Divorce laws and family court systems look different across the globe, and in this episode of Children First Family Law, Krista explores Australia’s approach with Justice Tom Altobelli. A respected family law judge from Sydney, Justice Altobelli brings decades of experience as a professor, author, and judicial leader in shaping better family outcomes. His career spans academia and the bench, focusing on how the law can better serve children during family breakdowns. Honored with membership in the Order of Australia for his contributions to legal education and family law reform, he brings a child-centered perspective to the courtroom.
Krista and Justice Altobelli discuss key differences between Australian and American family courts, including Australia’s structured use of dispute resolution and its efforts to make the court process less combative. Justice Altobelli explains how Child Impact Reports and Independent Children’s Lawyers help ensure children’s needs are understood without requiring them to appear in court. He also shares how Australia triages cases based on the level of conflict and family dynamics, a method designed to avoid dragging families through unnecessary litigation.
Krista and Justice Altobelli expound more upon:
- Australia has a unified national family court system, while in the U.S., family law is state-based and often fragmented by county, leading to uneven practices.
- Australia implemented special evidence rules for children’s cases to reduce adversarial conflict. These relaxed rules allow judges to consider more relevant information quickly and fairly.
- Since 2006, Australia has prioritized educating and empowering parents to resolve disputes before heading to court, with government-supported services like Family Relationship Centers offering counseling and mediation.
- Independent Children’s Lawyers (ICLs) are appointed by court order in complex or high-conflict cases to represent the child’s best interests, ensuring their voice is part of the process.
- U.S. courts emphasize individual rights and often have inconsistent resources, making systemic reform difficult to scale nationally.
- Australia uses a triage system that gathers early case data and flags urgent matters, allowing courts to intervene sooner in high-risk family situations like domestic violence.
- Despite differences, many countries face the same challenges, like managing coercive control or parental resistance, and increasingly share innovations and strategies.
- Justice Altobelli stresses the lasting psychological harm children suffer when caught in their parents’ conflicts and believes even small changes in parental behavior post-divorce can positively shift a child’s life trajectory.
Justice Altobelli offers an international perspective on family courts, which are alike in many ways, no matter where you may be in the world.
If you want to learn more about The Children First Family Law Podcast, check out www.childrenfirstfamilylaw.com/family-law-across-continents-a-global-peek-at-australia-the-us-japan-italy-germany-others-with-justice-altobelli.