Domestic violence laws in Australia give people experiencing abuse several layers of protection: police can issue an immediate safety notice, courts can grant civil protection orders that are enforceable nationwide, criminal charges can be laid separately, and federal law provides paid leave, financial assistance, and visa safeguards. Every state and territory has its own protective legislation, and the definition of violence covers far more than physical assault.
What Counts as Domestic and Family Violence
The legal definition is deliberately wide. Under section 4AB of the Family Law Act 1975, family violence means violent, threatening, or other behaviour by a person that coerces or controls a family member, or causes them to be fearful.1Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Family Violence: Overview Recognised forms include physical assault, sexual violence, emotional manipulation, financial control, stalking, property damage, harm to animals, technology-facilitated abuse, spiritual or cultural abuse, reproductive coercion, and forced marriage.2Social Security Guide. 1.1.D.235 Domestic and Family Violence Isolating someone from friends and family, withholding access to money, or monitoring their devices all qualify.
The relationships covered are just as broad. Domestic violence describes abuse between current or former intimate partners. Family violence extends to relatives, guardians, kinship groups recognised by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, household members, carers, and even current or former friends who share a home.2Social Security Guide. 1.1.D.235 Domestic and Family Violence
Technology-Facilitated Abuse
Digital tools have become one of the most common ways abusers maintain control. The eSafety Commissioner identifies tech-based coercive control, cyberstalking, and image-based abuse as frequent components of domestic violence. In practical terms this looks like tracking a partner’s location through phone apps or Bluetooth devices, installing spyware, monitoring social media, constant messaging to check whereabouts, and sharing or threatening to share intimate images without consent. An estimated 27% of domestic violence cases involve tech-based abuse of children.3eSafety Commissioner. Tech-Based Domestic and Family Violence Anyone experiencing this can report it to the eSafety Commissioner, which has regulatory power to require the removal of intimate images shared without consent.
Getting Immediate Safety
If you or someone else is in danger right now, call Triple Zero (000). This is Australia’s emergency number for police, ambulance, and fire, reachable from any fixed phone, mobile, payphone, or certain internet phone services. People with a hearing or speech impairment can contact emergency services on 106 through a TTY device.4Triple Zero. Other Emergency Numbers For situations that are not immediately life-threatening, contact your local police station or state police assistance line.
Police Safety Notices
When police attend a domestic violence incident, they separate the parties and assess safety. In every jurisdiction, officers can issue an immediate protective notice on the spot, without a court hearing. The name varies. Police Safety Notice, Family Violence Safety Notice, Police Protection Notice, and interim intervention order all describe similar tools. The notice usually prevents the person using violence from contacting or approaching the protected person and their home. In Western Australia, a police order lasts 72 hours. These notices act as a bridge to the courts: they include a summons requiring the respondent to appear before a Magistrates Court, where a longer-term protection order can be considered.
Applying for a Protection Order
For protection beyond a police safety notice, you can apply to the Magistrates Court (or Local Court in NSW) for a civil protection order. These go by different names depending on where you live: Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) in New South Wales, Intervention Order (IVO) in Victoria, and Domestic Violence Order (DVO) in Queensland and several other states.5Queensland Courts. Applying for a Domestic Violence Order Police can apply on your behalf, and in NSW police are required to apply for anyone under 16.6Local Court NSW. Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs) If police decide not to apply, you can lodge your own application directly.
The court must be satisfied that you have reasonable grounds to fear the respondent and that an order is necessary to prevent future violence, intimidation, or harassment. These orders are civil, not criminal, so the respondent does not get a criminal record simply for being subject to one. Typical conditions include prohibitions on assaulting, threatening, stalking, or harassing the protected person, along with exclusion zones around the home, workplace, or children’s school. Orders are generally granted for one to two years, though courts can set longer durations where circumstances warrant.
Orders Are Recognised Nationally
Under the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme, every protection order issued in any Australian state or territory from 25 November 2017 onward is automatically recognised and enforceable across the whole country.7Attorney-General’s Department. National Domestic Violence Order Scheme If you relocate interstate, your order travels with you and no fresh application is needed. Orders issued before that date may need to be formally declared in the new jurisdiction to become enforceable there.
What Happens if the Order Is Breached
Breaching any condition is a criminal offense. In New South Wales, contravening an AVO carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment or 50 penalty units, or both. Maximum penalties vary by jurisdiction, with some states imposing higher maximums for aggravated or repeat breaches. If the person subject to your order comes to your home, contacts you, or otherwise breaches a condition, call police immediately. They can arrest without a warrant.
When the Behaviour Is a Crime
Protection orders and criminal charges run on separate tracks. A person who commits domestic violence can be prosecuted regardless of whether a protection order is in place. Common charges include assault (from common assault through to grievous bodily harm), stalking, intimidation, sexual assault, and property damage, all prosecuted under the relevant state or territory criminal legislation. Sentencing courts routinely treat the domestic context as an aggravating factor.
Coercive Control
Coercive control is the pattern of domination that underpins most domestic violence: repeated behaviour designed to isolate, monitor, degrade, or frighten a partner into compliance. Two jurisdictions have made this a standalone criminal offense. New South Wales criminalised coercive control under section 54D of the Crimes Act 1900, effective 1 July 2024, with a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment. Queensland followed, with its offense commencing on 26 May 2025 and carrying a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.8Queensland Government. Coercive Control Laws Other states and territories have not yet created a standalone offense, though existing laws against stalking, intimidation, and harassment can capture some of the same conduct.
Non-Fatal Strangulation
Every Australian state and territory now has a standalone criminal offense for non-fatal strangulation or choking. Research shows strangulation in a domestic context is one of the strongest predictors of future lethal violence. In Queensland, the offense under section 315A of the Criminal Code carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment, and the Queensland Law Reform Commission has been asked to review whether that penalty adequately reflects the seriousness of the conduct.9Queensland Law Reform Commission. Non-Fatal Strangulation Review Penalties in other jurisdictions vary.
Children and Parenting Arrangements
If you share children with the person who has been violent, family violence plays a central role in how the Family Court decides parenting arrangements. Under section 60CC of the Family Law Act 1975, the court must consider what arrangements would promote the safety of the child and each person caring for the child, including safety from family violence, abuse, and neglect. The 2023 amendments to the Family Law Act strengthened information-sharing between the family courts, child protection agencies, and police, so evidence of violence is more likely to reach the court making parenting decisions.10Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Family Law Changes From 6 May 2024
Family violence in these proceedings is not limited to physical assault. Economic abuse, threats against animals, coercive control, and any behaviour that causes fear all qualify. The court may restrict or supervise the violent parent’s time with children, and in serious cases may order no contact at all. If you are applying for parenting orders and there is a history of family violence, raise it early and provide whatever evidence you can, including police reports, protection orders, medical records, and support service records.1Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Family Violence: Overview
Paid Leave From Work
Under the National Employment Standards, all employees in Australia (full-time, part-time, and casual) are entitled to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave each year.11Fair Work Ombudsman. Family and Domestic Violence Leave You can use it to attend court hearings, move to safe accommodation, access support services, or arrange new schooling for children. The entitlement is available in full from day one of employment and resets on your work anniversary. It does not accumulate from year to year.
The violence must be committed by a close relative, a member of your household, or a current or former intimate partner. Close relative is defined broadly and includes spouses, de facto partners, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, the relatives of a current or former partner, and people related according to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander kinship rules.11Fair Work Ombudsman. Family and Domestic Violence Leave Your employer cannot include details on your payslip that would indicate you are experiencing violence.
Money to Leave
Leaving often requires money the person being abused does not have, especially where the abuser has controlled household finances. The Leaving Violence Program, which replaced the earlier Escaping Violence Payment trial on 1 July 2025, provides eligible victim-survivors with up to $5,000 in financial support, including up to $1,500 in cash and the remainder in goods and services such as rental bonds, household items, or relocation costs.12Department of Social Services. Leaving Violence Program The program is delivered nationally by Telstra Health and can be accessed by calling 1800 253 283 between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm on weekdays.
Crisis accommodation in the form of women’s shelters, refuges, and safe houses is available across Australia at no cost. These services provide secure accommodation along with specialist support, including safety planning and referrals. Access is typically arranged through a state domestic violence helpline, 1800RESPECT, or police referral. Demand for refuge places often exceeds supply, so contact services as early as possible, even before you have a firm plan to leave.
If You Are on a Temporary Visa
Temporary visa holders often fear that leaving a violent relationship will mean losing their right to stay in Australia. The family violence provisions in immigration law address this directly. If you hold or have applied for a Partner visa (subclass 820 or 309) or hold a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300), you may still be eligible for a permanent visa even if the relationship has ended because of family violence committed by your sponsor.13Department of Home Affairs. Family Violence Provisions
These provisions also extend to secondary applicants on certain skilled, business, and family visas where the violence is perpetrated by the primary applicant.13Department of Home Affairs. Family Violence Provisions The Leaving Violence Program is also available to people on temporary visas. Seek legal advice from a migration agent or community legal centre before making decisions about your visa. There are pathways to safety that do not require returning to the abuser or leaving Australia.
Where to Get Help
1800RESPECT is Australia’s national domestic, family, and sexual violence counselling service. It is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or use online chat and video call on the 1800RESPECT website.141800RESPECT. 1800RESPECT The service provides immediate crisis support, safety planning, information about legal options, and referrals to local services including legal aid, crisis accommodation, and counselling.
Every state and territory also operates its own domestic violence crisis line, which can connect you with emergency accommodation, local police, and court support workers who help with protection order applications. Community legal centres and Legal Aid offices provide free legal advice and representation for domestic violence matters, including protection order applications and family law proceedings.
Men who are concerned about their own behaviour can contact MensLine Australia, a free 24-hour counselling service that supports men experiencing or using family violence, or the Men’s Referral Service, which provides confidential counselling and referrals specifically for men who use violent or controlling behaviour and want to change. The Changing for Good program offers longer-term phone counselling for men who have completed a behaviour change program or who want to prevent their behaviour from escalating.15Department of Social Services. Counselling and Support for Men