LEAP Family Law Partners with The Separation Guide to Champion 'I Care About Conflict' Campaign

A recent report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies reveals that Australia’s divorce rate has fallen to its lowest level since the introduction of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) in the mid-1970s. While this may appear to be a positive trend, Angela Harbinson, Founder and CEO of The Separation Guide, cautions that fewer divorces may indicate a worrying trend: couples choosing to separate informally, without engaging with the legal system.

“This is a real concern,” Angela explains. “There is a huge education knowledge gap about what is considered fair in the law and a lot of people are therefore accepting agreements that would not be considered fair and setting themselves up for financial disadvantage in the future.”

In 2019, Angela founded The Separation Guide with a clear mission: to reduce the cost, conflict and confusion for people navigating their way through the family law system and help them access the right information, funding and professional support when they need it most.

Without the right support, separations can quickly become high conflict, with serious consequences for mental health, employment, and broader social issues such as family violence, homelessness, and economic instability. The Separation Guide helps individuals avoid these outcomes through triage, education, and personalised plans that connect them with legal, financial, parenting, property, and wellbeing experts.

The results speak for themselves: The Separation Guide has helped cut 150 days of stress from people’s lives, halved average divorce costs, and kept more families out of court.

Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month

May is recognised as Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month - a national initiative dedicated to raising awareness, supporting victims through available services, and promoting a clear message that domestic and family violence will not be tolerated in our communities.

In support of this, The Separation Guide has launched I Care About Conflict, a collaborative campaign calling on legal professionals, tech leaders, employers, and insurers to help victims during the critical early stages of separation.

The campaign provides sponsored access to The Separation Guide’s resources for those impacted by domestic and family violence. So far, 35 individuals have received support, contributing to a collective social impact valued at $7.35 million.

Doing Our Part to Reduce Conflict in Family Law Matters

Speaking at the launch of the campaign, Jenna Downy, Managing Director of LEAP Family Law, said that LEAP Family Law is proud to partner with The Separation Guide to support victim-survivors of domestic and family violence.

“LEAP Family Law is grateful to The Separation Guide for the opportunity to support this important campaign - we're proud to be part of such an impactful initiative. We're committed to developing specialised tools for family lawyers that save time and boost productivity, enabling them to focus on building meaningful client relationships and helping their clients feel safe.

This forms part of our broader commitment to innovation and care, supporting legal professionals as they assist families through one of life’s most challenging transitions.”