A New South Wales parliamentary inquiry has found the family law system and the state's child protection system are "often misaligned".
The government-led inquiry has made 15 recommendations to improve the protection provided to children and review how the Department of Communities and Justice interacts with Federal Circuit and Family Court.
Greens MLC Abigail Boyd initiated the inquiry and said it received incredibly disturbing evidence.
"We heard during the inquiry, that information that a child is at risk of harm is either not given to the Family Court or is simply not read by the judge," Ms Boyd said.
"And in many cases, this has led to really horrific outcomes.
"We are talking about children who have been put with abusive parents with substantiated abuse claims all because the information was not provided under these protocols."
'Misalignment in process and procedures'
The inquiry also heard evidence of cases where allegations of abuse had been established by state agencies and attempts by the "protective parent" to withhold contact were "construed" by the Family Court as "psychological abuse".
It heard further evidence of instances where children's views were not being presented to the Family Court and in other instances were dismissed.
"In horrific cases, we heard of the Family Court actually directing children to stop their therapy for their abuse because they were told it was made up," Ms Boyd said.
She said the inquiry's formal finding of an "often misaligned" system was critical.
"In the context of the last 10-20 years of particularly right-wing politicians trying to drum up this idea of mothers using the Family Court to unfairly get custody of their children a lot of these women who have lost their children are feeling like they are just not believed," she said.
"Having this report and having it very clearly stated that yes, these issues are occurring, and it is because of this misalignment in process and procedures."
Women feel 'recognised and validated'
Ms Boyd won support for the inquiry after hearing concerns from an Illawarra-based group, the Sisters in Law Project.
Jane Matts founded the group after a traumatising personal experience through the Family Court and through her work supporting other mothers in the legal system.
Ms Matts said formal acknowledgement of the problem was a major step forward.
"I cannot put words to the sisters in our group and to myself to actually have the facts that we placed before the committee have actually been recognised and validated," she said.
Ms Matt said a commitment to review the protocols between the court and the state agencies was uplifting.
"One of the things I really appreciate in the report is the recognition that the Family Court is not a jurisdiction that investigates," she said.
"They do not have an obligation to investigate facts as it relates to abuse and child and family violence and if they are not relying on the system that does then there is a significant problem around the safety of children."
She also welcomed the strong focus on enhancing the representation, visibility, and treatment of children during the process.
"The measure of this will be the outcomes going forward."
The government's response to the report is due by June 2023.
