When a family separates in Western Australia, four separate systems can act on it at once, and almost nothing is published about how any of them performs. A Western Australian Royal Commission under the state’s own 1968 Act — and while it works: a 21-day limit on ex parte orders, child support reassessed in 30 days when income drops, no passport cancellation on a payment plan, and legal aid on need, not gender.
When a family separates in Western Australia, four separate systems can act on it at once: restraining orders in the Magistrates Court, children's matters in the Family Court of Western Australia, property and child support on a third track, and child protection on a fourth. Each has its own court, its own law and its own timetable, and none of them accounts for the others. Child protection runs on statutory deadlines of two and three working days. The restraining order track has none — and a temporary order made without the accused present becomes a two-year order automatically if not objected to within 21 days. WA recorded more than 42,000 family and domestic violence offences in 2024–25 — about 115 a day — so the violence these systems exist for is real. Almost nothing is published about how any of the four performs. Western Australia is the only state that kept its own family-law jurisdiction, which means a state parliament can fix this one.
A Family Violence Restraining Order can be obtained on the basis of one party's account, without the other party being present or heard. The order is made. Family court proceedings that follow can take 12–24 months, at upwards of $100,000 a party. During that time a parent can be removed from a child's life entirely — and the proportion of orders made without the accused present, the time to a hearing, and whether contact was ever restored are reported nowhere. There are zero steps at which the accused is asked for their side before an interim order is made. The current system allows allegation to function as finding.
When a parent's income drops — through job loss, illness, or career change — the Child Support Agency continues to assess them at the higher income. Debt accumulates. The system pursues that debt with passport cancellation, licence suspension, and credit destruction — making it harder for the parent to earn the money to pay, which compounds the debt. It is a structural failure dressed as enforcement.
A Western Australian Royal Commission into family law, family violence restraining orders, child support and child protection — reporting within 18 months, with a first report at nine. The power already exists: under the Royal Commissions Act 1968 (WA) the Governor issues letters patent on the advice of Executive Council, with no Commonwealth agreement required, and in March 2026 that Act was used jointly with matching Commonwealth letters patent — the model that lets one commission examine all four tracks, three state and one federal, which no previous inquiry could do. Witnesses are protected in the Act itself: a witness cannot be sued for their evidence and cannot be sacked for giving it. The commission examines whether the adversarial model serves children, whether ex parte orders are used tactically, why proceedings cost $100,000+ a party, and how each of the four systems actually performs — the numbers no review to date has had the power to obtain. Sovereign Australia implements the recommendations within 12 months of the final report.
No ex parte parenting order removing a parent from a child's life may stand more than 21 days without both parties being heard. The current system allows removal on one account — without hearing, without evidence tested, with no timeline for resolution. That ends immediately, pending the Royal Commission's full recommendations.
Child support reassessment applications processed within 30 days where income has dropped more than 15%. Under the current system a parent waits months while debt accumulates at the old rate. 30 days is the maximum. The debt does not compound while the system delays.
Passport cancellation and licence suspension for child support debt are suspended where the debtor is on a payment plan and adhering to it. These tools, applied to a parent who is demonstrably trying to pay, prevent earning and destroy the very capacity to pay they are supposed to enforce.
After any order reducing a parent’s contact with their children, that parent is contacted within 14 days by a mental health service. Not optional. Automatic. The order changes a person’s life in an afternoon; the system that made it currently never checks what happened next.
Legal aid on financial need, not gender. Mandatory mediation before filing, except where family violence is supported by evidence. An immediate minimum while the Royal Commission develops the substantive answer. Commission reports in two years. Sovereign Australia implements its recommendations within twelve months of the final report.
| Current — The Problem | Sovereign Australia — The Solution |
|---|---|
| Ex parte orders can remove a parent from children's lives indefinitely on one account. | Ex parte limit: 21 days maximum. Both parties heard. Guaranteed. Immediate. |
| Child support assessment continues at old income rate when earnings drop. Debt accumulates. | Income drop of 15%+: reassessment within 30 days. Maximum. No delay debt accumulation. |
| Passport cancelled for child support debt, even while on a payment plan. | Passport cancellation suspended while on payment plan and adhering to it. |
| Family law proceedings: 12–24 months. Cost: $100,000+ per party. Justice denied. | Royal Commission: adversarial model examined. Faster resolution. Lower cost. Better outcomes. |
| Legal aid available differently by gender. Mediation not mandatory. | Legal aid on financial need only. Mandatory mediation before filing (except genuine violence). |
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Memo 16 — A Royal Commission into Family Law and FVROs. The four tracks a separated family can be on at once — restraining orders, the Family Court, property and child support, and child protection — how each works, what is published about how they perform, what four reviews found, and what a Western Australian commission should examine. With sources.
Memo 25 — The Australian Family System (Part One). The full description of every system that acts on a family, stage by stage, with the national data and what each one does not measure. Western Australian differences marked inline.