If you, your children or a family member are in immediate danger, phone 000. When you are in an unsafe situation at home and want to leave, you may put off doing so for fear of violence and harm coming … Read More
In Australia 1 in 6 women and 1 in 16 men have experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or previous partner. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, every 9 days a woman is killed and … Read More
Family violence remains one of the most significant issues facing women and children in Australia especially in terms of the impact on their separation and their future going forward. Family violence has a direct impact on a party’s ability to … Read More
As the deadline for opting out of My Health Record approaches, separated parents are being urged to consider how they will manage their children’s health information online. My Health Record is the Commonwealth government’s digital health record system which is … Read More
By Di Simpson Earlier this year, I read an article in Daily Life where Jane Gilmore explored, “How can Victoria tackle domestic violence without a national response?” Jane identified a number of key issues relating to the challenges facing the … Read More
By Carrie Gan If you follow celebrity news, you’ll have heard about Amber Heard’s separation from Johnny Depp. If not, here’s a summary: Heard “filed for divorce” alleging Depp was physically violent towards her. She alleges Depp threw a magnum-sized … Read More
By Di Simpson In the budget announced on Tuesday 7 June 2016, the ACT Government revealed its Safer Families initiative, with $21.4 million allocated over four years, to drive improvements in a “whole-of- government, community-backed response to family violence”. The … Read More
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The measure of a civilisation is how it treats its weakest members”. This statement is troubling when we pause to consider the impact of elder abuse in modern Australian society. As its name may suggest, elder … Read More
By Di Simpson Somehow in our thinking and talking about domestic violence, we’ve created a stereotype that only fits a certain kind of circumstance. We seem to revert to a mental checklist of what domestic violence looks like and what … Read More
By Di Simpson “We will punish the perpetrators, listen to the survivors and change the culture that allows family violence to happen in the first place. There can be no excuses. Our work begins today to overhaul our broken family … Read More
The highlight of the year so far for me has been the Law Week Dinner on 13 May 2015 (which was completely booked out), and in particular Rosie Batty’s inspiring speech, and the audience’s reaction to it. Australian of the … Read More
The Federal Government has recently announced the allocation of $3.5m to fund further research about projects aimed to reduce violence against women and their children. The funding come from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) 2014 – 2016 … Read More
The Federal Circuit Court of Australia has recently announced a number of changes to their Rules. Of particular interest to family lawyers are the following: 1. Amendment to the Rules to make it explicit that the Court can make Orders … Read More
Members of the Federal Parliament and their staff from all political parties will tell you that they receive numerous queries and complaints about family law matters, and in particular about the operation of the child support system, from those in … Read More
Have you been served with an interim Domestic Violence Order? You may be feeling confused or upset. Perhaps overwhelmed by or frustrated at being prevented from doing certain things. It’s ok because you have options but there is a process … Read More
It can be an overwhelming experience when you decide to confront the domestic violence in your life, and it is with this in mind that this article is written; to provide you with an outline of the process involved. If … Read More
With confronting photographs splashed across the media, continuing news headlines and persistent tabloid covers, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson has unwittingly become the public face of domestic violence. Images depicting Lawson’s husband, advertising bigwig Charles Saatchi, with his hands around Lawson’s … Read More
Chair of the Family Law Council of Australia, Mr Rick O’Brien recently announced a national audit of family violence training to identify best practice. The Law Council’s Family Law Section has undertaken a range of training and practice development initiatives over … Read More
On June 20 this year, legislation to assist Federal Courts and tribunals in the management of their security was passed in Parliament. The Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus QC described the new laws as clarifying and enhancing the powers available to security personnel … Read More