Family Court bottlenecks must be solved to ease pressure on families

CHRISTMAS trees sparkle, carols play their familiar tunes and children tear wrappings from gifts. This is the image so often seen in Christmas movies, on cards and, if we are very lucky, in our own lounge rooms.

Sadly, for too many families this is far from reality.

Christmas can be the most stressful time of the year for families fractured through family breakdown. For the many families who have separated in the prior 12 months, this will be their first Christmas apart.

It will be the first time they have to negotiate who will wake up with the children on Christmas morning. Such arrangements add a whole new dimension to the stresses of Christmas.

When family violence lies just below the surface, the extra stress of the “festive” season can move some towards breaking point. According to data collated by the Queensland Police Service, breaches of domestic violence orders peak in December each year, with January coming a close second.

Some families manage to make arrangements after separation and don’t involve the Family Court system…

Read More: Courier Mail

By Graham Perrett