“Courts are not … therapeutic agencies”: What role for therapeutic jurisprudence in Australian family law parenting disputes involving family violence?
Abstract
Abstract This article examines the role of therapeutic jurisprudence in Australian post‐separation parenting disputes involving family violence. A recent appellate court decision has asserted that “courts are not, and cannot operate like, therapeutic agencies”. We engage with the therapeutic origins of the Family Court of Australia, the family courts' role in the “web of accountability” for family violence, the potential for judicial officers to motivate behavioral change in litigants, and therapeutic approaches to family law in various jurisdictions, to suggest how Australia's family courts may embrace therapeutic jurisprudence to promote the accountability of people who use violence, and the safety of those who experience it.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Intimate Partner and Family Violence
Family and Matrimonial Law
Legal and Social Justice Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Family Court Review
- Volume
- 64
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 83–99
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Language
- EN