domestic and sexual violence (cat. no. 4529.0)
Family and domestic violence related content (data items collected)
Collection methodology
Scope / Target population
Coverage
Data availability / Dissemination
Publications
Collection history
Other directory data sources held by this agency
SHARED CARE PARENTING ARRANGEMENTS SINCE THE 2006 FAMILY LAW REFORMS: REPORT TO THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT ATTORNEY-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT
DASHBOARD METADATA
| Collection type |  | Geographic coverage | | Frequency | | Data availability |
|
| |
| |
| |
- Detailed publication/report publicly available
- Customised data - free upon request 1
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[1] May be subject to release conditions
DETAILED METADATA
Contact details:
PURPOSE:
These surveys formed part of the research undertaken to inform the Australian Government’s understanding of the implications of the changes to the 2006 Family Law Reforms on Shared Care Parenting, and the circumstances under which shared care arrangements work, and do not work, in the best interests of the child.
Family and domestic violence is not the focus of this research; however some information was collected about the impacts of violence and safety concerns on care arrangements. |
DESCRIPTION:
| The Report to the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department is based on analysis of a range of both primary and secondary data sources, of which these surveys are part. |
DEFINITION OF FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:
No formal definition of family and domestic violence is used. Respondents’ own understandings and experiences of family and domestic violence influenced the data.
Aspects of family and domestic violence captured in the data are:
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RELATIONSHIP TO DEFINING THE DATA CHALLENGE FOR FAMILY, DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE (cat. no. 4529.0)
The summary table below is designed to indicate the amount of information available for each of the six elements outlined in
Defining the Data Challenge for Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence, 2013 (cat. no. 4529.0).This is a subjective assessment made by the ABS about the data collected and is not an indication of data quality.
FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RELATED CONTENT (data items collected)
The following tables provide a detailed analysis of the availability of specified data elements in the data source. The data items have been grouped into four counting units:
1. Context;
2. Person;
3. Incident/Event; and
4. Transaction.
Tables are absent from the entry in cases where the data source contains no data items which relate to the particular counting unit/s.
Context
[1] Respondent may or may not have experienced family and domestic violence. Person
[1] Respondent may or may not have experienced family and domestic violence. Incident/event
Transaction
COLLECTION METHODOLOGY
Parent survey
This comprised a postal survey of parents concerning their experience of parenting arrangements, with a particular focus on shared care.
1500 surveys sent via solicitors to parents who used the services of a private family law solicitor or who used legal aid or a family support service. A sample of solicitor’s offices were selected from a National database of family law solicitors.
10,000 surveys sent via the Child Support Agency, were sent to a stratified random sample of registered clients and, as far as possible, their matched ex-partners in three groups as follows:
- Those who were in actively involved in shared care from July 1 2007 to June 30 2008 (n=5000)
- Those who used to be in shared before July 1 2007 (n=2500)
- Those not in shared care at the time of selection for the survey (n=2500).
The survey yielded a response rate of 10.5%, with 1047 completed responses. Further interviews were conducted with 40 parent respondents and 4 children.
Survey of children and young people
An online survey for children and young people was hosted by a number of different websites whose target audience is children and young people (e.g. Kids Helpline, the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre, and the Commissions for Children and Young People in New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania). There were 140 respondents to this survey. |
SCOPE/TARGET POPULATION
| Parents and children in shared care or other post-separation arrangements pre and post implementation of the 2006 Family Law Reforms. |
COVERAGE
Parent survey
The list used to select Solicitor’s offices to distribute surveys to parents excluded Tasmanian offices.
Survey of children and young people
The sample is not necessarily representative of children and young people in shared care or in other post-separation arrangements as the websites used to distribute surveys are used by children who have concerns about their circumstances though not necessarily related to shared care or post-parental separation issues. Responses may be a bellwether for concerns about such arrangements when they are not working well and where there are issues about the quality of the relationship between children and their parents, and between the parents. |
DATA AVAILABILITY / DISSEMINATION
| Main publication is available free of charge from the Attorney General's Department website. Requests for further access to data can be made to the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department. |
PUBLICATIONS
Shared care parenting arrangements since the 2006 family law reforms–report
COLLECTION HISTORY
Collection commenced: 2009
Break in series: n/a
Other details: n/a
OTHER DIRECTORY DATA SOURCES HELD BY THIS AGENCY
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (IRIS)
Community Legal Services Information System (CLSIS)
Family violence and family law in Australia; the experiences and views of children and adults from families who separated post–1995 and post–2006
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