Self-represented parties will be able to apply to have their disputes resolved through a Parenting Management Hearing. These will offer parents binding decisions about parenting arrangements quickly, fairly, informally and at no cost.

Counselling and family violence services will also be offered to families, to ensure that parenting matters are not just considered from a legal perspective. Subject to the passage of the legislation, the pilot will commence in Parramatta in mid-2018 and at another site later that year.

The Family Law Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2017 will reduce the need for vulnerable families to navigate multiple courts to address their legal needs. It will also improve the family law system’s ability to protect victims of family violence and hold perpetrators accountable. 

This Bill strengthens the ability of state and territory courts to handle family law matters when those families are already before them for related family violence or child protection matters.

Those families can then avoid further delays, expense, trauma and risks of violence that can increase when parties have to navigate both state and federal courts. 

The Bill will also give police the authority to charge offenders for breaching a personal protection injunction, instead of victims of family violence having to personally bring a civil application in the family court.

The national accounts is another encouraging set of numbers, reinforcing an economic strategy that is based on driving growth through increased investment to secure the better days ahead.

This has been the heart of the Nationals-Liberal Government’s growth strategy to support jobs, by driving investment that in the September quarter created more than 100,000 jobs. That’s more than 1,000 jobs every day.

So far this year Australia has experienced the strongest jobs growth in forty years, with four out of five jobs being full time. The solid 0.6 per cent growth outcome in the September quarter national accounts has accelerated growth from 1.9 per cent to 2.8 per cent, through the year.

This is above the OECD average and puts Australia back up towards the top of the pack of major advanced economies.

Looking specifically at investment, new private business investment is now growing at the strongest rate since the peak of the mining investment boom in 2012, expanding by 2.0 per cent in the quarter and 7.5 per cent through the year, to eclipse the 20 year average.

We have now seen four consecutive quarters of investment growth, following 12 consecutive quarters of decline.

Investment in new machinery and equipment has lifted from a through-the-year decline of around 11 per cent two years ago, to a positive growth rate of just shy of three per cent.

The Coalition Government introduced landmark legislation last week to prevent the sharing of intimate images online without consent. This legislation builds on the Government’s commitment to ensuring women are safe at home, safe on the streets and safe online.

Too often victims do not pursue criminal charges against perpetrators because of lengthy and expensive court processes.

The Enhancing Online Safety (Non-consensual Sharing of Intimate Images) Bill 2017 will introduce a federal civil penalty regime targeted at perpetrators and content hosts who share intimate images without consent. For more information visit www.esafety.gov.au.