Services

Family Violence and Intervention Orders

If you are in immediate danger, call 000 for emergency services.

For 24/7 confidential family violence support in Victoria, call Safe Steps on 1800 015 188. You can also call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 at any time, day or night.

At Empower Family Law & Mediation we understand that family violence can take many forms. We know the harm it causes, and we know how it can affect your ability to negotiate and to feel safe through separation.

What is family violence?

Family violence is broader than physical abuse. Under the Family Law Act 1975, the law that applies to your parenting and property matters, family violence means “ violent, threatening or other behaviour by a person that coerces or controls a member of the person’s family (the family member) or causes the family member to be fearful.”. It can include physical or sexual violence, emotional or psychological abuse, coercive control, financial or economic abuse (such as being denied access to money, or having your ability to work or study controlled), stalking, and damaging property or harming pets. A child who sees or hears family violence, or its effects, is also considered to have experienced family violence.

If you’re considering applying for, or you are responding to, a Family Violence Intervention Order, a related but separate definition of family violence applies under Victoria’s Family Violence Protection Act 2008. We can explain how the two processes work together.

Anyone can be affected

Family violence is a widespread social problem. It affects people of all genders, sexualities, ethnicities, religions and socio-economic backgrounds, including people who may not think of what they’re experiencing as “family violence” at all.

At Empower Family Law & Mediation we can work with you and allied professionals to help you understand your situation, whether you are affected by family violence or have been accused of it and decide on safe next steps.

Separation is a high-risk time

Family violence often escalates around the time of separation, and the period immediately afterwards is widely recognised as a period of high-risk. If you’re worried about your safety, or a former partner’s behaviour has changed since you separated, we want to hear about it early so we can help you plan safely.

How family violence and intervention orders can affect your family law matter

Family violence and any Family Violence Intervention Order (FVIO) in place is directly relevant to both parenting and property matters, not just something to mention in the background.

In parenting matters, your child’s safety is central to how arrangements are decided, and the Court must try to ensure parenting orders are consistent with any family violence order in force; in some circumstances, an application under section 68R of the Family Law Act 1975 can vary or suspend an existing parenting order alongside a new intervention order where the risk has changed.

In property matters, since June 2025 the Court is required to consider the economic effect of family violence, including financial or economic abuse, on your contributions during the relationship and on your future financial circumstances.

We make sure family violence and any intervention order are properly put before the Court or the other side, in whichever proceeding is relevant to you.

Family Violence Intervention Orders - Applying for protection

An FVIO is an order made by the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria to protect an affected family member, and often their children, from family violence. You don’t need to attend court in person to apply: an Application for an Intervention Order can be made online or on paper, and in some circumstances the Police can apply on your behalf.

If you’re at immediate risk, Police can issue a Family Violence Safety Notice on the spot, or the Court can make an interim intervention order before the other person has had a chance to respond. An intervention order commonly includes conditions preventing the respondent from:

The Court can also order a respondent to return personal property or surrender any firearms.

An FVIO is different from a Personal Safety Intervention Order (PSIO), which protects people who aren’t family members such as neighbours, colleagues or acquaintances. If you have been subjected to family violence and are concerned it will continue, we can help you apply for an FVIO and prepare you for what happens in court.

If you've been served with an intervention order

Being served with an FVIO application is serious, and it’s worth getting advice before you respond. You generally have several options, and which is right for you depends on your circumstances:

If you don’t respond at all, the Court can still make the order in your absence, including decisions that affect your children. It is best to get legal advice before the Application is listed in Court.

An intervention order can significantly affect other parts of your life including parenting arrangements, employment that requires a Working with Children Check, and firearms licences. Because of this, if you’ve been served with an application, contact us immediately for an initial consultation to discuss your options for resolving the matter.

Breaching an intervention order

Breaching a family violence intervention order or a family violence safety notice is a criminal offence and Police can charge a respondent even where the protected person agreed to the contact.

If you’ve been charged with breaching an order, or you’re worried a situation could lead to a breach, contact Empower Family Law & Mediation for advice immediately.

How we can help

We are experienced in family law matters where family violence has occurred, or where there is a risk it may occur. We have relationships with specialist family violence services who can support you alongside our legal advice, while we help you safely negotiate parenting and property arrangements.

If your matter needs to go to Court, we can help you access the Court’s Lighthouse Project, a screening and support program for parties at risk of family violence, which uses a confidential Family DOORS Triage questionnaire and can include referrals, safety planning, and access to safe rooms at Court. Higher-risk matters may also be case-managed through the Court’s specialist Evatt List.

At Empower Family Law & Mediation we regularly assist parties with parenting matters which have been allocated to the Evatt List.

FAQ’s

Will what I tell you be confidential?

Yes. Everything you tell us is confidential, whether or not you decide to go ahead with us.

What's the difference between an intervention order and a parenting or property order?

An intervention order is made by the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria under state law to protect your safety. It can prohibit the person named on the order (the respondent) from approaching, contacting, harassing or stalking you, or having someone else do so. The Court decides how long a final order lasts. It may be for a set period or have no end date, in which case it continues until the Court cancels it.

Parenting and property orders are made under the Family Law Act 1975 which is federal legislation and deal with arrangements for children and the division of assets.

The two can run alongside each other, and we can advise you on how they interact.

Do I need evidence of family violence before I contact you?

No. You don’t need a Police report, an order, or any documentation to talk to us. We can advise you on what may help your case as we go.

Speak with us- safely and confidentially

If you have been subject to family violence, or you are concerned that you may be at risk, please contact us on (03) 7020 6542 for support and assistance.

If it isn’t safe to call or email from your current device, let us know the best and safest way to reach you when you do get in touch.

Let us be your voice in troubled times.

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Binding Financial Agreements (including Prenuptial Agreements)› Child Relocation› Child Support› Consent Orders› De Facto Relationships› Divorce› Family Mediation› Grandparents and Other Carers› Parenting and Child Custody› Property Settlement› Separation› Spousal Maintenance› Superannuation› Urgent Family Law Issues›

Free support at court, for either party

If you have a family law matter and family violence is part of your situation, Family Advocacy and Support Services (FASS) provide free and confidential legal and social support. It is worth knowing about because many people never hear of it.

FASS can help you if you have experienced family violence, or if another person has said that you have used family violence. It is available to both sides, and the support is offered before, during and after court events.

FASS includes duty lawyers as well as social support workers, with male, female and gender diverse-focused workers available. Support can include:

You can still see a FASS social support worker even if you already have your own lawyer, so it does not replace the advice you are getting — it sits alongside it. In Victoria, call (03) 8610 9803 to speak to the FASS Information and Referral Officer, who will talk through your situation and refer you.

Reporting, and where to find information

How family violence affects a family law case

Family violence is not a separate track running alongside your family law matter. It sits inside it.

In parenting matters. The Court must treat the child's best interests as paramount, and the first matter it must consider is what arrangements would promote the safety of the child and of each person who cares for them, including safety from being subjected to or exposed to family violence, abuse, neglect or other harm. In considering safety, the Court must take into account any history of family violence, abuse or neglect, and any family violence order that applies or has applied to the child or a member of the child's family. This is why an intervention order and its material are relevant to a parenting case, not just a Magistrates' Court matter.

Where parenting orders are sought, a Notice of child abuse, family violence or risk must be filed with the application. It is a required document, not an optional one.

In property matters. Since 10 June 2025 the Court must specifically consider the economic effect of family violence, including financial and economic abuse, when weighing contributions and dividing property. Conduct that limited your ability to work, study, or build assets — or that left you carrying debt — is relevant to the division, and it is worth raising with your lawyer even if it feels separate from the "financial" part of your case.

Safety when you have to attend court

If you have any concerns about your safety while attending court, tell the Court. You do not need to wait until the day, and you do not need to justify the concern at length.

Courts can put arrangements in place, which may include safety planning, separate waiting areas, staggered arrival and departure times, and appearing by electronic means rather than in person. Raising it in advance gives the Court time to organise those arrangements properly.

Your lawyer can make this request on your behalf, and a FASS social support worker can help with safety planning around court attendance.

Court information on this page reflects the published guidance of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia on family violence support and children's matters, as at 26 October 2026. It is general information only, not legal advice, and does not replace advice about your own circumstances. If you are in immediate danger, call 000.

What is considered family violence?

Under the Family Law Act, family violence is violent, threatening or other behaviour that coerces or controls a member of the family, or causes them to be fearful. It is much broader than physical assault, which is the assumption that stops many people from seeking advice. It can include emotional and psychological abuse, financial or economic abuse such as controlling access to money or running up debt in someone's name, threats, stalking and monitoring, repeated derogatory taunts, damage to property, harm to animals, and exposing children to any of these. You do not need to have reported the behaviour to police, and you do not need physical injuries, for it to be relevant to your family law matter.

What support is available if I have to go to court?

Family Advocacy and Support Services provide free and confidential legal and social support to people affected by family violence who have a family law matter. FASS includes duty lawyers as well as social support workers, with male, female and gender diverse-focused workers available, and the support offered can include legal information and advice about family law matters, support at court on the day, safety planning, referrals to other legal, counselling and community support services, and help connecting with services for you and your family. It is available before, during and after court events, and you can see a FASS social support worker even if you already have your own lawyer.

Is support available if I have been accused of using family violence?

Yes. Family Advocacy and Support Services are available both to people who have experienced family violence and to people whom another person has said have used family violence, which is a deliberate feature of the service rather than an oversight. Being served with an intervention order application is serious and it is worth getting advice before you respond, because the options available to you and their consequences depend on your circumstances and on exactly what is alleged. Responding without advice, or consenting to an order without understanding its terms, can have effects that reach well beyond the order itself, including on parenting arrangements and in some cases on employment.

How does family violence affect parenting orders?

It sits at the centre of the decision rather than alongside it. The first matter the Court must consider in assessing a child's best interests is what arrangements would promote the safety of the child and of each person who has care of the child, including safety from being subjected to or exposed to family violence, abuse, neglect or other harm. In considering safety, the Court must take into account any history of family violence, abuse or neglect, and any family violence order that applies or has applied to the child or a member of the child's family. This is why an intervention order and the material supporting it are relevant to a parenting case, not only to the Magistrates' Court proceeding.

Does family violence affect a property settlement?

Yes. Since 10 June 2025 the Court must specifically consider the economic effect of family violence, including financial and economic abuse, when weighing contributions and dividing property. Conduct that limited your ability to work, study or build assets, that left you carrying debt, or that restricted your access to money during the relationship is relevant to the division, and it is also relevant to the future needs assessment through the effect of family violence on earning capacity. It is worth raising with your lawyer even where it feels separate from the financial part of your case, because it is easy to assume that what happened at home has no bearing on the balance sheet.

What can the Court do about my safety on the day?

If you have any concerns about your safety while attending court, tell the Court, and do so in advance rather than on the day itself. You do not need to justify the concern at length. Courts can put arrangements in place, which may include safety planning, separate waiting areas, staggered arrival and departure times, and appearing by electronic means rather than in person. Raising it in advance gives the Court time to organise those arrangements properly rather than improvising on the morning. Your lawyer can make the request on your behalf, and a FASS social support worker can assist with safety planning around court attendance, including what happens before and after the hearing.

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