Parentage Laws under the Family Law Act

My submission starts by highlighting some of the problems with the current legislative framework. I then identify potential approaches to law reform. My three main arguments, which are developed throughout my submission, are as follows: 1. There should be consistency in who is regarded as a child’s parent; ideally consistency between state, territory and Commonwealth laws but at least consistency for the purposes of all Commonwealth law. 2. A biological test of parentage is problematic where a child has been conceived via Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART). 3. Because of the great diversity of intended family forms created via ART, the intention of participants at the time of conception should be relevant in determining parentage questions in these circumstances. (i) Whether the provisions of Part VII of the FLA that deal with the parentage of children lead to outcomes that are appropriate, non-discriminatory and consistent for children. I believe that the answer to the first part of the Attorney-General’s reference is emphatically “no”: that, for some children, the current provisions in Part VII of the FLA lead to outcomes that are inappropriate, discriminatory or inconsistent.