Economic consequences of marriage breakdown, 1984

In 1980, the Parliamentary Joint Select Committee on the Family Law Act recommended that arrangements for the introduction of a Matrimonial Property Regime should be preceeded by research. In June 1983, the Attorney General referred the issue of matrimonial property to the Law Reform Commission with Terms of Reference which required a consideration of whether any changes should be made to the law and a consideration of whether any system introduced should affect the acquisition and management of assets held during a continuing marriage. The Law Reform Commission and the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) considered that a full review of matrimonial property should include a consideration of the effects of marriage breakdown on the economic situation of divorced people. Such research would amplify the reference to incorporate the experiences and views of men and women in a variety of circumstances, and would enable the Law Reform Commission to assess the impact of the operation of laws in an empirical, as well as a technical, sense. The broad aims of the study of the Economic Consequences of Marriage Breakdown (ECMB) were to map the financial arrangements made in marriages; to describe the post-marriage-breakdown circumstances of men and women who were parties to different arrangements; to assess the effects of social status, education and employment background, and the types of legal processes use on Court outcomes; and finally, on the basis of these analyses, to make policy recommendations relating to the public and private law. The data set covers that portion of the Economic Consequences of Marriage Breakdown data set that dealt principally with the distribution of property in a divorce, including the more difficult areas of superannuation, businesses, farms and responsibility for debts. Income sources and income received before and after the divorce are recorded in detail, as are other financial arrangements, such as superannuation, insurance policies, debt, savings, mortages, and value of the house and car, and cash payments to or from respondents. Other variables on financial matters include advice received on property distribution and the means by which the division of household property occurred. Background variables include age, sex, current household arrangements, age of children, education and occupation of self and spouse.