Compared with many countries, the divorce rate in Australia is higher, and there are many macro-reasons such as different immigration background, multi-cultural integration or preservation of traditional consciousness. In 2015, 40 percent of marriage ended with divorce, and more than 50, 000 children under the age of 18 faced parental divorce, according to the Australian Bureau of data.
For Chinese, "home" is always the most important belonging, "home and everything" is also the expectation of every member of the family. However, if there is a dispute at home, please do not ignore, evade or take an inappropriate way to deal with it. If necessary, seek law assistance to protect yourself, children and families.
Australia's Family Act (Family Law Act) covers most family law matters. The Family Act deals with specific family matters (such as divorce, children, property, etc.). If you have marry or are living with a person, the Family Law provides for any dispute over your children or property. Even if you are not in a marriage or cohabitation relationship, the Family Law provides for any disputes with your children, such as where the child should live.
Therefore, the topic of law's "Overview of Australian Family Law" aims to help Chinese in Australia understand the rights, obligations and responsibilities in dealing with related family relations, marriage property, child rearing, and so on, in order to better face and resolve family disputes. In the hope that the family can enjoy the full moon.
The topic is divided into the following chapters:
The following is an overview of Australian Family Law (5): domestic violence and Family dispute Resolution:
The family is the cell of society. Family harmony is the basic element of social harmony. Long-term family violence not only brings both physical and mental damage to family members, but also results in malicious cases such as intentional injury, intentional killing and so on. It also causes the children who suffer or witness the family violence to develop the tendency of violence, form the intergenerational transmission of the family violence, and lead to juvenile delinquency.
In Australia, preventing and curbing family violence is not only the responsibility of the whole government, but also the responsibility of the whole society.
Government adopts a model of prevention, early intervention and positive response to family violence:
- Attitudes and behaviour among members of the change family through education, promoting respectful, violence-free relationships; early intervention in those who are likely to implement violence;
- Respond to violence that has occurred through a comprehensive mechanism; provide consistent, coordinated and rapid assistance to victimized women, children, and hold perpetrators accountable for their actions.
The following are common law issues that can be involved in domestic violence and family disputes:
What is a family violence?
Family violence refers to situations in which family members make you feel unsafe and afraid. Family can be anyone who has a family relationship with you, including your boyfriend or girlfriend, children, relatives, caregivers and anyone you consider family.
Family violence is not just physical abuse, such as beating and pushing. Home violence includes, but is not limited to:
- Threat wants to hurt you or your loved ones, damage your belongings, send you home, send you to prison or anywhere else.
- Threat, hurt or take the baby.
- Force you to have sex or have sexual behavior.
- Abusive, demeaning, or preventing you from visiting relatives and friends.
- Control all the money in the family or ask for money from you
- Don't let you go out, don't let you make friends
- Do not allow you to practise your own religion or culture
People of all ages may suffer from family violence. Children who see or hear family violence behavior will be seriously affected. Even unborn babies are physically affected, and emotionally and spiritually in the rest of their lives.
What can I do when I meet my family violence?
1. Contact with Australian police:
The duty of the police is to make sure you are safe and to help when you are not safe. If you feel in danger and in urgent need of help, please call 000.
You can also go to the local police station, (Police station). The police have the right to use law to ensure that you and your children are safe at home.
If you don't know or speak English, be sure to tell the police. The police will arrange an interpreter, (Interpreter). The police will make sure you are safe. They will not send you back to their country.
2. Seek home violence services:
If you are in danger, please call the Anti-Home violence service. If you want leave, they can also help you and your children find a safe place to live.
In Australia, this is called a shelter, (shelter). This is a safe place. They can also offer other support. The address of the shelter is confidential. Those who hurt you cannot find you.
3. Application for Family violence intervention order:
In Australia, Family violence intervention orders help protect you from family members against your violence behavior. Family violence intervention orders protect women or men from their male or female family members.
It was a court order made by the lower court, judge, in the Magistrates Court (lower court. The court ordered the family member not to do anything to ensure the safety of you and your children. Such orders can also protect children.
The home violence command is a very serious matter. Obtaining a family violence order means performing the law procedure and going to the primary court (Magistrates Court). This won't leave a criminal record for your family members, (Criminal Record). The criminal record is a police record of someone convicted in court, (guilty), of (police record). But if your family members violate the (Breach) order, you may leave a criminal record.
What kind of order can the court make to protect me?
If the court makes an order, you and your family will get a copy. A court order will state what your family is not allowed to do, such as:
- Not to hurt or threat to hurt you
- No access to your home, school, or workplace
- Do not contact you, including by e-mail, text message, phone call or by others
- Do not damage or threat damage to your belongings or damage to your pet
The order may stipulate that your family may not live at home or allow them to stay at home, but may not harm or threat you.
In addition, the command will state how long the command will last and indicate that violations can have very serious consequences. If the order requires family members to move out of their homes, you can ask the police for help and make sure they do.
How should I apply for a family violence intervention order?
Please contact the Magistrates Court (Junior Court to inform the court that you wish to apply for an intervention order. If you need an interpreter, (Interpreter), you can request it at any time. You may need an appointment.
When you arrive at court (Court), please go to the information desk. Court staff can help explain what you should do. You need to fill out a form of information about yourself and your family about what has happened and what you fear will happen in the future.
What do I need to do before I go to court (Court)?
Record family violence events with diary. Keep text messages or any notes or letters. Take a picture of the condition of injury or damage to property. Retention of medical reports and any documents relating to ill-treatment (referred to as evidence (Evidence). This can help you remember what happens when you tell others your own story.
Think about who else can prove your story. You may have seen a doctor who can explain your injuries to the court. You may have told caregivers, friends or community workers. These people are called witnesses, (Witnesses).
You may be able to get an intervention order, (Intervention Order)., by simply giving your reasons. Even if no one sees you suffer from violence, it doesn't matter.
In some cases, you can immediately obtain an interim intervention order:
- This will ensure your safety before setting a date for you and the person who hurt you to appear in court. If you want an interim intervention order, please tell the registrar (Registrar- court officer) what you need to feel safe, for example, if you want your family to stay away from yourself;
- Sometimes in an emergency, the lower court, judge (Magistrate), reviews your files the same day and may make the following decisions:
- Issue a temporary orde
- Do not make an interim order until a decision is made at a later date.
Either way, you will need to return to court (Court), another day in order to:
- Get the final command (if there is no temporary command)
- Turn your temporary command into a final command
What is the process of issuing an intervention order in the lower courts?
The primary court, judge, may issue a family violence intervention order only if:
- Judge has heard testimony that (Evidence), believes that the family violence has occurred and is likely to continue, or;
- Everyone agreed to execute the order.
If your family members don't agree to intervene on them, (Intervention Order), you need to go back to court another day to attend hearings (Hearing). When hosting hearings, the lower court judge will hear more testimony from you and your family, if they also appear in court.
If possible, ask lawer to go to court with you. Who can ask you questions on court, how to tell your reasons and make sure you feel safe? Your lawer can ask your family questions. Your family member's lawer can also ask you questions. This is called Cross-examination.
If you are afraid of the person who hurt you, the court can take steps to ensure that you feel safe (such as telling your reasons in a separate room).
What do I want to contact or get back together with my ex-spouse (Former Partner) or my family?
If the order you have obtained (Order) does not allow for contact between you, you must ask the court to make changes to this before you can contact your family / ex-spouse. Please call Magistrates Court (Junior Court to apply for change.
Before taking this action, please obtain law advice. If you get a command that allows you to contact each other, you can keep the command. The command will continue to protect you from family violence.
What services do anti-domestic violence assistance agencies include?
1. A large number of aid agencies.
State law Service Center for Aboriginal Women, State law Assistance Center, victim support Bureau, State dispute Mediation Center and organizations that keep secret from the outside world and provide shelter for women victims.
2. Multiple forms of assistance.
The largest of them are law assistance, including law counseling, application for protection orders, negotiation with the perpetrator lawer, acting in court to attend hearings, and assistance in applying for economic assistance to victims of crime. The next is to provide victims with accommodation, psychological counselling, behavior correction, medical and other aspects of assistance.
3. Quality aid service.
For example, the Victorian Women's law Service Center has 18 full-time lawer paid by government. Every working day, one to two lawer are posted in magistrates' courts, providing law assistance to victims of domestic violence at any time. The lawer on duty is not allowed to take any other cases, and all law assistance is provided free of charge.
4. A wide range of aid recipients.
Victims of domestic violence are: (1) direct victims, that is, those who are directly injured or killed as a result of domestic violence; (2) indirect victims, who are minors who are present at the scene of domestic violence and who have witnessed the acts of violence; A related victim refers to a close relative of a direct victim or a person who has a maintenance or maintenance relationship.
5. The amount of economic aid given.
The scope of economic assistance includes lawer fees incurred as a result of domestic violence, medical expenses, rental costs for safe accommodation, funeral expenses, miswork expenses, and even the cost of clothing damaged by domestic violence. In general, direct victim assistance does not exceed A $60,000, indirect victims and associated victims do not exceed A $50,000. If the above assistance is not enough, the court will also adjust to the actual situation.
Author's introduction: Lin Huiming
Bachelor of Law in China (National Scholarship), Master of International Business Law, UK (Hon. academic degree), Australia, Dr. law, Australia)
Lawer Australia lawe
Queensland Supreme Court Practitioners lawe
Federal Court of Australia Registration lawe
Law Practitioner, Shanghai Haoxin lawer firm, Shanghai, China
China law Professional qualification Certificate
He has been involved in the fields of property law, immigration law and international commercial law. In the last ten years, China, Britain and Australia have studied law work experience, adhered to the promotion of the Chinese community public welfare legal aid and law column, and focused on cross-border law business and corporate legal consultation in the Asia-Pacific region.
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