An Examination of Jewish Divorce under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)

For some members of various religions within Australia, a civil divorce will not leave them in a position where they are free to remarry according to their personal religious preferences. This is due to the additional divorce requirements of some religions. In these cases, as the religious divorce requirements are not met by divorce under the civil system, one party may have the power to withhold a cultural or religious divorce against another spouse’s will, sometimes utilising such things as contact with children and financial arrangements as bargaining tools to barter for the religious divorce. Legislation proposed by the Family Law Council in 2001 to resolve this situation was rejected in 2004 by the Attorney-General. This article examines the reforms suggested by the Family Law Council in detail, as well as considering positions in other jurisdictions, to assess whether an effective approach to facilitating cultural and religious divorce within Australia is possible under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).