The Family Court wants mediators to hand over confidential counselling and negotiation information to judges, psychologists and others. This both breaches the confidentiality, and works against the neutrality, of mediators, said Mr Grimes, the manager of the Chadstone FRC. If parents are warned that information they provide could be given to court, there is a risk they will shut down.

A child's right to a meaningful relationship with his or her father trumps a woman's right to pursue personal happiness after divorce, according to the latest ruling on the matter by a federal magistrate. However, the shared parenting law is the subject of a government review.

An Adelaide mother went to court to prevent her daughter from referring to her ex-husband's new wife as "Mum" or "Mummy" or "my other Mummy". The mother said the father was "attempting to replace her as the child's mother by encouraging the child to call his new wife "Mum". The Family Court case sets a precedent for Australia's million-strong blended families, where arguments over who is to be called what are commonplace.

Professor Patrick Parkinson, a family law expert from the University of Sydney, said it was the first such case he had heard of, but was similar to frequent disputes over whether a child's surname could be changed.''There are limits to what any court can do. You can't regulate every aspect of family life through court orders,'' he said. ''We've got to grow up and stop thinking every breakdown can be resolved by the court.''