Domestic Violence Lawyers

The Full Court held in Kennon [1997] FamCA 27 that:

 

“… where there is a course of violent conduct by one party towards the other during the marriage which is demonstrated to have had a significant adverse impact upon that party’s contributions to the marriage or … to have made his or her contributions significantly more arduous that they ought to have been, that is a fact which a trial judge is entitled to take into account in assessing the party’s respective contributions within Section 79.”

 

It should be noted that any potential adjustment must be considered holistically, together with all other factors and contributions as set out in Section 79 of the Family Law Act.

Family violence is a serious social issue that affects everyone in a family – children, parents and other members of the extended family.

 

The Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia (the Courts) take family violence very seriously.

 

The Courts are guided by the following principles in responding to family violence concerns:

• Safety is a right and a priority for all who attend and work at the Courts.
• Family violence affects everyone in a family, including children.
• Family violence can occur before, during and after separation and it may affect the ability of people to make choices about their family law matter and to take part in court events.
• The Courts have a particular concern about the immediate and possible longer term adverse impacts on children who experience or witness family violence.
• Even if children do not directly witness the violence, they are often very aware of it.

 

The family violence section of this website outlines what constitutes family violence, the Family Law Act 1975 as it relates to family violence, the effect of family violence on children, notifying the Courts about family violence, and a range of other information you may need if you or someone you know is experiencing family violence.

Separation is usually stressful for your children, and they, like you, may experience a range of emotions. Children need care and support from both parents – for example, reassure them that you still love them, allow them to love both of you (don’t make them choose) and make sure your children don’t hear or see you fighting with your partner.

 

It is important to remember parents must first make a ‘genuine effort’ to resolve child-related disputes before attending court. This is known as family dispute resolution (‘FDR’), which parties attend with a FDR practitioner, who will issue a ‘FDR certificate’, which may certify that:

 

1. Parties made a genuine effort to resolve, but they were unable to;

2.Parties did not make a genuine effort to resolve; or
3.One party failed to attend FDR.

 

An FDR practitioner may also decide to dispense with FDR, if satisfied one party is unable to negotiate freely, due to, for example, their psychological health, or a risk of violence.

 

Once the certificate is issued, parties must file it in their court application when they commence legal proceedings. There are another three things to file alongside this, in support of your application:

 

1. An Initiating Application, which is a form stating the orders that you seek;
2. A Notice of Child Abuse, Family Violence or Risk, so the court can decide whether urgent intervention is necessary; and

3. Your Affidavit, which is a written account of your evidence and experiences.

A parenting order is a set of orders made by a court about parenting arrangements for a child. A court can make a parenting order based on an agreement between the parties (consent orders) or after a court hearing or trial. When a parenting order is made, each person affected by the order must follow it.

 

A parenting order may deal with one or more of the following:

• who the child will live with
• how much time the child will spend with each parent and with other people, such as grandparents
• the allocation of parental responsibility
• how the child will communicate with a parent they do not live with, or other people
• any other aspect of the care, welfare or development of the child.

 

For more information see the Attorney-General’s Department publication, Parenting Orders – what you need to know.

 

Source: Family Court

Family Relationship Advice Line

The Family Relationship Advice Line has a range of fact sheets and other information on family law services, including: children’s contact services; counselling; family dispute resolution; parenting orders program; post-separation cooperative parenting; and supporting children after separation.

Phone: 1800 050 321

Website: www.familyrelationships.gov.au

National Sexual Assault, Family and Domestic Violence Counselling Line

Phone: 1800 737 732

Website: www.1800respect.org.au

Police or ambulance

Call 000 at any time if you are worried about you or your children’s safety.

LifeLine

Phone: 131 114

Website: www.lifeline.org

Translating and interpreting

Phone to gain access to an interpreter in your own language.

Phone: 131 450

Website: www.tisnational.gov.au

Kids Help Line

Telephone counselling for children and young people.

Phone: 1800 551 800

Website: www.kidshelp.com.au

Australian Childhood Foundation

Counselling for children and young people affected by abuse.

Phone: 1800 176 453

Website: www.childhood.org.au

Relationships Australia

Support groups and counselling on relationships, and for abusive and abused partners.

Phone: 1300 364 277

Website: www.relationships.com.au

Our Place Online

An online forum for men and women who have suffered abuse in all its forms: psychological, verbal, physical, sexual, and spiritual abuse. The forum is run by a community of volunteers all over the world. Our Place aims to help educate and support those wishing to heal from the damage done.

Website: www.our-place-online.net