Relocation disputes are widely regarded internationally as one of the most difficult and controversial issues in family law. This article outlines the legal context governing relocation disputes in New Zealand and briefly reviews the research literature on the impact of parental separation and relocation. The key findings are then set out from a three-year study (2007 to 2009) with 100 New Zealand families where one parent had sought to relocate with their child(ren), either within New Zealand or internationally. Interviews were conducted with 114 parents and 44 children and young people from these families about their experiences. The article concludes by traversing the efforts being made in the international legal policy context to adopt a more consistent approach to relocation disputes in common law jurisdictions.

This article considers the links between international child abduction and relocation. It draws on research evidence and anecdotal evidence to explore the conventional wisdom that a restrictive relocation jurisdiction will result in increased abductions by the parent wishing to relocate, usually the mother, while a liberal relocation jurisdiction will result in increased abductions by the prospective left-behind parent, usually the father. The article concludes by considering whether specialist mediation can help to prevent what are truly relocation disputes from becoming abductions.

This paper will focus on the practice of social work within the context of an international Hague Convention concerning children: the 1980 Hague Convention on The Civil Aspects of International Parental Child Abduction. After describing the programmes of International Social Service (ISS) Australia, this organisation's existing approaches to working with families affected by international parental child abduction will be specifically discussed as an example of practice within the context of that Convention. The paper highlights the benefits of social work practice and mediation-based services for families. Dilemmas of practice within a legal framework will then be considered, with particular reference to the trap of uncritical implementation of social work practice as a social control agent of the judicial system. Potential social work contributions in the area of analysis and critique through the perspectives offered by gendered analysis, human rights and children's rights, and the tradition of advocacy as an integral sphere of practice will be discussed, with the paper arguing that for social work to best meet the needs of children affected by this legislation, it must perform its vital functions of social and political critique, and individual and systemic advocacy.

The globalisation of the economy and the increasing ease of travel have led to the internationalisation of families. Bi-national couples and families relocating from one country to another are now commonplace. The international element of family life often leads to complex legal situations – such as international parental abduction – when these families are facing a crisis. However, the scope of legal issues arising from the internationalisation of families and affecting children is wider than the abduction problem and can relate to relocation, access rights, urgent protection measures or transborder placement, to name only a few. This paper aims to present the 1996 Hague Convention on the International Protection of Children which establishes a comprehensive framework ensuring the effectiveness of the rights of children involved in a crossborder situation.

This article examines post-secondary education responses to intimate partner violence and forced marriage. Harmful practices that disproportionately affect women and girls, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and forced marriage, are particularly prevalent for women aged 16 to 25. This is also the age bracket during which attendance at college or university peaks. Post-secondary education therefore constitutes a potentially significant institutional context for intervention. To what extent universities are prepared or willing to take on this responsibility is a topic that is receiving increasing international attention. This article reports on recent findings from the UK and discusses them in an international and cultural framework. Cultural stereotyping in relation to gendered violence has rightly been criticised. However, as this article will argue, there are aspects of culture that are often glossed over in research and policy, yet are important for an understanding of how people and institutions think about and react to gendered abuse. The case of university responses to intimate partner violence and forced marriage illuminates these issues.

Over the past seven years, in my role with Anglicare WA, I have had the privilege of listening to many separated parents share their concerns about their children's safety when spending time with the other parent who has been violent towards them. These concerns include, but are not limited to, trying to prove to the court that their children have been victims of family violence and that this risk will continue and possibly escalate during contact visits. The protective parent often reports that the children continue to be sent on contact visits even when the children experience a significant degree of trauma over their time in the care of the offending parent. In some cases the offending parent has a new partner who is also a victim of family violence and the children are exposed to this violence while on contact visits. Despite disclosures from the children, and efforts to keep them safe by reporting to the statutory agencies, I find that many of these children continue to be sent on contact visits. I am frequently told by the protective parent that when they are in court they are informed that a) there is insufficient evidence to warrant the court preventing the child from spending time with the other (violent) parent; and b) the father has the right to a meaningful relationship with his child and therefore contact will be ordered. It seems that priority is given to the parent's right to spend time with the child at the expense of the child's need, and right, to be safe.

Family separation is a unique and dynamic process for each family. Family violence is a serious problem affecting societies across the world. It is a common driver for family dissolution. Children exposed to family violence face a distinctive predicament in their own adjustment, recovery and future relationships with their parents. Family dispute resolution is an increasing early intervention approach for separated families in conflict over parenting. Family dispute resolution practitioners are the gatekeepers for facilitating or preventing exploration of information about the complex relational dynamics, including risk and protective factors in each individual case. To avoid gambling with the child's future, it is crucial to centralise the needs of each individual child. An intervention approach to potentially enhance outcomes for the child, and therefore longer term outcomes for community and society, is child inclusive practice. However, this is not without complexity and challenges in cases of family violence.

In 2006, legislative changes were made to the Australian Family Law Act 1975. These changes included a revision of the matters that must be considered when determining children's best interests following parental separation, at Section 60CC. This section lists two ‘primary considerations’, which relate to the child's having a ‘meaningful relationship’ with both parents and ensuring that children are safe in their interactions with their parents and others in their lives. The first of the ‘Additional considerations’ under Section 60CC concerns ‘any views expressed by the child and any factors (such as the child's maturity or level of understanding) that the court thinks are relevant to the weight it should give to the child's views’. This consideration differs from that in the pre-2006 Act, which referred to a child's ‘wishes’ rather than her/his ‘views’. There is evidence, however, that those working in the family law system may not yet have made the shift towards understanding what these changes may entail.

In this article I explore the differences between the concepts of ‘wishes’ and ‘views’ as they relate to children in family law matters. I argue that these concepts are qualitatively different, and that children's ‘views’ are far more encompassing than their ‘wishes’. Moving to a far broader understanding of children and their ability to understand issues that directly affect their lives may lead to the development of more comprehensive decisions about their futures.

This article reports on a study of parents’ and children's responses to the service they received at two Family Relationship Centres (FRCs) in Perth, Western Australia. Family members who had attended either the Mandurah or Joondalup FRCs sponsored by AnglicareWA between 2010 and 2012 were invited to complete a survey that asked them for their views on the services they had received. A total of 74 parents, representing 139 children, completed the survey. Findings indicated significant satisfaction with the two-hour group session that introduces the work of the FRCs, with parents reporting they could remember the main messages from the session. A surprising finding, and one that has not been reported elsewhere, is that parents expressed an unwillingness to invite their own children to participate in the work of the Centres, although the majority of the respondents agreed in principle that children should take part. The implications of this finding are briefly discussed.