Legal issues

Home > Legal issues > Relationship breakdown > Family violence

Family violence

Family violence includes:

physical and sexual violence
threats
stalking
emotional and psychological abuse (for example, name calling and controlling behaviour)
damage to property.

The police can arrest and charge people for doing this.

If there is violence or you have been threatened, get help from the police. If you are at immediate risk of harm, do not wait – get help from the police immediately.

You can contact specialist domestic violence services to help you work out a plan to leave the relationship safely. A legal aid commission, Family Relationship Centre or the Family Relationship Advice Line can refer you to specialist family violence services in your area. See ‘Getting help’ (link below).

State family violence laws

Each state has family violence laws and family violence orders, such as intervention orders, that can protect you. See the state and territory links below for information about the law where you live.

Court orders and injunctions

A local magistrates’ court may be able to vary (change) an earlier parenting order, recovery order or injunction, but only if they are making or varying a family violence order. However, the local magistrates’ court cannot stop or completely cancel an earlier family law court order or injunction.

Part VII Division 11 of the Commonwealth Family Law Act 1975 covers existing state or territory family violence orders and how they work with family law court orders. If you have a local family violence order, you should read this section. Other rules regarding family violence in the Act include sections 60CF, 60J, 60K and 69ZW. Get legal advice.

You can also apply in the Family Court, Family Court of WA and Federal Magistrates Court for an injunction as part of a family law case.

An injunction is a court order that stops someone from doing certain things, for example:

assaulting or harassing you or the children
going into the former family home, the children’s school or your workplace
living in the former family home
removing children from a person’s care or the state or territory or from Australia
selling or damaging property.

Family violence and parenting orders

The compulsory family dispute resolution procedures required before applying for court orders do not apply if there has been family violence or child abuse or if you feel your or the children’s safety is at risk. You can make an application directly to the court. The court must, however, believe that your fear for your wellbeing or safety is ‘reasonable.’

If the court finds that someone has knowingly made an untrue statement, the court must order that person to pay some or all costs of the other person. This includes making a false allegation of violence or abuse or a false statement denying that violence or abuse ever happened.

See ‘Parenting orders & family violence’ (link below).