If you hold certain Australian visas and have experienced family violence, you may still apply for permanent residency via the “family violence” provisions.
This article will take you through what the family violence provisions are, and what evidence you must provide to submit a valid claim.
Eligibility for the Family Violence Provisions
To qualify for Australia’s family violence provisions, you typically must:
- Have experienced family violence perpetrated by your sponsor or primary visa holder;
- Be separated from the sponsor or primary visa holder;
- The family violence must have occurred while you were in a relationship with your sponsor or primary visa holder; and
- You must have applied for or currently hold an eligible visa.
Partner Visa Applicants Eligible for Family Violence Provisions
If you applied for or currently hold one of the following visas, you may be eligible under the family violence provisions;
- Temporary Partner (subclass 820) visa;
- Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa (where the visa-holding parent has applied for the Family Violence Provisions);
- Provisional Partner (subclass 309) visa (if you have entered Australia on this visa or had it granted in Australia under a COVID-19 concession); or
- Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa (if you have entered Australia and married your sponsor).
Secondary Visa Applicants on Skilled Visas
In some cases, secondary visa applicants (dependents) can also apply under the Family Violence Provisions if the primary visa holder has been granted a permanent visa. These visas include:
- Business Talent (subclass 132) visa;
- Pacific Engagement (subclass 192) visa; and
- National Innovation (subclass 858) visa.
Dependent Visa Applicants on Family Visas
For applicants on certain family visas, the family violence provisions apply only if the primary visa applicant is the perpetrator of family violence. However, they do not apply if the violence comes from the Australian sponsor (e.g., an Australian child sponsoring their parent).
Eligible visas in this category include:
- Remaining Relative visas (subclasses 115 & 835);
- Carer visas (subclasses 116 & 836);
- Parent visa (subclass 103);
- Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143);
- Aged Parent visa (subclass 804); and
- Contributory Aged Parent visa (subclass 864).
What constitutes family violence?
Any conduct that makes you fear for your (or your family’s) safety and wellbeing is considered family violence. This extends to violence directed at your pets or property.
The Department of Home Affairs provides guidelines as to what may be considered family violence, which include:
- physical abuse;
- sexual abuse;
- verbal or emotional abuse;
- social abuse; or
- financial abuse.
How do I apply for the family violence provisions?
There are various steps that must be taken to request access to the family violence provisions, which are outlined in the table below.
Notify the Department of Home Affairs |
You must notify the Department that your relationship has ceased, and that you intend to rely on the family violence provisions.
You should use ImmiAccount to submit notifications of relationship breakdowns or of family violence. This will help case officers better identify applications with family violence claims. ImmiAccount allows those impacted by family violence to ‘split’ their application from the primary applicant. This ‘split’ feature allows secondary applicants to process their application separately from the primary applicant, protecting their privacy while allowing them to still use ImmiAccount. You can provide evidence in support of the relationship and family violence assessments (more on this below) at this stage, or otherwise notify the Department that you need time to prepare your supporting documents. |
Relationship assessment |
The Department must be satisfied that you were previously a genuine and ongoing relationship with your former sponsor. This may require you to provide evidence of:
|
Family violence assessment |
If the Department are satisfied that your relationship was genuine and ongoing, they will then assess your family violence claims. This assessment is often made at the same time – so you can simply provide the relationship and family violence evidence together.
You may provide judicial or non-judicial evidence (please see below for further details). Importantly, the evidence you provide must demonstrate that:
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After submitting your evidence |
If the Department accept that you have experienced family violence, they will commence processing the remainder of the requirements for the grant of a permanent visa. As part of this process, the Department may request:
Your case will be referred to an independent expert if the Department are not satisfied that you have experienced family violence. If this occurs, the independent expert may have an interview with you and provide an opinion on whether you have experienced family violence. The Department is bound by the independent expert’s opinion. If the independent expert considered that you have not experienced family violence, you will be given the opportunity to respond. |
What evidence do I have to provide?
As referred to above, you must provide either judicial or non-judicial evidence that you have experienced family violence.
Judicial evidence refers to a document from a court of law. Judicial evidence includes a:
- court injunction under the Family Law Act 1975 against your former partner;
- court order against your partner;
- record that the court has convicted your partner of a family violence offence against you or your children; or
- record that the court has recorded a finding of guilt against your partner of an offence of violence against you or your children.
It is important to note that an interim order is not considered judicial evidence.