Who can apply for a Family Violence Intervention Order?

Family members affected by family violence, the parent of a child who is affected by family violence, a guardian, a police officer and
other people with permission of the Court can apply for a Family Violence Intervention Order.

“Family members” are defined broadly in the Act to include spouses, domestic partners, people in intimate personal relationships,
relatives and any person who is regarded as being "like a family member" if it is reasonable to regard them in that way in light of the circumstances of the relationship. An example might be a relationship between a person with a disability and their carer.

What is Family Violence?

The new laws clearly state that, for the purposes of the Act, family violence is:

1. behaviour towards a family member that is:

• physically or sexually abusive; or
  
• emotionally or psychologically abusive; or
  
• economically abusive; or
  
• threatening; or
  
• coercive (compelling a family member to do something against their wishes by use of threats or force); or
  
• forcing a family member to act against their wishes; or
  
• controlling or dominating the family member, causing that family member to fear for the safety or wellbeing of that family member or another person; or

2. behaviour by a person that causes a child to hear or witness or otherwise be exposed to the effects of any of the types of
behaviour referred to above.

Examples include overhearing threats of physical abuse, seeing or hearing assaults of family members, comforting or providing
assistance to a family member who has been physically abused by another family member, cleaning up a site after a family member has damaged property and being present when police attend an incident involving family violence.

“Family violence” includes the following types of behaviour:

• Assaulting or causing personal injury to a family member or threatening to do so.
  
• Sexually assaulting a family member or coercive behaviour or threatening to engage in such behaviour.
  
• Intentionally damaging property or threatening to do so.
  
• Unlawfully depriving a family member of their liberty, or threatening to do so.
  
• Injuring or killing an animal to control, dominate or coerce a family member, or threatening to do so.

Behaviour can constitute family violence even if it is not a criminal offence.

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