\ One of the aims of Australia’s family laws is to respond to the ever changing values of society. The success of this is valued and determined by whether any significant action has been taken, and what the effects of such actions are in keeping up with society’s expectations. The effectiveness of family law on changing values cannot be determined when regarded as a whole. However, when broken down to be examined, such as in the topic of best interest of the child in separation cases and the issue of surrogacy, it can be seen that Australia’s family laws are not effective in levelling with the community’s changing values.
The family laws’ efficacy in the topic of the best interest of the child during separation situations is inadequate for …show more content…
In any arrangement, there are no enforceable laws on the agreement, hence prompting multiple issues regarding the parentage of the child. When the child is born, the birth mother and father, according to the Status of the Children Act 1996, are the legal parents. It is when the intended parents apply for a parenting order and accepted by the birth mother that the child’s parentage is transferred- this situation is set out in the case of Re Michael …show more content…
However, in remaining jurisdictions, couples are allowed to in commercial agreements and often turn to an overseas arrangement. It is here where Australian law becomes less regulated. Due to surrogacy agreements not being enforceable, it is easy for disputes to arise and family lived be disrupted- birth mothers can refuse to hand over the baby and Australian family laws cannot force her otherwise; a situation highlighting the necessity for law reform, as reported by ABC News’ Madeleine Morris on the ‘legal tug of wars’. As well as this, in an international agreement, it is extremely difficult in Australian law to allow parentage orders from overseas and citizenship. This is highlighted by Dennis v Pradchapet [2011] where only one parentage order was successful out of two separate international surrogacy
The family laws’ efficacy in the topic of the best interest of the child during separation situations is inadequate for …show more content…
In any arrangement, there are no enforceable laws on the agreement, hence prompting multiple issues regarding the parentage of the child. When the child is born, the birth mother and father, according to the Status of the Children Act 1996, are the legal parents. It is when the intended parents apply for a parenting order and accepted by the birth mother that the child’s parentage is transferred- this situation is set out in the case of Re Michael …show more content…
However, in remaining jurisdictions, couples are allowed to in commercial agreements and often turn to an overseas arrangement. It is here where Australian law becomes less regulated. Due to surrogacy agreements not being enforceable, it is easy for disputes to arise and family lived be disrupted- birth mothers can refuse to hand over the baby and Australian family laws cannot force her otherwise; a situation highlighting the necessity for law reform, as reported by ABC News’ Madeleine Morris on the ‘legal tug of wars’. As well as this, in an international agreement, it is extremely difficult in Australian law to allow parentage orders from overseas and citizenship. This is highlighted by Dennis v Pradchapet [2011] where only one parentage order was successful out of two separate international surrogacy