Many parents, and especially many fathers, come to us asking whether they can get 50/50 custody. The honest answer is that equal time can work, and we have seen it work well in many families. But it is not automatic, and whether it suits your children depends on a few practical things more than on the law.
Key takeaway: There is no presumption of 50/50 in Australia. Equal time is ordered or agreed when it is in the child’s best interests, and distance between homes is often the deciding factor.
What “50/50” means in Australian family law
People use “50/50 custody” to mean two different things. One is how much time a child spends with each parent, for example a week-about arrangement. The other is parental responsibility, which is who makes the major long-term decisions about schooling, health and religion. Parents can share decision-making without sharing time equally, and the other way around.
When equal time works
In our experience, the biggest factor is distance. For equal time to work, parents need to live close to each other, because so much of a child’s life is shared between the two homes:
- School and getting there on time
- Sport and other extracurricular activities
- Friends and social life
- Grandparents, cousins and other family
Once there is a large gap between where the parents live, a week-about arrangement starts to break down. Children spend more time travelling, miss out on activities, or find it hard to keep up friendships. Arrangements also work better where parents can communicate reasonably and there are no safety concerns.
Key takeaway: If you want equal time, think about where you live. Being close to the other parent and the child’s school makes equal time far more realistic.
Did the 2024 changes make 50/50 harder to get?
On 6 May 2024, changes to the Family Law Act removed the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility, and the court no longer has to consider equal time as a starting point. Many people expected this to make equal time much harder to get, particularly for fathers.
In our view, the changes were overhyped. We have not seen a big shift in outcomes. Parents who would have had equal time before the changes are still getting it now. The bigger effect has been on lawyers, procedure, and how judges work through cases. The question was always what is in the child’s best interests, and it still is.
Need advice on your situation? Our family lawyers can help with your parenting arrangements. Book a consultation to talk it through.
Equal time for babies and toddlers
Equal time for children under 3 does not happen often. We have seen it occasionally, but it is not the usual outcome. Very young children generally need consistent care and shorter, more frequent time with the parent they do not live with, with time increasing as they get older. A common approach is a plan that steps up over a few years, so the arrangement grows with the child.
Equal time for teenagers
For teenagers, equal time is quite common, and we see it regularly. The court gives more weight to the views of older, more mature children, and teenagers often have clear preferences about where they live and how they split their time. In practice, an arrangement a teenager does not agree with rarely lasts.
What the research says
Australian research on shared care, including evaluations by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, has found much the same thing we see in practice. Equal or shared time tends to work best when parents live close together, can cooperate, and there are no concerns about family violence or safety. Where there is high conflict or family violence, equal time can be harmful to children.
If you want 50/50, where to start
- Think about distance to the other parent’s home and the child’s school
- Be realistic about the child’s age and routine
- Show you can cooperate on handovers and decisions
- Try mediation before going to court
- Get advice on what outcome is realistic for your family
