Legislating for shared parenting: exploring some underlying assumptions

In 2006, the Australian parliament introduced new family law legislation about substantively shared overnight
parenting arrangements between divorced couples. Other countries and state legislatures are currently debating
the merits of similar legislation.A largely unquestionable premise underpins this reform, namely that the majority
of children from separated families demonstrably benefit from the ongoing, warm and available involvement
of both parents, in a climate of well-managed interparental conflict. The Australian legislation moves beyond
encouragement of shared parenting in divorce cases with adequately functioning parents; it extends into grey areas
which, to date, remain poorly serviced by credible research, including its application to children of all ages and
to parents experiencing significant levels of ongoing conflict. Drawing on data from a longitudinal high-conflict
divorce sample, this article challenges three assumptions that underpin a legislative preference for shared
parenting, that shared parenting is viable and sustainable for divorced parents in conflict, that shared care enables
improved cooperation between parents, and that as a result children will be less affected by their parents’ conflict.
The article further explores the influence of the mediation process on the choice and durability of shared parenting
arrangements.