Can I make arrangements for children when there’s a Domestic Violence Order?

image of person thinking about childIf you have experienced domestic and family violence and are thinking about making arrangements for your children, it is important to get legal adviceACTNSWNTQldSATasVicWA and consider how domestic and family violence affects children.

 

 

 

image of legal adviceA Domestic Violence Order may or may not affect your arrangements for the children. It will depend what your order says and on your situation so you should get legal adviceACTNSWNTQldSATasVicWA.

 

 

 

If there’s a Domestic Violence Order in place, parents may be able to:

 

image of mediation • Do Family Dispute Resolution (mediation) to try to reach an agreement about the children. Some but not all people prefer to do mediation rather than go to court. In some cases you may need to change the Domestic Violence Order to go to mediation.

 

 

image of court•  Go to the Family Courts for Parenting Orders. You must give the Family Courts a copy of any Domestic Violence Orders and it is very important to tell the court about any family violence.

 

 

image of questioningEach case is different, so if you have a Domestic Violence Order and want to know what you can do, get legal adviceACTNSWNTQldSATasVicWA. Also see arrangements for children.

 

 

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image of person at help deskIf you are in the Magistrates’ Court or the Local Court for a Domestic Violence Order and there are already family law Parenting Orders in place, you must tell the court.

 

 

 

image of an order being changedThe court can change or stop the Parenting Orders if they are not safe or if they would not work with the Domestic Violence Order. It’s important to get legal adviceACTNSWNTQldSATasVicWA about this.

 

 

 

image of legal advice
If the court doesn’t change the Parenting Order and those orders are not safe or don’t work with the Domestic Violence Order, get legal adviceACTNSWNTQldSATasVicWA.

 

 

image of courtYou may need to go back to the Family Courts. See how can I change the orders?

 

 

 

image of a parenting orderSometimes, the Family Courts may change or stop your Parenting Order. Or sometimes, the Family Courts can also make Parenting Orders that override parts of your Domestic Violence Order. The Family Courts think very carefully before doing either of these options. It will depend on your situation.

 

 

image of a gavelIf there are differences between a Parenting Order and a Domestic Violence Order, the Parenting Order overrides the Domestic Violence Order to the extent of the difference.

 

 

 

image of person thinking about courtHowever, it can depend on what your Domestic Violence Order says and on what your Parenting Order says. What you should do will also depend on what happened in your situation, so it is important to get legal adviceACTNSWNTQldSATasVicWA.

 

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