The Next Meeting of Fairness in Child Support (F.I.C.S.).

The Next Meeting of Fairness in Child Support (F.I.C.S.).

Fairness in Child Support (F.I.C.S.)'s meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month (except for January). Topics that are discussed, include but are not limited to child support, custody and family violence issues. 

The F.I.C.S. meetings commence at 7.30 PM and finish by approximately 9.00 PM. They are held at the Coniston Community Hall, 24 Bridge Street, Coniston. The Community Hall is located between the Coniston Railway Station and the Phoenix Theatre on Bridge Street. 

Coniston is a nearby suburb of Wollongong.

Our next meeting will be held on 5 February 2026. Subsequent meetings will then be held on 5 March 2026, 2 April 2026, 7 May 2026, 4 June 2026, 2 July 2026, 6 August 2026, 3 September 2026, 1 October 2026, 5 November 2026, 3 December 2026 and 4 February 2027 (no meeting in January). 

Please contact John Flanagan on 0415 899 574 for further details.

Everyone is welcome. There is no charge for attendance.

We have been meeting on a monthly basis since 1998. This has generally been at the Coniston Community Hall.

Regards

 

John Flanagan,

Secretary,

Fairness In Child Support.

http://fairnessinchildsupport.blogspot.com/

 Family Law Amendment Bill 2024.

The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 was passed by Parliament on 10 December 2024. This Act amends the Family Law Act 1975. It allows unproven family violence accusations to provide a greater transfer of the property (and superannuation) from one party to the other party. This is after divorce or separation.

These changes become effective on 10 June 2025.

These amendments to the Family Law Act will no doubt create further litigation. This is primarily due to the greater testing of this unproven evidence. As a result, there will be increased costs, further delays and more impact on the participants.  

The Bill had been rushed through Parliament at a breakneck speed on the last day of Parliament for 2024.  

As a result, there were only 33 submissions on the Bill. Of these 33 submissions, 29 of this number were published and supported the Bill. A further 3 submissions were marked "confidential" and were unpublished. That left our submission as being the only one published that did not support the Bill.

One can only speculate on the motives behind the 29 other published submissions that did support the Bill.

 

Family Law Amendment Act 2023.

With the passing of the Family Law Amendment Act 2023, Labor has removed the equal shared parental responsibility provision from family law. The amendments also effectively do away with shared parenting. This will lead to more disconnected relationships and unjust outcomes for the non-custodial parent. However the non-custodial parent, i.e the one without the parental responsibility, will still have the responsibility for paying child support! 

Incredibly four senior Liberal Senators (viz Askew, Cash, Henderson and Rushton) actually voted for the Bill. The remaining Liberals and Nationals abstained.

Labor has a history of anti-family efforts.

Labor brought in the Family Law Act in 1975, the child support legislation in 1988 and 1989, domestic violence changes and the removal of penalties for perjury in 2011 and now the removal of equal shared parent responsibility and more in 2023. Further anti-family legislation is happening in 2024, with regard to property and superannuation.   

We made a submission on the Family Law Amendment Bill 2023 to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee's inquiry. However the Bill was passed by Parliament. The amended legislation then became effective on 6 May 2024.