The Australian government recently announced a parliamentary inquiry to investigate whether a legal presumption of joint residence should become part of Australian family law - that is, if parents separate and cannot agree on arrangements for their children, the starting point should be that children spend equal time with each parent.

The AIFS submission to the inquiry draws on the institute's expertise in the area of children and aspects of family law processes, and data from its current Caring for Children after Parental Separation project, the 1997 Australian Divorce Transition Project, and Wave 1 of the Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey.