The Family Law Act and family violence
Many sections of the Family Law Act refer to aspects of family violence, including how courts must protect children from its consequences.
The Family Law Act 1975 (Section 4) defines family violence as:
'conduct, whether actual or threatened, by a person towards, or towards the property of, a member of the person's family that causes that or any other member of the person's family reasonably to fear for, or reasonably to be apprehensive about, his or her personal well-being or safety.'
At a more general level, Section 43(ca) requires a court to have regard to the need to protect individuals from family violence in circumstances of family violence.
Sections 60CC and 60CG refer to factors to be considered by a court when determining what is in the child's best interest. These include:
- family violence involving the child or a member of the child's family, and
- any family violence order that applies to the child or a member of the child's family.
A court also must ensure that any orders made:
- have regard to any family violence order, and
- do not expose a person to an unacceptable risk of family violence.
Section 60CF deals with informing a court of relevant family violence orders.
Other relevant parts of the Act include:
- Division 11, which concerns: resolving inconsistencies between orders for spending time with children and state family violence orders; ensuring orders for spending time with children do not expose people to family violence; and respecting a child's right to spend time with a parent or other person.
- Sections 68P and 68Q, which concern court orders for children to spend time with a parent or other person that are inconsistent with an existing family violence order.