A family violence order (FVO) is made under the law of a state or territory to protect a person from family violence. It is a court order against the family member designed to stop threats of violence or violent behaviour that coerces controls or causes a family member to be fearful.
Family violence orders are called different things in different states such as:
Under the Family Law Act, all state and territory orders are described as ‘family violence orders.’ All FVOs have an order prohibiting a person from committing family violence. Such orders may also prohibit one parent from coming within a set distance of another parent, including where they live or work.
FVOs made in one state are now recognised in all other states and territories in Australia. Included in this are FVOs made in New Zealand and registered in Victoria. Generally, FVOs made prior to 25th November 2017 in one state are not enforceable in another state, except for Victoria.
Child protection orders are different to FVOs. They are made by a state Children's Court when it is believed that a child needs protection. However, children are now regularly included in family violence orders made for a parent.
The grounds upon which such orders may be sought also vary from one jurisdiction to another. For example, in New South Wales an order may be sought if an applicant fears for their safety by the perpetrator's commission of an offence involving physical or sexual violence, property damage, stalking, harassment or intimidation.
In other states, the grounds for FVOs are more wide-ranging. In Tasmania’s Family Violence Act 2004, for example, the definition of family violence includes verbal, economic and emotional abuse.
Similarly, Victoria’s Family Violence Protection Act 2008 offers a broad definition of family violence which includes emotional, psychological and economic abuse but a final order requires the likelihood of repetition of the abuse. Emotional or psychological abuse includes behaviour that is ‘offensive to the other person’.
Also, in Victoria, family violence orders have been made on the grounds of economic abuse, where a parent was not making the child support payments they were responsible for. In the Australian Capital Territory, conduct that is offensive to a relevant person is also termed ‘domestic violence’.
In Western Australia, an FVO can be made if family violence has been committed or a family member has good reasons to fear that the respondent will commit family violence.
Family Violence Orders and Parents
Australian Institute of Family Studies research on separated parents found that 65% of women and 55% of men reported that they had experienced assaults against them by their former partner either during the relationship or after separation. However, approximately 90% of applicants for FVOs are women.
An FVO can have conditions or exemptions that enable parents to negotiate parenting arrangements for their children, often these conditions include Family Dispute Resolution and communication via lawyers. FVO orders can also allow parents to spend time with and care for their children as per a parenting agreement.
There are two types of FVOs that a magistrate can make at court. They are:
Interim FVOs are not necessarily made into final orders. In New South Wales, about 45 per cent of applications for FVOs do not lead to final orders, mostly because the complainant does not proceed beyond an interim order. In Victoria, about 40 per cent of applications in domestic cases are also withdrawn or dismissed, with a further 5–6 per cent being withdrawn after receiving an undertaking.
An FVO will prevent the person bound from doing certain things. The person bound by the order should read the order carefully to know what behaviour is restricted. If the person bound does something that the FVO says they can't do, they are "breaching" the order. For example, if an FVO says the person bound is not allowed to communicate with a protected person, the person bound must not:
Having an order taken out against someone is not the same as being charged with a crime. It is a civil law process. This means it is not on the public record, but the police and the court will have a record.
Having an FVO made against someone will not result in a criminal record. However, a breach of FVO is a criminal offence and can result in a criminal conviction and time in prison.
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