Family violence and coercive control

Coercive control is a pattern of abusive behaviour intended to dominate, intimidate, and control another person within an intimate or family relationship. It can include emotional and psychological abuse, financial control, social isolation, monitoring and surveillance, threats, and manipulation. Unlike a single incident of violence, coercive control is characterised by its ongoing, cumulative nature — eroding the victim-survivor's autonomy and sense of safety over time.

Coercive control has been criminalised in several Australian states, with legislation progressively being introduced to recognise it as a standalone offence. This reflects growing understanding, informed by domestic and international research, that coercive control is a significant indicator of serious harm and lethality risk, even in the absence of physical violence. The criminalisation has led to greater community awareness and more robust legal protections for victim-survivors.

Family violence is defined broadly under both federal and state legislation. Under section 4AB of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), family violence means violent, threatening or other behaviour by a person that coerces or controls a member of the person's family, or causes the family member to be fearful. The definition is deliberately broad and is not limited to physical violence. Examples of behaviour that may constitute family violence under the Act include:

• Assault, including sexual assault

• Stalking

• Repeated derogatory taunts

• Intentionally damaging or destroying property

• Intentionally causing death or injury to an animal

• Economic or financial abuse, such as unreasonably denying a family member financial autonomy, forcibly controlling money or assets (including superannuation), sabotaging employment, or coercing a family member to take on financial or legal liabilities

• Preventing a family member from making or keeping connections with family, friends, or culture

• Unlawfully depriving a family member of their liberty

• Dowry-related abuse, including coercing a family member to give or seek money or assets as dowry

Importantly, a child is exposed to family violence if the child sees or hears family violence or otherwise experiences the effects of family violence — including overhearing threats, witnessing assaults, comforting an assaulted family member, or being present when police attend a family violence incident.

Obtaining legal advice before separation allows you to plan your departure safely and strategically. A specialist family violence lawyer can help you understand your legal rights, develop a safety plan, apply for protective orders in advance, secure important documents and financial information, and ensure that you and your children are in the strongest possible position when separation occurs. In many cases, early advice is the most significant factor in achieving a safe and favourable outcome.

In many cases, yes. The law provides mechanisms — including intervention orders (such as Family Violence Intervention Orders or Apprehended Violence Orders, depending on the state) and exclusive occupation orders under the Family Law Act — that can allow the victim-survivor to remain in the family home while the perpetrator is required to leave. Remaining in the home can provide critical stability for both you and your children during the separation process.  Often this can be combined with interim property applications to ensure that loans and mortgages are paid and reasonable financial support can be provided until final settlement can be reached.

Family violence is a central consideration in parenting proceedings under the Family Law Act. The court must consider the need to protect the child and the victim-survivor parent from physical or psychological harm, including harm caused by exposure to family violence. In cases involving family violence, the court may order sole parental responsibility, impose conditions on time spend arrangements (such as supervised contact), or make orders restricting communication between the parties. Evidence of coercive control is increasingly being recognised by the courts as relevant to parenting outcomes.

A safety plan is a personalised strategy designed to protect you and your children before, during, and after separation from a violent or controlling partner. A specialist family violence lawyer can assist you in identifying risks, securing protective legal orders, arranging safe accommodation, protecting financial assets, and coordinating with support services such as domestic violence agencies, police, and counsellors. Effective safety planning is tailored to your individual circumstances and is a critical step in achieving a safe transition.

Yes. Australian family law and state-based family violence legislation recognise that family violence includes a broad range of behaviours beyond physical assault — including emotional abuse, financial abuse, threats, intimidation, stalking, and coercive control. You do not need to have experienced physical violence to obtain an intervention order or to have family violence taken into account in family law proceedings. If you feel unsafe or controlled in your relationship, you are entitled to seek legal advice and protection.

Proving coercive control requires building a detailed picture of the pattern of behaviour over time. Evidence may include text messages, emails, financial records, witness statements, reports from family violence services, medical records, and expert evidence. Because coercive control is often subtle and cumulative — rather than a single dramatic event — specialist legal experience is essential to identifying the pattern, gathering the right evidence, and presenting it effectively to the court.

While the Family Law Act governs parenting and property proceedings in federal family law courts, each Australian state and territory has its own legislation dealing with family violence intervention orders (also known as apprehended violence orders, domestic violence orders, or restraining orders, depending on the jurisdiction). The principal state and territory legislation includes (jurisdiction - legislation - order type):

New South Wales — Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 — Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO)

Victoria — Family Violence Protection Act 2008 — Family Violence Intervention Order (FVIO)

Queensland — Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 — Domestic Violence Order (DVO)

South Australia — Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009 — Intervention Order

Western Australia — Restraining Orders Act 1997 — Family Violence Restraining Order (FVRO)

Tasmania — Family Violence Act 2004 — Family Violence Order (FVO)

Australian Capital Territory — Family Violence Act 2016 — Protection Order

Northern Territory — Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007 — Domestic Violence Order (DVO).

Each of these state and territory statutes contains its own definition of family violence or domestic violence. While the specific wording varies, there is increasing alignment across jurisdictions. For example, Queensland defines domestic violence as behaviour, or a pattern of behaviour, that is physically or sexually abusive, emotionally or psychologically abusive, economically abusive, threatening, coercive, or that in any other way controls or dominates and causes fear. Western Australia similarly defines family violence to include violence, threats of violence, or any other behaviour or pattern of behaviour that coerces or controls a family member or causes the member to be fearful. South Australia focuses on acts that result in physical injury, emotional or psychological harm, unreasonable denial of financial, social or personal autonomy, or damage to property.

These state-based orders are recognised across jurisdictions through national recognition schemes, meaning a domestic violence order made in one state or territory is generally enforceable in all others.

State and territory intervention orders and federal family law orders operate in parallel but are designed to coexist. Key intersection points include:

• Disclosure obligations: When applying for an intervention order, applicants are typically required to disclose any existing orders under the Family Law Act 1975 — for example, in NSW, an application for a serious domestic abuse prevention order must include details of both apprehended violence orders and Family Law Act orders of which the applicant is aware.

• Automatic protection of children: In several jurisdictions, when an intervention order is made for an adult, children with a domestic relationship to that person must also be included as protected persons. For example, in NSW, if a court makes an ADVO for a person over 18, it must include as a protected person any child with whom that person has a domestic relationship, unless good reasons exist not to do so.

• Express cross-referencing: State legislation frequently defines or references federal family law orders. Tasmania's Family Violence Act 2004 defines a "Family Court order" as an order made under Part VII of the Family Law Act 1975. Western Australia's Restraining Orders Act 1997 contains cross-references to orders under both the Family Law Act 1975 and the Family Court Act 1997.

• Impact on parenting proceedings: Under the Family Law Act, the court must consider the need to protect the child from physical or psychological harm caused by being subjected to, or exposed to, family violence. The existence of state-based intervention orders is a relevant consideration in family law parenting proceedings and can influence orders for sole parental responsibility, supervised time, and other protective arrangements.

Behaviour constituting family violence can give rise to both civil protection orders (intervention orders, AVOs, FVROs) under state and territory legislation and criminal charges under state criminal law. Common criminal offences arising from family violence include assault, sexual assault, stalking, intimidation, property damage, and contravention of an intervention order.

In a landmark shift, coercive control has now been criminalised as a standalone offence in several Australian states, including Queensland and New South Wales.

• Queensland enacted a specific coercive control offence in the Criminal Code, which applies where an adult in a domestic relationship engages in a course of conduct consisting of domestic violence on more than one occasion, intends the course of conduct to coerce or control the other person, and the course of conduct would be reasonably likely to cause harm. The maximum penalty is 14 years' imprisonment.

• NSW has introduced a coercive control offence under section 54D of the Crimes Act 1900, which is now expressly included within the definition of "domestic violence offence" under the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007.

The criminalisation of coercive control represents a significant evolution in the legal response to family violence, recognising that patterns of controlling and coercive behaviour even without physical violence can pose serious risks of harm, including lethality.