Relationships and marriages form the cornerstone of New Zealand’s social fabric, with legal frameworks in place to govern both their formation and dissolution. The Marriage Act 1955 provides the foundation for recognising marriages, while the Family Proceedings Act regulates the process of divorce.
Under New Zealand law, the dissolution of a marriage or civil union is granted on a single, specific ground: irreconcilable breakdown. This breakdown is typically evidenced by the parties living separately for a minimum of two years prior to filing for divorce. Once this criterion is met and the irreconcilable breakdown is established, the court will generally issue a dissolution of marriage order. This legal structure reflects the delicate balance between preserving the sanctity of marriage and acknowledging the reality that some relationships may irretrievably break down, necessitating a formal and legally recognised separation.
The Issue
There has been a longstanding issue for victims of domestic abuse. This is what propelled the work done by Ashley Jones. Ashley and her petition to “Change our archaic divorce laws” aimed to free abuse victims from their abusers. This petition has led to the changes we see in the law today.
The impact of our current divorce law has been acknowledged by Parliament in its debates[1], with comments highlighting that the (new) legislation recognises that victims of family violence, who are in a legal relationship defined as either a marriage or civil union, are trapped in that relationship, with some having harrowing lived experience of violence. The purpose of this new law is to expedite the termination or dissolution of that relationship, allowing the victim to be freed from the legal constraints.
The New Law
What does the new law mean? The new law stipulates that to establish grounds of family violence, the applicant must be a ‘protected person’ under a protection order made against their spouse or civil union partner. A final protection order serves as the sole evidence for establishing family violence under Ashley’s Law. This is because obtaining a final protection order requires the applicant to prove that family violence has been inflicted upon them by the named person. [2]
Way Forward
This recent change in New Zealand’s divorce laws represents a significant step forward in addressing the needs of domestic abuse victims. This legislation acknowledges the challenges faced by those trapped in abusive relationships and provides a faster pathway to dissolution.
By allowing victims with final protection orders to bypass the two-year separation requirement, the law offers a crucial escape route from legally binding, harmful situations. This reform not only demonstrates the legal system’s adaptability to societal concerns but also highlights the power of effective advocacy, as exemplified by Ashley Jones’s petition.
Moving forward, it will be essential to monitor the implementation and impact of this law to ensure it effectively serves its intended purpose of protecting and empowering victims of family violence.
Written by Thilini Karunaratne, Staff Solicitor at Edwin Holly Legal
[1] The debates are those related to the Family Proceedings (Dissolution for Family Violence) Amendment Bill – First Reading
[2] Section 39A