Family Violence and the Courts: lessons from Western Australia I Monica Blizzard
When family violence affects parenting, personal safety and child protection, families can find themselves navigating several different court systems at once. Each proceeding may address a different legal issue, yet all concern the same family and the same history of family violence. At the 21st National Family Law Conference in Hobart, Justice O’Brien of the Family Court of Western Australia highlighted than alternative approach. Western Australia’s distinctive court structure offers important lessons about how better coordination between family law and family violence processes might reduce the burden on victims of family violence.
A different model in Western Australia
Western Australia occupies a unique position in Australian family law. Unlike other states, it has its own state-based family court rather than relying entirely on the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. That different jurisdictional structure provides an important case study in how family law and family violence processes can be better coordinated. Western Australia also has a specific Family Violence Restraining Order (FVRO) regime under the Restraining Orders Act 1997 - [05-o0-00].pdf. An FVRO can protect a person from family violence and can also extend to children exposed to family violence. Where the statutory test is satisfied, the court must make an FVRO unless special circumstances make it inappropriate.
The significance of the Western Australian model is not that every issue affecting a family is necessarily determined by one judge or in one proceeding. Rather, its structure provides an example of greater integration between family law and family violence processes.
The problem with fragmentation
The contrast with Victoria (and the rest of Australia) exposes the broader problem. A family experiencing family violence may find itself involved in proceedings concerning family violence protection, child protection and parenting issues in different courts. Each jurisdiction is concerned with different legal questions, despite those questions often arising from substantially the same family circumstances.
For victims of family violence, the consequence can be much more than administrative inconvenience. Fragmentation can mean telling the same story more than once: navigating different registries, forms and procedures, attending different hearings and sometimes dealing with different legal representatives.
Where allegations of coercive control, threats, physical violence or risks to children form part of several proceedings, the same history may need to be explained and assessed repeatedly. The legal system can therefore risk adding another layer of burden to a family already experiencing violence.
One court, one family
The attraction of a “one court, one family” approach is not simply efficiency. It is the recognition that family violence rarely sits neatly within the boundaries our legal system creates for it. The behaviour relevant to a protection order may also be relevant to parenting arrangements, children's safety, housing, finances and the practical ability of a victim-survivor to participate safely in proceedings.
Better coordination allows the justice system to see the family as a whole, rather than requiring individuals to divide their experiences into separate legal categories. This does not mean that Western Australia offers a perfect or completely unified model. FVROs remain protective orders made within the Magistrates Court system. Nor does institutional integration eliminate the complexity of family violence proceedings, or the delays that can be experienced in that jurisdiction.
But Western Australia's different family law structure does invite a larger question: to what extent should the burden of navigating jurisdictional boundaries fall on the person seeking protection?
Western Australia is not a perfect “one court, one family” model, and its constitutional arrangements are unusual. But its experience provides a useful starting point for considering how family law and family violence systems can work more cohesively. For Victoria (and the rest of Australia), the question is therefore broader than which court should exercise which jurisdiction. It is whether a person experiencing family violence should have to navigate multiple court systems, repeatedly explain the same family circumstances and manage overlapping proceedings in order to obtain protection and resolve issues affecting their children. No court structure can remove the trauma of family violence. But the justice system should not unnecessarily add to it.
Why this matters in practice
For family lawyers and professionals supporting victims of family violence, the interaction between parenting proceedings, protection orders and child protection processes requires careful, strategic consideration. The way those proceedings are managed can affect safety, the presentation of evidence and a family’s ability to navigate the legal system.
I regularly advise and represent clients in complex family law matters involving family violence and coercive control. Early specialist advice can help identify the relevant legal issues, consider available protective measures and develop a strategy that takes account of the broader circumstances of the family. If you are a professional supporting someone experiencing family violence or are concerned about how overlapping proceedings may affect a client, I welcome the opportunity to discuss the family law issues involved.
My work in complex family lawyers involving family violence and coercive control regularly brings these issues into sharp focus. Effective legal representation requires an understanding not only of the allegations themselves but also of the interaction between parenting proceedings, protective measures and the boarder circumstances affecting a family. Like to refer a client? Contact Monica to discuss how she can help.
This article is general information only and does not constitute legal advice.
Related links
https://www.monicablizzard.com.au/insights/family-violence-referrals-for-professionals
https://www.monicablizzard.com.au/insights/uk-child-focused-courts