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Parenting & Family Law |
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Saturday, 13 August 2005 |
Issues of Inequality: PARENTING & FAMILY LAW
The issue: Recognising all families as equal under Federal law
Australia has a diverse range of families. Most of these families are two-parent families with a mum and dad, either married or living in a de facto relationship.
However, there are a large number of single parent families. Increasingly there are also families headed by gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex couples.
Community polls show that up to 20 per cent of Australian lesbians, gay men and bisexuals have children. The 2001 Census found children present in 11 per cent of same-sex couple households and this is widely accepted as being under-reported.
For a fair outcome for all families, Australia's laws should recognise and protect all families fairly under law.
Disappointingly, same-sex led families are not treated fairly by the Federal and all State governments.
The current laws: Same-sex parents aren't recognised
Currently the Federal Government does not recognise the existence of same-sex families. And only some states recognise same-sex families. Some states allow same-sex couples to create families using reproductive technologies or adoption, others don’t.
For example, in Victoria, lesbians must be considered 'medically infertile' to use Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) services. There is no such requirement for heterosexual couples. Western Australia, in comparison, allows access to these technologies to lesbians and single women.
Some states also recognise the non-biological parent on the birth certificate of any child conceived using ART. This gives only some children born in some states the legal recognition of their two parents.
Recently, the Howard Government has flagged its intention to ban access to ART services for lesbians and single women on a Federal level and also to ban access to adoption by same-sex couples.
All children should have the expectation of having their family relationships recognised and protected under Federal law and in all States, regardless of which state they were born in.
Same-sex families should also be able to access the Family Court for a fair and equitable division of family property and to deal with child custody issues – just like heterosexual families can when a relationship ends between two parents.
How it's unequal: Families ignored face legal, financial burdens
Federally, same-sex families are ignored and discriminated against under the law.
In areas as diverse as Medicare benefits, superannuation, tax concessions and social security, the existence of GLBTI families is generally ignored. This creates a greater financial burden on non-heterosexual families.
A couple is defined as being a married or de facto heterosexual couple only. A family is defined as an individual or a couple with a dependent child.
This means that same-sex couples are not considered a family but as two individuals, with the care of any child related to only one of the parents.
The price of inequality: Two couples trying to make a family
Steve and Marion are a de facto heterosexual couple who have been unable to conceive a child. They are considered to be infertile and have immediate access to ART, including IVF, donor insemination, surrogacy and adoption to assist them to create their family.
In comparison, Sally and Lorraine are a same-sex couple. They are unable to conceive a child without assistance. Depending on which state they live in, they may or may not have access to the same services.
Sally and Lorraine live in Victoria. Under that state's law, they have no access to ART services. They resort to self-insemination in an attempt to fall pregnant using a friend as a donor. Self-insemination is illegal in many states.
Because they aren’t using a sperm donor clinic, the donor sperm is not subject to medical screening. This puts their health and safety at risk.
And despite having an unwritten agreement, there are a number of legal and financial risks for Sally, Lorraine and their donor.
Sally and Lorraine could lose sole custody of their children if their donor wanted to claim custody in the future and their donor could be held responsible legally and financially for any children conceived using his sperm.
Finally, Federal and State governments would fail to recognise Sally and Lorraine as the parents of their own children – only recognising the birth mother that may appear on the birth certificate.
Talking points: Speak out about the unfair treatment of same-sex families
Same-sex families need equal access to ART and adoption and their family relationships need to be recognised to:
- treat all families equally, fairly and justly under Federal law
- allow same-sex couples access to safe and legal ways to create their families
- recognise all family relationships where children are conceived using ART
- provide legal protection to children born to same-sex parents
What you can do: Ask the Federal Government to recognise same-sex couples
Same-sex families and couples face discrimination in many areas due to the lack of Federal recognition of their relationships and families.
There are a number of ways you can help undo this inequality for same-sex families and couples.
You can write letters to newspapers, ask to meet your local Federal MP, and tell friends and family about the issues.
Every individual can make a difference. For more information on what you can do to change Australia's laws to treat same-sex families and couples equally, visit our website at www.coalitionforequality.org.au
More information: About the Australian Coalition for Equality
The Australian Coalition for Equality aims to achieve equality for Australia’s gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and intersex citizens and families – through campaigning, lobbying, networking and public awareness.
Our website at www.coalitionforequality.asn.au contains more fact sheets on various topics involving unequal aspects of Federal law.
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Parenting & Family Law