The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (the Court) takes family violence seriously and has various measures in place to ensure you are safe when you come to court.
Do you have fears for your safety?
If you have fears for your safety or that of your children, regardless of whether you are attending the Court, you should contact the police.
If your fears are immediate, ask for urgent help and tell the police if there any weapons involved. The police are equipped to respond quickly and appropriately.
Most police departments have trained family violence officers who can assist with obtaining a family violence order (also called protection, domestic violence or apprehended violence orders) for you. Once such an order is made, the police will respond to and deal with breaches of it.
More information, including contact details of state and territory police, is available in the Family violence: Get help and support section of this website.
Do you have fears about attending a court appointment or hearing?
If you have any fears about attending a court appointment at the same time or in the same room as your former partner/ other party, please tell the Court as soon as possible. You can do this by completing the enquiry form, selecting 'Safety at court' under What is your enquiry?. If you have been given the number of the person directly managing your case, you can also call them directly but do this before attending so arrangements can be made.
Safety measures vary in registries. There are safe rooms available in many registries and provision can sometimes be made for separate entry and exit points. You may also be able to attend by phone or by video.
For more information see the publication Do you have fears for your safety when attending court?
Attending court electronically
If you have fears about attending a court event in person and are unable to bring a support person or friend with you, you can apply to attend your court event via telephone or video link.
In your request you will need to set out the reasons why you are requesting to attend via telephone or video link. The approval of the request will be at the discretion of the docketed judge or the registrar the matter is listed before.
For further information see: Request to attend by electronic communication form and Electronic hearings.
Support person or friend
You may have a friend, family member, support worker or other support person attend a court hearing with you. Hearings can be observed by any member of the public. However, children and young people under 18 are not permitted in a court hearing.
If you have a support person with you at court, they may sit at the back of the courtroom. If your hearing is conducted by telephone or video, you may also have a support person with you in your private location.
However, a Judge or Registrar may exercise their discretion to decide who may be present during the hearing, or that some individuals should not be present.
For example, during a hearing, parties who are not legally represented may be allowed to have a support person sit next to them. The extent of the support person's involvement in the hearing will be at the discretion of the judicial officer.
Whilst a support person can attend the Court registry with you, the support person will not usually be able to attend a Dispute Resolution Conference or Conciliation Conference. However, this request may be made to the presiding officer.
For information on what a support person can and cannot do during a Court Children’s Service (CCS) assessment see: Support people in Court Children’s Service adult assessments
Family Advocacy and Support Services
Each Australian state and territory has a Family Advocacy and Support Service (FASS). FASS provides free legal advice and support at court for people affected by domestic and family violence.
If you are worried about your safety at court or about going to court, please talk to your local FASS before your court date.
FASS can:
- help you plan for your safety
- talk to the Court about your safety at court
- give you information and support during your family law case
- help with practical problems like Centrelink and housing
- advocate for you with services like police, and
- connect you with other services.
https://familyviolencelaw.gov.au/fass
For 24/7 crisis support – contact 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732
