‘Talk to Us, Not About Us’: Children's Understandings and Experiences of Participation in Australian Family Law

Abstract

A hive of recent policy and legislative activity in Australian family law has emphasized the importance of children's right to participate in decision-making following parental separation. Yet a powerful tension persists between supporting children's right to participation and protecting children from parental conflict. While children have called for ‘a bigger voice, more of the time’ in family law decision-making processes, research is yet to examine what ‘participation’ means, looks like and feels like, for children in this context. This article presents the findings of interviews with 41 children, aged 10 to 19, about their experiences of participation in decision-making about their lives after their parents' separation. It explores children's understandings of participation as a concept and the value they ascribe to their right to express their views and be heard. It also highlights supportive factors shaping, and barriers impeding, the fulfilment of this right in Australian family law. The article suggests how an understanding of the notion of participation that is informed by the views, needs and experiences of children themselves can shape Australian family law, policy and practice.