Family Law as Social Policy: Taking Family Problems Upstream

Abstract Family law legislation has often been a focal point for reforms which are aimed as much at changing the societal attitudes and behaviours of family members as affecting their statutory entitlements or how the courts approach family disputes. There has been a tension in the approach of politicians between, on the one hand, using family law to influence how family members think and behave in relation to one another, and on the other hand, failing to engage with policy solutions that might more effectively achieve those aims. This article situates family law as a tool of social policy, but one which is often not suited to the policy problems to which they are applied. Family law, which generally responds to some form of family crisis, comes too late to have the desired effect. The problem needs to be taken ‘upstream’, considering the policy factors that influence the way in which families operate before any crisis occurs. This article repositions these upstream policy issues as the central considerations for those interested in effecting societal change to family life.