Abstract
Legislating to try to increase post-separation shared parenting, as Australia did in 2006, is intuitively attractive; however, as has been noted by commentators, ‘empirical support for legislating to prioritise shared time over other parenting arrangements is lacking’. A key driver for this brand of legislative reform is the ‘perception that the well-being of children suffers when they have too little contact with one parent (typically their father). In fact, the research presents a much more complex picture than this. However it can safely be said that promoting high quality father-child relationships post-separation will benefit most children. The end of 2011 presents an opportune time to reflect on Australia’s shared parenting experience as other jurisdictions continue to grapple with the question of whether to make similar legislative changes. Interestingly, England has just announced that it is considering heading down the shared parenting legislative path