Women’s Legal Services Australia (WLSA) welcomes the parliamentary inquiry into family violence orders following a referral from the Attorney-General, the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP. We are pleased to see the Commonwealth Government’s continued interest in reviewing the family law system and its commitment to taking action to preventing family violence and abuse, and to improving the protections offered through the family law system to those affected by violence and abuse.
Our submission responds to the following terms of reference:
Term of Reference 1: The risk of an escalation in the aggressive and violent behaviour of the perpetrator and heightened risk to the partner and children during family court proceedings
Term of Reference 2: The current barriers for litigants in the family law system to obtain and enforce FVOs, including but not limited to:
a) the additional difficulty for victims of violence in the family law system to attend multiple courts for their family law order proceedings and an FVO
b) the intersection between FVOs and parenting orders, including that a family court parenting order may override an FVO
Term of Reference 3: How FVOs could be more accessible for victims of violence going through the family law system, including but not limited to:
a) making it easier to apply for and enforce an FVO
Term of Reference 4: Any other reform that would make it safer and fairer for victims of violence in the family law system who need the protection of FVOs.