Principles for reform
These are the key principles underlying the rainbow family law reforms advocated by the Rainbow Families Council through its Love Makes a Family campaign.
- The rights and best interests of children are primary, and do not compete with the rights of same-sex and single parents or prospective parents.
- There is a wide diversity of legitimate family structures in Australian society, including same-sex and single parented families.
- Children have the right to equality under the law, whatever the structure of their family, sexual orientation of their parents, or method of their conception.
- All children have the right to know and be cared for by their parents, as recognised by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (the Convention does not define nor gender the term ‘parents’), and to have information about their biological origins.
- All children have the right to certainty about the legal status of their families, including parents, siblings, donors and extended family, and to protection of their family relationships.
- Equality under the law is an important step towards greater social acceptance and equality. Both
are essential to the wellbeing of all children, including children of rainbow families. - Equality of access to fertility services benefits both prospective parents and their children, in particular children’s right to information about their biological origins.
- Creating family is a deeply-felt human need, regardless of sexual orientation. Discriminatory laws do not stop people creating their families. They simply make it harder, and undermine the rights of children living in those families.
- All children living in rainbow families should enjoy the same legal protection for their family relationships as their siblings, regardless of the time, place or method of their conception.
These principles arose from broad community consultations, including in response to interim recommendations of the current VLRC Enquiry into Assisted Reproductive Technology, Adoption and Surrogacy.
