Drug Testing in Family Law Matters

When parents are involved in Court proceedings to work out the care arrangements for their children, concerns about drug use by a parent are often raised.  The Court takes the issue of drug use very seriously when it comes to working out whether a child will be at risk of harm in a parent’s care.  

To determine whether drug use is going to be an issue of concern in a parenting proceeding, a parent may be required to undergo testing designed to detect drug use.

Some examples of the types of testing you may be required to undertake include:

• Hair follicle testing – this is used to detect a pattern of drug use over a long period of time. Hair follicle testing can detect drug use over a period of up to 90 days, meaning that you can still produce a positive result even if you have not used drugs for several weeks.
• Urinalysis (urine testing) – this is used to detect drug use over a period of days. Depending on the type of drug, it will generally show in up a urine test if you have used drugs within the past week. 

You may be asked to complete a drug test by:

• The other parent or their solicitor.
• An Independent Children’s Lawyer.
• A Judge or Senior Judicial Registrar from the Court.

What if my drug test is positive?

A drug test result which is positive for illicit substances may have an impact on the orders the court makes, for example:

• your time with the children could be supervised until you are able to produce a negative result.
• It may also result in additional conditions being included in your parenting orders, for instance that a parent will not use illicit substances before or during the time the children are in their care.
• You may be required to undergo drug testing on more than one occasion to see whether you have reduced your drug use.
• You may be ordered to attend counselling for drug addiction.

If you receive a request to complete a drug test from the Court or from the other parent or their solicitor, it is important that you do not ignore the request and that you obtain legal advice as soon as possible.  If you do not complete the test within the timeframe provided, your results may be deemed to be “dirty”, even if drugs were not detected. 

The Family Law team at Wallace and Wallace Lawyers are happy to answer any questions that you may have about the possible impact of drug use in your parenting matter.  Contact us to arrange an appointment today.