Contents

• Book Cover
• Site search
• Case database
  • All Cases
  • Commonwealth
    • High Court of Australia
    • Family Court of Australia Full Court
    • Family Court of Australia
    • Federal Circuit Court of Australia
    • Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1)
    • Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2)
    • Federal Magistrates' Court of Australia
    • Administrative Appeals Tribunal of Australia
    • Australian Information Commissioner
  • Australian Capital Territory
    • Court of Appeal
    • Supreme Court
    • Magistrates' Court
  • New South Wales
    • Court of Appeal
    • Court of Criminal Appeal
    • Supreme Court
    • District Court
    • Civil and Administrative Tribunal
  • Northern Territory
    • Court of Appeal
    • Court of Criminal Appeal
    • Supreme Court
    • Coroners Court
    • Civil and Administrative Tribunal
  • Queensland
    • Court of Appeal
    • Supreme Court
    • District Court
    • Magistrates' Court
    • Civil and Administrative Tribunal
  • South Australia
    • Court of Appeal
    • Supreme Court - Full Court
    • Supreme Court
    • District Court
  • Tasmania
    • Court of Criminal Appeal
    • Supreme Court (Full Court)
    • Supreme Court
    • Magistrates' Court
  • Victoria
    • Court of Appeal
    • Supreme Court
    • County Court
    • Magistrates' Court
    • Civil and Administrative Tribunal
  • Western Australia
    • Court of Appeal
    • Supreme Court
    • District Court
    • Family Court
• 1. Purpose and limitations
• 2. Using this bench book
• 3. Terminology
  • 3.1. Understanding domestic and family violence
    • 3.1.1. Physical violence and harm
    • 3.1.2. Sexual and reproductive abuse
    • 3.1.3. Economic and financial abuse
    • 3.1.4. Emotional and psychological abuse
    • 3.1.5. Cultural and spiritual abuse
    • 3.1.6. Following, harassing and monitoring
    • 3.1.7. Social abuse
    • 3.1.8. Exposing children to domestic and family violence
    • 3.1.9. Damaging property
    • 3.1.10. Animal abuse
    • 3.1.11. Systems abuse
    • 3.1.12. Forced marriage
    • 3.1.13. Dowry abuse
  • 3.2. Coercive control
  • 3.3. Protection order
  • 3.4. Parties
• 4. Dynamics of domestic and family violence
  • 4.1. Myths and misunderstandings
  • 4.2. Factors affecting risk
    • 4.2.1. Death review
  • 4.3. Typological approaches
  • 4.4. Vulnerable groups
    • 4.4.1. Women
    • 4.4.2. People with children
    • 4.4.3. Children
    • 4.4.4. Young people
    • 4.4.5. Older people
    • 4.4.6. Pregnant people
    • 4.4.7. People with disability and impairment
    • 4.4.8. People with mental illness
    • 4.4.9. People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
    • 4.4.10. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
    • 4.4.11. People living in regional, rural and remote communities
    • 4.4.12. People affected by substance misuse
    • 4.4.13. People who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer +
    • 4.4.14. People with poor literacy skills
    • 4.4.15. Victims as (alleged) perpetrators
• 5. Fair hearing and safety
  • 5.1. Impact on consent and disclosure
  • 5.2. Victim experience of court processes
  • 5.3. Safety and protection of victim and witnesses
  • 5.4. Legal representation and self-represented litigants
  • 5.5. Interpreters and translators
  • 5.6. Support person in court
  • 5.7. Referral to support services
  • 5.8. Adjournments and timely decision making
  • 5.9. Information sharing
  • 5.10. Implicit bias
  • 5.11. Trauma-informed judicial practice
• 6. Evidence issues
• 7. Protection orders
  • 7.1. Purpose
  • 7.2. Management of application proceedings
    • 7.2.1. Cross-examination
  • 7.3. Information sharing
  • 7.4. Conditions
  • 7.5. Property
  • 7.6. Duration
  • 7.7. Related family law proceedings
  • 7.8. Parenting orders
  • 7.9. Recognition of interstate orders
  • 7.10. Breach
  • 7.11. Undertakings
  • 7.12. Summary of considerations
  • 7.13. Sample conditions
• 8. Perpetrator interventions
• 9. Responses in criminal proceedings
  • 9.1. Bail
  • 9.2. Evidence
    • 9.2.1. Relationship, context, tendency and coincidence evidence
    • 9.2.2. Expert or opinion evidence
    • 9.2.3. Vulnerable or special witnesses
  • 9.3. Sentencing
    • 9.3.1. Sentencing considerations - breaches of protection orders
    • 9.3.2. Specific considerations - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
    • 9.3.3. Listening to victims
    • 9.3.4. Options
      • 9.3.4.1. Imprisonment
      • 9.3.4.2. Intermediate sanctions
      • 9.3.4.3. Fines
• 10. Family law proceedings
  • 10.1. Foundational information
    • 10.1.1. FCFCA Family Violence Best Practice Principles
    • 10.1.2. Key statutory provisions in Family Law Act (Cth) and Family Court Act (WA)
    • 10.1.3. Intersection of legal systems
    • 10.1.4. Jurisdiction of FCFCA
    • 10.1.5. Jurisdiction of the Family Court of Western Australia
    • 10.1.6. Jurisdiction of state/territory courts
    • 10.1.7. Prevalence of domestic and family violence in the family law system
    • 10.1.8. Impact of domestic and family violence on children and parenting capacity
    • 10.1.9. Independent children's lawyer
  • 10.2. Family dispute resolution
  • 10.3. Court and case management
    • 10.3.1. Child-related proceedings
    • 10.3.2. Cross-examination
    • 10.3.3. Self-represented litigants
    • 10.3.4. Vexatious proceedings
  • 10.4. Family consultants and expert witnesses
  • 10.5. Information sharing
  • 10.6. Unacceptable risk and best interests
  • 10.7. Parenting orders and impact on children
    • 10.7.1. Allegations of domestic and family violence
    • 10.7.2. Court-based parenting outcomes
    • 10.7.3. Relocation
    • 10.7.4. Recovery orders
    • 10.7.5. Hague Convention international return and removal of children
    • 10.7.6. Parental alienation
  • 10.8. Property proceedings
• Victim experiences
• Acknowledgements

Note: An offline print version of the site (last updated June 2023) is available here.