Family Violence and Your Partner Visa: You Do Not Have to Stay to Keep Your Visa
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You do not have to make any decision today to read this page, and nothing on it requires you to contact anybody.
If you are in a relationship that has become unsafe and your visa depends on your partner, you have probably been told, or have worked out for yourself, that leaving means losing your application. Possibly your partner has said it directly. That is not how the law works.
Australian Migration Law Contains Provisions That Allow a Partner Visa Application to Continue Even Though the Relationship Has Ended.
They are called the family violence provisions. In broad terms, they allow a partner visa application to continue, and the permanent visa to be considered, where the relationship ended because of family violence committed by your sponsor.
They are not a favour, a discretion or a special case. They are written into the Migration Regulations, they have been there for a long time, and they were expanded on 1 July 2024.
Using them is not asking for sympathy. It is applying a rule.
What This Page Is and Is Not
This page explains what the provisions are, who can use them, and what evidence is accepted, so that you can make a decision with accurate information rather than with what you have been told. It is general information and it is not advice about your situation. Nothing here requires you to do anything today.
What the Provisions Actually Do
Normally a partner visa requires the relationship to be continuing when the decision is made. If it has ended, the ordinary criteria are not met.
The family violence provisions remove that requirement in defined circumstances. The relationship having ended stops being the reason your application fails.
Two things to be clear about. They do not create a new visa, so you are still being assessed for the visa you applied for. And they are not automatic. They have to be raised, and they have to be supported with evidence of the kind set out below.
Who Can Use Them
A wider group than most people expect. You do not have to be married, and you do not have to already hold the temporary visa.
| Visa | Who can use the provisions |
|---|---|
| Partner, subclass 820 and 801 | Primary and secondary applicants |
| Partner, subclass 309 and 100 | Primary and secondary applicants |
| Prospective Marriage, subclass 300 | Primary and secondary applicants, in defined circumstances |
| Dependent Child, subclass 445 | Primary and secondary applicants |
| A long list of other visas, including skilled, business, parent, carer and employer sponsored subclasses | Secondary applicants only, meaning people included in someone else's application |
That last row matters more than it looks. If you came to Australia as the partner included in someone else's visa application, a skilled or employer sponsored one for example, these provisions may be available to you too. People in that position often assume the provisions are only for partner visas.
You Do Not Have to Already Hold the Visa
This is the point that stops people raising the provisions at all. Community legal services describe the provisions as available where you have applied for or currently hold an eligible visa, and specialist firms describe the criteria in the same way.
If your application is still pending and has not been decided, do not conclude on your own that the provisions are unavailable to you. Raise it and get advice.
What Changed on 1 July 2024
The Migration Amendment (Family Violence Provisions for Partner Visa Applicants) Regulations 2024 commenced on 1 July 2024. The changes widened access rather than narrowing it.
- Prospective Marriage visa holders gained access in circumstances where they did not have it before, including without having married the sponsor.
- For the offshore subclass 309, requirements that previously limited the provisions were removed, including a sponsorship requirement and a requirement to be in Australia when the decision is made.
- For the onshore 820 and 801, a requirement to prove ties to Australia was removed where the sponsor has died.
If you read something about these provisions that was written before mid 2024, particularly about prospective marriage visas, it may understate what is available to you now.
What Family Violence Means in This Law
The definition in the Migration Regulations is broader than most people assume, and it is worth reading carefully rather than measuring yourself against what you imagine the word means.
In summary, it covers conduct, actual or threatened, towards you, towards a member of your family unit, or towards your property, that causes you to reasonably fear for, or be reasonably apprehensive about, your own wellbeing or safety.
Several Things Follow From That Wording
- It is not limited to physical violence. Threatened conduct is included in the definition.
- It includes conduct directed at your property, and at members of your family unit rather than only at you.
- The test is about reasonable fear or apprehension for your wellbeing or safety, not about the severity of any single incident.
Specialist practitioners describe the provisions as covering physical, sexual, psychological and emotional abuse, and financial abuse, as well as threats, including threats to have you removed from Australia or threats involving your children.
About Threats Involving Your Visa
Being told that you will be deported, that your sponsorship will be withdrawn, or that you will lose your children if you leave, is itself described by practitioners as conduct that can fall within these provisions. If that is the main thing that has kept you where you are, it is worth knowing that the threat may be part of the claim rather than an obstacle to it.
What You Have to Show
Three things, in broad terms.
- That the relationship was genuine. The provisions assume a real relationship that ended, not one that was never real. Evidence of the relationship while it existed still matters, which is why keeping what you have is worth doing. Our page on that material is at proving a genuine relationship.
- That family violence was committed by your sponsor, and that it happened while the relationship existed.
- That the relationship has ended.
You do not have to prove that the violence caused the relationship to end in some legal sense beyond this, and you do not have to prove anything about fault in the way a family law matter might require.
If You Are Reading This on Your Own and Want to Talk It Through With Someone Free of Charge
These services advise on exactly this subject, confidentially, with no obligation to do anything afterwards.
The Evidence, and the Two Routes Through It
There are two ways to establish family violence for these provisions, and they work differently.
Route 1. Judicial Evidence, Which the Department Must Accept
If You Have One of These Court Outcomes, the Department Is Required to Accept That Family Violence Occurred.
- An injunction under the relevant provisions of the Family Law Act 1975.
- An apprehended domestic violence order, or equivalent order in your state, made after the other person had an opportunity to be heard.
- A conviction, or a finding of guilt, against the person for a violence offence against you.
If you have one of these, say so early. It changes the nature of the assessment entirely.
Route 2. Non-Judicial Evidence, Which the Department May Accept
Most People Do Not Have a Court Order, and the Provisions Are Built on the Understanding That Most People Will Not.
The alternative route is a statutory declaration from you, describing what happened and its effect on you and naming the person, together with supporting material from professionals.
The requirement is generally at least two items, and they must come from different categories. The recognised categories are set out below. A professional statement generally needs to say that in their opinion you experienced family violence and the basis for that opinion, and to name you and the person responsible.
| Category | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Registered medical practitioner | A medical or hospital report, or a discharge summary |
| Police | An assault report, a witness statement, or a statutory declaration by an officer |
| Child welfare or protection officer | A statutory declaration or report |
| Women's refuge or family violence crisis centre | A letter or assessment on letterhead |
| Social worker | A declaration from someone who has provided counselling or assistance |
| Registered psychologist | A declaration from someone who has treated you |
| Family consultant appointed under the Family Law Act | A report or declaration |
| School counsellor or principal | A declaration or a letter on school letterhead |
Two Practical Points That People Find Reassuring
A letter from a refuge does not have to be signed by the manager. And the categories include people you may already have spoken to without thinking of it as evidence: a GP, a school counsellor, a social worker at a hospital.
The Independent Expert, and Why It Is Protective
This part is rarely explained and it is worth understanding, because it is the opposite of what people fear.
If the Department Is Not Satisfied by Non-Judicial Evidence, It Does Not Simply Refuse.
It is required to refer the question to an independent expert, who assesses whether family violence occurred. Everything you have provided goes to that expert, and they may contact you for more information.
The expert decides one question only: whether family violence occurred.
What the Provisions Do Not Require
People rule themselves out for reasons that are not in the law. None of the following is required.
- You do not need to have reported anything to police.
- You do not need a conviction, a court order or an AVO. Those help, but the non-judicial route exists precisely for people without them.
- You do not need to have been physically injured.
- You do not need to have left the home, or to have left already.
- You do not need your sponsor to agree, to participate, or to be told what you have said.
- You do not need to have been married.
If You Are Not Sure Whether What Happened Counts
A lot of people reading this will have spent a long time being told that what is happening is normal, or their fault, or not serious enough to have a name.
You do not have to decide that question yourself, and you should not try to. The definition in the regulations is wide, the assessment is made by people who do this work, and there is an independent expert step built in for the hard cases. What you decide today is only whether to ask someone.
You Can Call Any of These Services Without Deciding Anything First
1800RESPECT, on 1800 737 732, will talk to you whether or not you have decided to do anything, and whether or not you want to involve the Department. Legal Aid in your state and community legal centres advise on these provisions and do not charge for it. TIS National, on 131 450, provides interpreters at no cost to you.
Practical Things Worth Doing, When It Is Safe
- Keep a copy of your visa application and any correspondence somewhere your partner cannot reach, including an email account they do not know about or with someone you trust.
- Keep evidence of the relationship while it existed. It is part of what you need, and it is easy to lose access to in a hurry.
- If you have seen a doctor, counsellor, social worker or school about any of this, note when and where. You may not need to obtain documents yourself immediately, but knowing where they are saves time later.
- Think about digital safety. Shared accounts, location sharing and a shared phone plan can make browsing and correspondence visible. Many services can talk you through this.
- Get advice before you write to the Department. What you say when you first raise this matters, and you do not get to re-do it.
Do not take any of these steps if doing so would put you at risk. Nothing on this list is more important than your safety, and none of it has a deadline today.
Where This Sits Alongside Everything Else
If your sponsor has withdrawn their sponsorship, the process that follows and the deadlines attached to it are set out at partner visa sponsor withdrawn. If the relationship has ended and you are trying to understand your position across the different stages, our general page is at 820 partner visa relationship breakdown options.
For what you can do while an application is pending, including work rights on a bridging visa, see bridging visa work rights while waiting for the 820. The general partner visa requirements are at the Australian partner visa guide.
If You Want to Ask a Question
You do not have to be ready to make a decision to ask something. If you want to understand what the provisions mean for your situation, you can send a short message and we will tell you plainly where you stand. There is no cost for that and nothing follows from it unless you ask.
Frequently Asked Questions
You Do Not Have to Decide Anything to Ask Something.
Send a short message if you want to understand how the provisions apply to your situation. There is no cost and nothing follows from it unless you ask.
Written by
Founder and Editor, Aussie Migration Guide
Karan Rawat is the Founder and Editor of Aussie Migration Guide. With nearly 4 years of experience in SEO and digital content, including work with Australian migration law clients, he specialises in turning complex Australian visa rules, fees and eligibility criteria into clear, practical guides. Every article is checked against current official sources such as the Department of Home Affairs before it goes live. Karan is not a registered migration agent, and the content on this site is general information, not migration advice.