Australian Law Reform Commission review head Helen Rhoades quits due to ill health

The head of the government’s sweeping review of the family law system has been forced to quit her role due to ill health.

Professor Helen Rhoades was appointed as ALRC Commissioner from 1 October 2017. Picture: Supplied

The head of the government’s sweeping review of the family law system has been forced to quit her role due to ill health.

Respected family law academic Helen Rhoades, from the University of Melbourne, had been charged with overseeing the Australian Law Reform Commission review.

The inquiry, ordered by former Attorney-General George Brandis, is the first comprehensive review of the family law system since the Family Law Act was introduced in 1976.

The ALRC was already facing a difficult task of completing the review by March 31.

The ALRC tonight confirmed Professor Rhoades had tendered her resignation, effective at midnight tonight, due to ill health and would be undergoing surgery within the next two weeks.

ALRC president Sarah Derrington will take over the review.

In a statement, it said: “The ALRC thanks Professor Rhoades for her outstanding contribution in leading the review and wishes her a speedy recovery.”

Attorney-General Christian Porter said he had been formally advised today by Professor Rhoades that she had tendered her resignation.

“Professor Rhoades has played a critical role in leading the ALRC’s comprehensive review of the family law system, having been appointed in October 2017 specifically to lead the review,” Mr Porter said.

“I thank Professor Rhoades for her significant work on the review to date.”

He said the review was “well-advanced”. A discussion paper was recently released canvassing options for reform.

“Given Professor Rhoades’ decision today to stand down from the ALRC for personal reasons, the government will consider future arrangements to ensure that the review continues to its final report with minimal disruption,” he said.

“I expect to be in a position to make announcements about arrangements in the near future.”

The review comes at a time when the family law system is facing crippling delays and a backlog of about 20,000 cases.

The wait to reach a trial in the Family Court has blown out to 19 months, up from 11.5 months five years ago, and 17 months ­earlier this year, while in the Federal Circuit Court it is 12 months (down from 15 months earlier this year).

It is understood there had been strong disagreement among the ALRC commissioners over some of the proposals included in the review — and that robust debate is expected to continue with Professor Derrington at its helm.

A retired Family Court judge, a former head of the Law Council’s family law section and the chair of Relationships Australia are working as part-time commissioners on the review.

Some of the proposals included in the discussion paper have been warmly welcomed, including better triaging of cases as they come into court. But other suggestions have been questioned by lawyers.

This includes setting up “Families Hubs” for separating couples to access a range of services, including dispute resolution, counselling and legal advice, and other ser­vices such as health, gambling help and financial counselling, which could be costly.

It has also recommended simplifying shared parenting laws and changing the paramount consideration for judges to the “safety and best interests” of children, rather than just their “best interests”, which would be controversial.

Other recommendations include compulsory mediation before property litigation can be commenced (which currently applies only to parenting disputes), a new oversight body for the family law profession and a new service to help parents manage their court-ordered parenting arrangements to reduce the need for families to go back to court for further orders.