The meanings of 'meaningful' within the Family Law Act amendments of 2006: A legal perspective

The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) was amended in 2006, and the amendments gave explicit consideration to a 'meaningful relationship' between parents and children. The author considers the significance of this term in the context of the legislation, reflecting on the ways in which social scientists and lawyers use language, and on the importance of social science to inform legal determinations about the best interests of children. The contributions to this Issue of the Journal of Family Studies by Smyth, Moloney and Trinder all refer to a paper on the meaning of 'meaningful' as it is used[1] in the Family Law Act 1975 (Chisholm 2008). My colleagues approach the concept of 'meaningful relationships' mainly from research-based, socio-historical and child-focused perspectives. In this paper, I reflect on some of the points they raise, and on the different ways in which law and the social sciences use language.