What should I do if there is family violence?

This page will not give you a safety plan

A website cannot see the room you are sitting in. It cannot tell you whether it is safer to leave tonight or to wait until a child is at school. It cannot hide a browser history. If you need a safety plan, use 1800RESPECT, police, a specialist service or a lawyer who does this work. Then come back to the legal map if you still want vocabulary.

Two systems, one safety problem

State and territory courts issue protection orders (AVO, DVO, intervention order — the name changes by place). Family courts make parenting and property orders under Commonwealth law (and WA’s Family Court for WA matters). A protection order is not a parenting order. A parenting order is not a substitute for calling the police.

If orders appear to clash, get a lawyer who works in both spaces. Do not “pick one piece of paper” and ignore the other. Local courts and police explain how to apply for a protection order in your state or territory. We will not paste a form that might be last year’s PDF for the wrong jurisdiction.

Family law intersections (high level)

• FDR / section 60I — violence can be an exception or a reason FDR is inappropriate.
• Parenting — safety is central to best interests. There is no prize for “shared time” that is unsafe.
• Court process — some hearings use shuttles, remote appearances or other protections. Ask the court registry and your lawyer.
• Property — in some cases family violence is relevant to contributions or needs. That is a precise argument, not a slogan.

Economic abuse — controlling money, work, or access to a bank — is part of the statutory idea of family violence. It is also a practical problem: a person who cannot pay for a hotel or a lawyer is not “choosing” to stay. Legal Aid, crisis payments and specialist services exist for that intersection. See Legal Aid and costs.

Technology, evidence and children

Keep copies of protection orders on your person and on a device the other person does not control. Change passwords from a safe device. Do not coach a child to gather evidence. Do not send a website contact form your address, a child’s school, or a court file number. This publication is not a secure legal file.

What “coercion and control” looks like in ordinary rooms

The statutory idea is wider than a bruise. It can include threats, stalking, sexual violence, economic abuse, and exposing a child to that behaviour. It can also include a pattern that never becomes a single dramatic night. This site will not give you a diagnostic checklist to weaponise. If you are afraid, that is enough reason to call 000 or 1800RESPECT and to tell an FDR service before anyone books a joint room.

If someone is telling you that reporting violence will “look bad in family court,” that sentence is a control tactic, not legal advice. Courts take safety seriously. False allegations are also serious. The honest path is the true one, with specialist support — not a strategy thread.

We will not host official forms

Use police, your local court, Legal Aid, and the FCFCOA for current forms and safety notices. A downloaded PDF from a random blog can be the wrong jurisdiction and the wrong year.

If you are reading this because someone else is in danger, you can still call 000 or 1800RESPECT. You do not need this site’s permission.

• 1800RESPECT ↗
• FCFCOA ↗
• National Legal Aid ↗
• When to get personalised advice →