Closing Remarks by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Social and Family Development Eric Chua at the Law Society of Singapore Family Conference 2026
18 September 2026 Posted in Speeches
Opening
1. A very good afternoon, everybody. It is indeed very good to be back at the Family Conference, after delivering the CJ Koh Address last year. A big thanks to the Law Society of Singapore for inviting me back.
2. Over the past two days, we have covered a remarkable range of issues: matrimonial assets, child welfare, succession planning, vulnerable family members, technology, and some of the ethical questions facing family practitioners today.
3. And perhaps that breadth of issues tells us something important about family practice itself. Family law is never quite only about the law. It is, at its heart, about people, often at some of the most difficult and emotionally charged moments of their lives.
4. A family going through a difficult period rarely faces just one problem at a time. There may be a legal dispute to resolve. But there may also be concerns involving children, finances, housing, caregiving, sometimes domestic violence, health, or other vulnerabilities.
5. That is something that I see very clearly across both the Ministry of Law and MSF. And perhaps that is why we cannot think about the legal and social dimensions separately.
6. Our legal processes must work alongside strong social support. And the people within these systems must work together, so that families are not simply moved from one process to another, but are helped tangibly to find a way forward.
The Three "T"s
7. Earlier in July, I had lunch with a group of very experienced family law practitioners. We had a warm and candid conversation about family practice, and how we can continue strengthening our family justice system. And I see some familiar faces from that lunch here today, including Kai Yun and Lay Lian.
8. During that conversation, I shared three words – three letters to be exact. Three “Ts”. That’s “Tough”, “Therapeutic”, “Transformational”.
9. After everything we have discussed over the past two days, I thought I would return to these three words today. Not simply to repeat what I said then, but because I think they really capture both the challenges before us, and what we should aspire towards.
First: Tough
10. Let me begin with Tough. Family disputes are tough because real life is complicated. A single dispute may involve children, housing, finances, maintenance, family violence and other vulnerabilities, all at the same time. Now, these issues cross professional boundaries.
11. I was reminded of this when I visited our Maintenance Enforcement Division, or MED, earlier in July. One case particularly stayed with me.
12. A former spouse had been making irregular maintenance payments. Now at first glance, this might appear to be a straightforward case of somebody failing to meet his obligations. But when the Maintenance Enforcement Officer looked a bit deeper, a different picture emerged. The former spouse had been involved in a traffic accident. He was living with chronic pain. He had been assessed as medically unfit for work. In fact, he himself was relying on ComCare assistance.
13. That did not make the maintenance obligation disappear. But it did change our understanding of the problem.
14. The MEO was able to facilitate constructive conversations between the different parties, while also connecting the former spouse with employment and skills support through e2i, and additional financial assistance through MUIS.
15. That case was a useful reminder. Behind every file is a family. And behind every dispute, there is oftentimes more going on than first meets the eye.
16. That is why the breadth of this Conference is important. The challenges families face are interconnected. Therefore, our response must also be coordinated.
Second: Therapeutic
17. My second “T” is Therapeutic. Many of you are deeply familiar with Therapeutic Justice. What is encouraging is that, over the past year, we have continued moving this philosophy from principle into practice.
18. Let me highlight two developments.
19. First, the continued refinement of the TJ Model for Matrimonial Proceedings, and the launch of the Youth Courts TJ Model. My colleague SMS Pei Ming spoke about these in his opening address.
20. The broader point is this: Therapeutic Justice is not a reform that we complete and then move on from. It needs us to keep asking whether our processes are actually helping the families and individuals who come through them.
21. Some of you may remember that I spoke very briefly about the Youth Courts TJ Model at last year’s Conference. I am glad that it was officially launched in March this year.
22. At its heart is a simple idea: A child or young person going through serious difficulties in life should not have to navigate them alone. Families have an important role in rehabilitation and reintegration.
23. The expansion of the Youth Courts’ jurisdiction similarly allows more youth offenders aged 16 to below 18 to receive age-appropriate rehabilitative support. There remain exceptions for repeat offenders and certain serious offences, where public safety and deterrence continue to be important considerations.
24. The aim is to intervene at a critical point in a young person’s life, work with the family, and help that young person get back on the right track.
25. The second development is the continued roll-out of the new Maintenance Enforcement Process, or MEP.
26. When I spoke about this last September, we were still in Phase 1. Today, all three phases have commenced. As at 31 August, more than 1,640 cases had been referred to the MED. And the early outcomes are encouraging.
27. Around seven in ten cases were settled following conciliation by the Maintenance Enforcement Officers. MEO reports are also helping the Courts make more targeted enforcement orders where needed.
28. The legal obligation to pay maintenance has not changed. What has changed is the way the system responds when that obligation is not met.
29. We seek to understand the parties’ circumstances. We facilitate sustainable settlements where possible. And where enforcement is necessary, we want that enforcement to be better informed and more targeted.
30. The Youth Courts TJ Model and the MEP may appear to be somewhat different issues or different models. But the philosophy behind them is similar: Understand the problem. Bring in the right expertise. And find a sustainable way forward.
Third: Transformational
31. That brings me to my third “T”. Transformational.
32. Laws and institutions alone cannot transform family justice. People do. All of you are part of that equation. And perhaps this is a good moment for me to say something about the work that many of you in this room do.
33. Family law, to be sure, is not easy work. It demands not only an eye for detail, but also a heart for the many lives involved, and for the complex mix of emotions that can sit beneath every proceeding.
34. You are dealing with not just legal issues, but often legal issues that involve hurt, fear, anger, uncertainty, and relationships that may have been built over many years.
35. To me, it takes a very special breed of professionals to be doing this piece of work well. And I have tremendous respect for all of you who have chosen to make this your calling.
36. Because a family justice system is only as effective as the people who make it work: our judges, lawyers, social service professionals, public officers, and many others working with families day in, day out. And transformation requires partnership.
37. We saw this when we rolled out the MEP. Kai Yun and Lay Lian, I am sure many here would have spotted the two of you in MinLaw’s video explaining how the new processes works. Thank you for lending your time and experience.
38. More importantly, many of the family justice reforms that MinLaw has introduced over the years have been shaped by feedback from family practitioners.
39. Through our engagements, you have told us what is working. Just as importantly, you have been candid about what is not. That ground-level experience is important.
40. It helps us to refine policies, improve workflows and processes, and make sure that reforms reflect the realities that families actually face.
41. So, transformation is not something that the Government can do alone to the family justice system. It is something that we must do together.
Responding to New Forms of Harm
42. And that partnership will become even more important as family life continues to change. Some risks are becoming more visible. Others are taking new forms.
43. One area we are studying closely is the financial abuse of our seniors. This connects with some of the discussions yesterday on succession and wealth planning.
44. Generally, there is broad agreement that we need to strengthen protection for our seniors, while carefully considering how such measures can work in practice. We are still studying these issues with stakeholders, including those from the banking, legal and social sectors, and will share more in due course.
45. A second challenge arises when family disputes spill into the online world. Relationship breakdowns and family conflicts no longer necessarily remain offline. They can manifest as online harassment, stalking, or intimate image abuse.
46. And because harmful material online can travel so quickly and remain accessible for a very long time, the damage can compound what someone is already experiencing in the physical world.
47. The Online Safety (Relief and Accountability) Act 2025 (OSRAA) is therefore timely. The OSRAA framework gives victims of specific online harms avenues to seek timely relief, including through the Online Safety Commission (OSC), alongside legal remedies where appropriate.
48. OSRAA forms part of a larger suite of avenues for help available to victims, including platform reporting mechanism and support services such as counselling provided by community partners, which allow victims to access the forms of support most appropriate to their circumstances.
49. Once again, the principle is broadly the same. As challenges that families face evolve, our response, too, must evolve. And very often, that means working across traditional boundaries.
Closing: The Journey Continues
50. Friends, as we come to close not just my speech but also the Conference over the past two days, let me return to the three “Ts”. Tough. Therapeutic. Transformational.
51. We need the resolve to deal with tough problems honestly. We need the compassion to pursue therapeutic outcomes. And we need the ambition, and the partnership, to keep transforming our family justice system for the better.
52. Our next steps must, of course, be informed by good data and evidence. We need to understand where interventions are most needed, and whether the measures we introduce are actually achieving meaningful outcomes on the ground. But data alone will never tell us the whole story.
53. You – all of you in this room here – you see the part that statistics alone cannot always capture. You sit across the table from a parent who is worried about a child. You advise someone whose marriage is coming to a close. You work with families dealing with grief, conflict, financial stress and uncertainty. Your experience gives meaning to the numbers.
54. So please continue sharing your experiences with us. Continue telling us what you are seeing, what you are hearing. Continue challenging us when something can be done better. Because at its best, family justice is not simply about resolving a legal case.
55. It is about helping people through some of the hardest chapters of their lives, and giving families the best possible chance to move forward. That, to me, is work that is deeply meaningful. That, to me, is work that is worth doing. And it is work we must do together.
56. So once again, I thank all of you for being here for this two-day Conference, and also for being who you are – family practitioners.
57. Thank you very much, and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
Last updated on 18 September 2026