Living in Harmony partnership Families and the law in Australia
The Family Court of Australia implements many initiatives that improve access to court services. One of these initiatives, aimed at improving services for culturally and linguistically diverse clients, is the Living in Harmony partnership. The Living in Harmony partnership was the first of its kind for any court in Australia and has attracted national and international interest.
The partnership is a joint project of the Family Court of Australia and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). It began in 2004 when DIAC provided funding for the initiative Families and the law in Australia: The Family Court working together with new and emerging communities.
The partnership developed community-driven education strategies around the Australian legal system, particularly family law. It aimed to:
Objectives of the partnership
The partnership had nine objectives:
1. Identify and respond to perceptions of lack of trust and disharmony that may impact on the delivery of Court services to new and emerging communities.
2. Improve new and emerging communities’ awareness and understanding of family law, of how the Family Court operates and of the capabilities of the Court.
3. Improve awareness and understanding in communities and the Court so that the Court demonstrates understanding and responds to the cultural, religious, ethnic and social arrangements of communities
4. Build relationships between the communities and the Court.
5. Incorporate information about differences of ethnicity, culture, religion and social behaviours that may affect the Court’s processes into the Court’s education and training programs.
6. Promote appropriate referrals between multicultural and ethno-specific services and the Court.
7. Strengthen the viability of partnerships between the communities, the Court and DIAC.
8. Further empower community leadership in new and emerging communities.
9. Help new and emerging communities to see that other communities in Australia also have concerns about their children and families.
About the partnership
The Living in Harmony partnership was developed with new and emerging communities from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia and Sudan. Four pilot community education strategies were developed, implemented and evaluated.
Melbourne: The Horn of Africa Bilingual Educators Program (in partnership with the African Welfare Council of Victoria and the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria)
Parramatta: Multi-agency approach working with community facilitators (in partnership with Baulkham Hills Holroyd Parramatta Migrant Resource Centre)
Launceston: Playback theatre (storytelling) (in partnership with Launceston Migrant Resource Centre)
Adelaide: An awareness strategy on family law and the Court (in partnership with the Migrant Resource Centre
Benefits of the partnership
The Family Court’s decision to undertake this partnership was motivated by a commitment to provide culturally responsive and appropriate services. The Court saw new possibilities to engage communities in the law and to have a positive impact on new and emerging communities.
Throughout the partnership, the Court learnt how communities perceive the Court, how to work for mutual benefit and how open these communities are to learning more of Australian law generally, as part of their desire to settle into Australian life. The evaluation of the partnership revealed that there had been substantial gains for the Family Court and partner agencies. Most of all there had been gains for the communities themselves.
At the conclusion of the partnership, the Court incorporated the findings into strategies for use in the day-to-day business of the Court. Also included in this stage was promotion of the model to other organisations.
The initiative has shown what is possible and highlights the benefits gained when organisations have the resources to work with communities on truly innovative, community-based strategies.
Further information
Families and the law in Australia: The Family Court working together with new and emerging communities (2008)