Backford v Backford [2017] FamCAFC 1

Backford v Backford and Anor [2017] Fam CAFC 1 is an important family law case involving an appeal of parenting orders. The mother, a member of an Aboriginal nation, had five children with two different men—one Indigenous and one non-Indigenous. Before the trial, the children had been split between the three households: two daughters were living with the mother, one daughter was living with the Indigenous father, and two sons were living with the non-Indigenous father. The trial judge found that each household presented some risk to the children. Ultimately, the children were to live with their fathers because the risk to the children in the mother’s household was too high. The mother’s appeal was refused. The appellate judgment has been rewritten through an Indigenous voice, placing consideration of the mother’s culture and the right of her children to maintain their connection to that culture at the centre. The rewritten judgment argues that better evidence about the mother’s Indigeneity should have been presented to the court and that the evidence that was available should have been interpreted in a culturally informed manner.