Australia’s family law system is failing to protect women and children from domestic violence, experts say, as a federal parliamentary hearing examines the issue.

Community legal services, women’s organisations and Aboriginal community groups will front the inquiry on Friday, set up to improve access to family violence orders for victim-survivors in the family law system.

Domestic violence remains a major issue in Australia, with state, territory and commonwealth governments aiming to end violence against women within a generation.

Those experiencing family violence often interact with the federal family law system, which is focused on the responsibilities of parents to their children.

Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania said family law proceedings should serve as an opportunity to hear from victim survivors, uphold the best interests of children, and hold perpetrators to account.

“However, at the present time, the family law system does not sufficiently recognise or respond to family violence,” the organisation said in its submission.

“Services like Uniting are confronted daily with examples of where the system fails to protect victim survivors, and in some instances, where the  system perpetuates further harm,” the submission read.

Conflicts between parenting orders and family violence orders were observed, with the system thought to be “prioritising parents having equal time with their children over and above the safety of the child”.

The Council of Single Mothers and their Children highlighted the pressure of attending multiple courts for family law proceedings and a family violence order, with women describing it as “a full-time job”.

“They are unable to work if they have been working, some lose jobs for taking too much time off,” the submission read.

This post was originally published on Michael West.