Frequently asked questions

it may change the legal advice they give you and how they run your case
the most important consideration for the court when deciding what is in your child’s best interests is the need to protect them from harm
if your case goes to the Family Courts, the law says you must tell the court if there’s been any domestic and family violence

it may change whether Family Dispute Resolution (mediation) is appropriate in your case. See I have experienced domestic and family violence – do I have to go to Family Dispute Resolution?
your lawyer may be able help to make safe arrangements if you have to go to court or Family Dipute Resolution
your lawyer can often help you with referrals to support services
the law recognises the negative effect of domestic and family violence on children – this includes when children are exposed to domestic and family violence.

image of child running to parent The term ‘custody’ is no longer used in Australia.

The law now talks about who a child lives with and how much time they spend with and communicate with the other parent.

The law also talks about how parents make big long-term decisions about children. This is called parental responsibility.

For more information, see:

How does the court make decisions about children?
How does the court consider domestic and family violence?

image of a watch There is no exact formula about how much time children should spend with each parent.

Every case is different. It will depend on your own situation so you should get legal advice.

image of a child questioning There is no set age when your children can choose who they live with or what time they spend with the other parent.

If the case ends up in court, your children’s views are just one of many things the court looks at. The court will also consider if there has been any domestic and family violence.

Every case is different, so it’s important to get legal advice about your situation.

image of person thinking about child No. The law does not say that children must spend equal amounts of time with each parent. Every case is different, so it’s important to get legal adviceabout your situation.

To watch a video with more information about this, see the Best for Kids video, Parenting After Separation – subtitles are available in Arabic, Chinese and Vietnamese.

If you and the other parent can’t agree on arrangements for your children, you should get get legal advice.

Unless an exception applies, you must try Family Dispute Resolution(mediation) before you can go to the Family Courts about your children.

Domestic and family violence is an exception to trying Family Dispute Resolution, but sometimes going straight to court may not be the best option for you.

Some people prefer to try Family Dispute Resolution even if there’s been domestic or family violence.

If you’re worried about your safety, steps can be taken to make Family Dispute Resolution safe.

You can get get legal advice about what is best for you. See I have experienced domestic and family violence – do I have to go to Family Dispute Resolution?

image of money See our Child Support page, in particular what can I do if I have experienced domestic and family violence and am scared to ask the other parent for child support?

image of a protection order When the Family Courts make Parenting Orders, they can also order a Personal Protection Injunction. This can help protect you by ordering the other person not to do certain things.

It is different to a Domestic Violence Order so it’s important to get legal adviceabout Personal Protection Injunctions and Domestic Violence Orders.

image of a gavel The Family Courts take domestic and family violence very seriously. Even if the violence was directed at you rather than your children, your children were still exposed to domestic and family violence.

If your children have been exposed to domestic and family violence, the Family Courts consider your children to be direct victims of the violence.

Research shows that being exposed to domestic and family violence can affect your children’s emotional, psychological and physical wellbeing. See how does domestic and family violence affects children?

For more information about how the court looks at domestic and family violence when making Parenting Orders, see how does the court consider domestic and family violence?

image of person giving evidence When the matter goes to court, the person who says you used domestic and family violence has to tell the court about their allegations.

Domestic and family violence also includes exposing a child to that violence.

This is because of the negative affect it can have on your children’s emotional, psychological and physical wellbeing. See how does domestic and family violence affects children?

You get a chance to respond and tell the court your side of the story. You also have a duty to tell the court about any domestic and family violence or Domestic Violence Orders. See how does the court find out if there’s been domestic and family violence?

At a final hearing, the court will weigh up all the evidence, and if possible, will try to decide if the domestic and family violence happened. This may affect the orders it makes.

For more information see what orders will the court make if there’s been domestic and family violence?

If you have Parenting Orders in place and experience domestic and family violence, it is important to get legal adviceACTNSWNTQldSATasVicWA and consider how domestic and family violence affects children.

If 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.

The Magistrates’ Court or the Local 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.

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.

You may need to go back to the Family Courts. See how can I change Parenting Orders?

Sometimes, 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.

If 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.

However, 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.

If 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.

A 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:

• 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

• 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 domestic and family violence.

Each 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.

Domestic and family violence may be relevant in a property settlement. As every case is different, it’s important to get legal adviceACTNSWNTQldSATasVicWA.
It is important to tell your lawyer if you have experienced domestic and family violence as it may change the legal advice they give you, and it allows them to run your case in a safe way.
Domestic and family violence violence is also relevant if you need orders for your protection.
See I have experienced domestic and family violence – can the Family Courts make orders for my protection?