Family Consultants & Family Reports: What Not To Say, Etc.
In many Australian family cases involving divorce or separation, the court wants to find out more about what you're like as parents and how your child is faring. This information is gathered by a professional family consultant who writes it up as a report. Know what to expect in this process.
What is a family consultant?
A family consultant is a psychologist or social worker who specialises in family issues, conducts a child and family assessment in a separation or divorce case, and serves as an expert witness.
Some are court employees. Others are in private practice, and the court names them to do this work in specific cases. For each case to which they're appointed, they're given access to the court file, including documents filed by both parents.
Court child expert
Court child experts are family consultants who are employees of the Court Children's Service.
Regulation 7 family consultant
Regulation 7 family consultants, also known as panel child experts, are professionals in private practice. They've demonstrated their qualifications to serve as family consultants, so the court may appoint them to that role in certain cases.
What to know before you get a report
Parenting assessments used to be referred to as Section 11F and Section 62G, after the parts of the Family Law Act 1975 that established them. However, the terms S11F report and S62G report are outdated, so be sure to look up the newest information using current terms like child impact report or family report.
The family consultant isn't a mediator, but they may pay attention to your feelings and suggest some ways to lower conflict. It's generally a good idea to keep trying to settle with the other parent. Be aware that the court can order a family dispute resolution conference (aka mediation) at any time. Your FDR could be before or after your child impact report or family report.
What is a child impact report?
A child impact report tells the court about your parenting history and the issues you're arguing about in your case. The court usually orders this kind of report early in a case.
If the court decides to investigate parenting issues early in your case, it will appoint a court child expert. The expert will read up on your case, then meet with each parent separately (usually by videoconference for less than an hour) and with your child (in person). If the child is younger than school-age, a parent can attend.
There's no cost to be interviewed, you don't have to bring documents to the interview, and your lawyer can't attend.
Nonetheless, it's an important meeting. The court assigns a date, and you can't change it. Not showing up would delay your case.
The court releases the report to each parent. (You can't get it directly from the court child expert.) You should read the report because it will be used as evidence if you go to trial. Remember that you and the other parent are free to settle at any time and that many parents decide to settle after reading the report.
Once the court has the child impact report, if it wants a deeper assessment, it may ask the court child expert to write a child impact addendum report. Alternatively, the court may ask for a specific issues report that sticks to a narrow scope.
What is a family report?
A family report is similar to a child impact report, but it goes more in depth. This kind of report is common in cases that look like they're heading to trial.
The court's goal with a family report is to find out which parenting arrangements would be in your child's best interests. Both parents and your child are interviewed, and your lawyers can't attend. These interviews may take up most of the day. After everyone is interviewed, it takes a few weeks to receive the report.
The researcher could be a court child expert (a court employee) or a Regulation 7 family consultant (in private practice but appointed by the court).
If the court demands this report and you can't afford it, you won't have to pay anything. But if it's happening at the parents' initiative, you'll have to hire a single expert witness to write the family report. It may cost up to $5,000. The court will tell parents how they must split the cost.
Pay attention to the overall requirements of the FCFCOA or FCWA court process.
What not to say to a family report writer
Avoid unnecessary badmouthing of the other parent. Negativity doesn't make you look good. The court knows that children benefit when parents cooperate, so the court wants to see evidence that you're trying (where possible and appropriate) to open doors with the other parent.
Don't coach your child to say anything specific. You can't use your child to convey your position to the family report writer.
The expert can share anything you say with the judge.
Lying to family report writer
Both parents must tell the truth.
The family report writer works for the court, and lying to the court has bad consequences. If you lose credibility with the judge, you could lose your parenting case. Also, lying to family court is perjury, which can result in prison time.
Remember that each parent is likely to find out what the other said since it can all end up in the report.
If you believe there's a factual error or omission in the report, you have 21 days to formally question it. Otherwise, the report becomes a piece of evidence as-is, and the judge tends to give heavy weight to it.
Family report questions to expect
The family report writer can ask you about many things, including:
- Your ability to parent
- Your relationships with your co-parent and family members
- Your proposed parenting arrangements
- Your cultural beliefs related to parenting
- Your moods
- Your drinking habits
Don't worry so much about what the interviewer will ask your child since you aren't allowed to coach them how to answer. Instead, simply inform your child about the court process in an age-appropriate way. The courts have information to help children understand and about the emotional impact of court proceedings on kids.
If you get a bad family report
Remember that Australia wants a good outcome for your child. The court isn't thinking in terms of punishing or rewarding either parent but rather is trying to support your child's well-being. The report may be disappointing for you, and you may feel frustrated or even ashamed, but it's likely solid information that the judge can use to make a decision.
If the report contains information that isn't factually accurate, you can tell the court exactly what you disagree with.
Keep in mind that the judge doesn't have to follow the court child expert's recommendations. The judge considers the child impact report along with other evidence. If you think the report is missing something important, question it as soon as possible and prepare to bring your evidence to court.
Staying organised throughout court proceedings
If your case feels like it's getting complex, you need to stay organised.
You may want to present the judge with a parenting journal, messages exchanged with the other parent, a tally of parenting expenses, and more.
The Custody X Change app lets you create and manage all of this in one place. It helps you prepare for every step of your case.
Perhaps most importantly, Custody X Change helps you create parenting schedules and parenting plans. If you agree on these with your co-parent, you can forgo court entirely.
Take advantage of custody technology to get what's best for your child.