Family Law Principles is different from other family law texts written in Australia because it covers areas that are important in practice, such as family reports, how courts consider social science research, and also emerging areas in family law.

This second edition deals not only with the family law system but includes a detailed explanation of the family dispute resolution system and legislative obligations of both lawyers and family dispute resolution practitioners. It contains a comprehensive analysis of confidentiality and admissibility in family dispute resolution and counselling and recent case law in this area.

New chapters have been added and original chapters expanded and some restructured for better flow. Flowcharts and examples have been included in some chapters to provide practical guidance and aid understanding for topics such as property matters, superannuation and maintenance.

Significant new and updated content in the second edition includes:

• Marriage, Nullity and Divorce (Ch 3) – discussion of same-sex marriage, including consideration of the High Court decision of Commonwealth of Australia v the Australian Capital Territory. New commentary on forced marriage, including Kandal and Khyatt and legislative reform addressing the issue.
• Violence in the Family (Ch 6) – looks at incidence and dynamics of family violence and community attitudes and state responses to family violence through civil remedies. New commentary explores different views about causes or triggers of family violence and examines how state legislation deals with family violence through separate state protection order systems.
• Parenthood, Parentage and Parental Responsibility (Ch 7) – includes greatly expanded discussion about surrogacy (including overseas surrogacy), and a new section on gender dysphoria.
• Relocation of Children (Ch 9) – new chapter focusing on this important and complex area, including international relocation and different approaches to relocation overseas. Expanded case discussion illustrates the impact of the 2006 Family Law Act 1975 reforms, with discussion of longitudinal social science research in this area and proposals for further reform.
• Family Violence and Child Abuse Parenting Cases (Ch 10) – examines the attitudes of decision makers in their interpretation of “best interests”, changes to the legislation, and whether these reflect community views and expectations.
• Alteration of Property Interests (Ch 12) – extensively revised to incorporate High Court decision of Stanford v Stanford and other recent cases, and explores approaches to determining property cases. Includes discussion of add-backs post-Stanford, and the end of the doctrine of special contributions. A flowchart and examples have been added to provide practical guidance.
• Advance Property Topics (Ch 13) – extended commentary on superannuation and greatly expanded discussion of binding financial agreements, including impact of various legislative changes and recent case law.
• Financial Support for Children (Ch 16) – substantial revision of child support scheme commentary, including the child support formula, and expanded discussion on departing from child support assessment, including a guide to determining child support departures in special circumstances.
• International family issues (Ch 18) – new content on Child Protection Hague Convention and expanded discussion about international family law issues
• Hague Convention (Ch 19) – entirely new chapter devoted to the Hague Convention on Child Abduction, including detailed discussion about the operation of the Convention and applicable case law.