The Magellan Gap: When Children Speak and the System Fails to Listen
When children disclose abuse, they deserve to be protected. Instead, too often in Australia’s Family Court, their voices are silenced, their fears reframed as fiction, and protective parents punished.
A groundbreaking new report by the Family Court Advocacy Network (FCAN) has laid bare a systemic failure at the heart of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia’s Magellan List — the very pathway meant to safeguard children in the most serious cases of alleged child sexual abuse (CSA) and family violence.
At a glance: what the report found
70% of cases: fathers granted sole parental responsibility, often despite CSA/family violence concerns.
66% of CSA allegations: dismissed, minimised, or reframed as false narratives.
75% of children’s disclosures: discounted as “coached” or “implausible,” even when distressed.
Protective parents punished: mothers accused of “alienation” and stripped of time.
Protective outcomes rare: only five cases resulted in supervised or excluded contact.
The “Magellan Gap”
The report calls this systemic failure the Magellan Gap. It occurs when police, child protection agencies, and the courts all pass responsibility along — leaving children unprotected unless the evidence meets criminal-level thresholds.
What the Bench Book says
The Domestic & Family Violence Bench Book makes clear:
False CSA allegations are rare.
Most CSA allegations in custody disputes are substantiated.
Late disclosures are common.
“Not substantiated” false.
Yet courts routinely ignore this guidance.
Survivor voices
The data is chilling, but the lived experience is worse. Survivor mothers told FCAN how their children’s disclosures were ignored, how they lost custody for trying to protect their kids, and how their children were forced back into unsafe care.
What it takes to be believed
Children were only protected in five of 20 cases — and only when the bar was impossibly high: criminal convictions, overwhelming corroboration, or crisis-level child behaviour such as absconding or suicidal ideation.
Call for reform
FCAN is calling for urgent reform:
Act on first credible disclosures.
Listen to children.
Respect protective parents.
Embed specialist risk assessments.
Strengthen judicial accountability.
Reduce reliance on external substantiation.
“At last, we have a report that demystifies what advocates have been calling for. Carefully assembled by an Australian NGO, it makes one thing obvious: children will benefit when bureaucrats replace bureaucracy with listening to Family Court survivors.”
The Magellan List was meant to shield vulnerable children. Instead, FCAN’s report shows it too often accelerates their return to risk. Real children are being harmed right now. They should not have to break down, run away, or attempt suicide to be believed. The time for listening — and acting — is now.
If you need support
1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732 (24/7)
Lifeline: 13 11 14 (24/7 crisis support)
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 (ages 5–25)
Blue Knot Foundation: 1300 657 380 (adult survivors of childhood trauma)
Bravehearts: 1800 272 831 (CSA support)
If a child is in immediate danger: call 000