Family law litigants report higher combined risks than thought

New data shows families are often struggling with combinations of violence, drug abuse and mental ill-health when they reach court.

The disintegration of a marriage is attended by more than one risk factor in many cases.

Many risk factors including ­violence, abuse, substance abuse and mental ill-health have been reported in about 50 per cent of family law allegations monitored in a Federal Circuit and Family Court program set up to probe the gravity of such cases.

The only other similar data on the multiplicity of risks from 2015 research by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, put the figure at 38 per cent.

National data from the court had previously identified that a major risk factor was alleged in about 80 per cent of cases.

The Lighthouse Project, which has been running in Adelaide, Brisbane and Parramatta for the past year, provides people who bring cases to the court with a confidential risk questionnaire, followed by an interview if ­required, after which they can be referred to support services.

Chief Justice Will Alstergren said the evidence of “the ­increased prevalence of risk in family law cases”, made it critical that the project be extended nationally.

In more than 1000 interviews with litigants, 64 per cent were deemed in the high-risk category at their initial screening. Cases identified as high risk are referred to the court’s specialist Evatt List.

Supporting Chief Justice ­Alstergren’s call for the program to be rolled out nationally, Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia chief executive officer Hayley Foster said there was now “undeniable evidence that the majority of family law matters involve high-risk family ­violence and abuse”.

Women’s Legal Service NSW principal solicitor Philippa Davis said the data confirmed the concerns women’s legal services had been raising for many years.