Children: Safety and risk
Notifying the Court about family violence and child abuse
If you have a family violence order, you must tell the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (the Court) about the order.
The Notice of child abuse, family violence or risk is a mandatory form for any person who files an Initiating application, Application for consent orders or Response to initiating application in the Court seeking parenting orders. The Notice of child abuse, family violence or risk is the way that you notify the Court of any allegations of family violence, child abuse or risk, in parenting proceedings.
See How the Court considers safety and risk for more information.
Family violence orders
A family violence order is an order made under a state or territory law to protect a person from family violence. The Court does not make family violence orders.
Family violence orders may affect orders made by the Court, especially parenting orders about children spending time with a parent or another person. For more information about family violence orders see, Family violence orders.
Risk assessment
The Court is often assisted in children’s cases by expert evidence about risk, medical and other health records, and forensic investigations. These can include:
- family reports and memoranda prepared by Court Children’s Service or external experts
- psychiatric or psychological assessments
- psychosexual assessments, and
- drug and/or alcohol tests, including urine tests, blood tests and/or hair follicle tests.
In most cases, the costs of those services (other than those provided by Court Children’s Services) must be paid by the parties to the proceedings.
Lighthouse
The Court is committed to the protection of vulnerable parties and children in family law proceedings and is leading the way in helping families that have experienced family violence and other safety risks to navigate the family law system.
Lighthouse plays a central role in the Court’s response to cases which may involve risk relating to family violence, mental health, drug and alcohol misuse and child abuse and neglect, by shaping the allocation of resources and urgency given to such cases.
You will be invited to complete the risk screen when you file an Initiating Application or Response with the Court seeking orders relating to children, such as parenting only orders, or parenting and financial orders, in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Dandenong, Darwin, Hobart, Launceston, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Rockhampton, Sydney, Townsville and Wollongong.
For more information see Lighthouse.
Staying safe at court
If you have any concerns about your safety while attending court, you must let the Court know. See Safety at court for more information about safety plans and what the Court can do.
Family violence and children
Family violence between parents is traumatic for children and can affect them in many ways. The following factsheets provide information for parents about the ways high levels of parental conflict can affect children and the harmful effect of family violence on children.
For more information see Family violence and children.
Getting help and support
Family Advocacy and Support Service
The Family Advocacy and Support Service (FASS) is an integrated duty lawyer and social worker service available for families affected by family violence or abuse. FASS is run by Legal Aid and is free. FASS may be able to help you with preparing documentation, organising a referral to a service and helping with court proceedings.
Visit https://familyviolencelaw.gov.au/fass/ to find the contact details of FASS in your state or territory.
There are a number of other organisations that also provide advice and support. See Family Violence – Get help and support.
If you are in immediate danger call 000.
***Disclaimer – The above information was taken from the Federal Circuit & Family Court of Australia website as accurate in October 2023. If any changes are made by the court from that date they may not be reflected in this post
