1. Introduction

1.1​On 25 September 2024, the Victorian Law Reform Commission initiated a community law reform project examining aspects of family violence intervention orders (FVIOs) for children and young adults affected by family violence.^[2]

A community law reform project

1.2​This is a community law reform project. These are projects that the Commission initiates, often in response to community suggestions.^[3] Community law reform projects are about issues which are of general community concern and are limited in size and scope.

1.3​The idea for this community law reform project was brought to the Commission by young people with lived experience of family violence and the people and organisations who support them.

1.4​The community members who raised this idea told us that they are concerned that children and young people are not consistently given the opportunity to share their views and wishes about issues which affect them in family violence intervention order proceedings.

1.5​We heard that this may mean that children and young people do not know about family violence intervention orders which protect them, do not have a say in whether orders are made, and do not get to have any input into the conditions of orders which are meant to keep them safe from violence.

1.6​In this paper, we ask whether changes are needed to the family violence intervention order system to ensure that children and young people who wish to be heard on these matters are given the opportunity to do so.

Examining reform in two stages

1.7​The Commission is conducting this project in two stages. We divided this project into two stages so that our recommendations from Stage 1 could be considered by Government for legislative reform in 2025.

1.8​The terms of reference for this project are set out on page 5. Stage 2 is focused on the parts of the terms of reference that are highlighted in bold.

Stage 1 – Enhancing protection for children who turn 18 while on a FVIO

1.9​Stage 1 of the project was completed in July 2025. The Stage 1 – Protection for Children Who Turn 18 While on a Family Violence Intervention Order report was tabled in the Victorian Parliament on 13 November 2025.^[4]

1.10​Stage 1 examined whether family violence laws should be reformed to ensure that a child or young person who is listed as an applicant, protected person or an affected family member on a FVIO continues to have the protection of the FVIO when they turn 18.^[5]

1.11​The Commission made three recommendations: ^[6]

1)​The Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (the Act or FVPA) should be amended to make it clear that a FVIO can continue to protect a child after they turn 18.

2)​The Act should be amended to require that the court, when deciding the length of a FVIO, must consider a protected child’s views where appropriate, and the effect on a child of an order expiring at 18.

3)​Updated guidance and training should be developed to support magistrates and other people to consistently interpret and apply these recommended amendments to the Act.

1.12​Our Stage 1 report also identified reform ideas for consideration in Stage 2 of this project. These proposals included community suggestions that went beyond the specific issues we examined in Stage 1.

Implementation of Stage 1 recommendations

1.13​On 13 November 2025, the Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Stalking and Other Matters) Bill 2025 (Vic) also known as the ‘Women’s Safety Package’ was introduced in Parliament. The Bill was passed on 5 February 2026 and received Royal Assent on 10 February 2026.

1.14​This Act included amendments to the FVPA which implement Recommendation 1 of our Stage 1 report. Under the amended FVPA, if a protected person is a child when a FVIO is made, the FVIO continues to protect the child until the order ends ‘whether or not the protected person becomes an adult in the meantime.’^[7]

1.15​The Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Stalking and Other Matters) Act 2026 also reforms the Act to require a minimum two-year duration for all FVIOs, and expands the definition of family violence, among other changes.^[8]

1.16​In Stage 1 of this project, we heard concerns that young people over 18 may also lose the protection of a FVIO in situations where another person (such as the respondent or an adult affected family member) applies to extend, vary or revoke a FVIO. We heard that in these cases, young people who had turned 18 were neither being told that someone else had applied to court for a change to the order, nor given the opportunity to tell the court if they wanted the FVIO to continue to protect them. Amendments to the Act also address this issue.^[9]

1.17​As a result of these changes, some of the reform ideas for further consideration in Stage 2, which we noted in our Stage 1 report may no longer require consideration. However, we welcome further input from members of the community who raised these issues, where these ideas relate to the issues which this paper is examining.

Our focus in Stage 2

1.18​In Stage 2 of this project, we are examining how children and young people participate and are heard in FVIO proceedings. Stage 2 explores how children and young people currently participate in the FVIO system, as applicants, affected family members and as protected people who are named on other family members’ FVIOs.

1.19​We ask whether reform is needed to ensure that children and young people can participate in FVIO matters as victim survivors in their own right. We consider whether the FVIO system can better protect children and young people by taking into consideration their unique experiences of family violence and perspectives on what they need to be kept safe from harm.

1.20​The questions include whether:

•​the current law should be changed to make it possible for a young person aged 14-17 to apply for a FVIO on their own (or to change, extend or remove a FVIO which protects them) without needing permission (‘leave’) of the court. We ask whether it should be a requirement that a young person is a certain age before they are permitted to apply for a FVIO

•​the current law should be changed to make it possible for a child or young person who is under 14 to apply for a FVIO (or to change, extend or remove a FVIO) under any circumstances

•​children and young people who are protected people or affected family members should be able to participate in FVIO proceedings in other ways, without needing to seek permission (‘leave’) of the court. We ask whether the rules about when children and young people may be present at court or represented by their own lawyer need to change

•​there are other ways that the FVIO system could be reformed to ensure children and young people may be heard and supported. We ask whether there are other measures that should be taken to make sure children and young people have the information and support they need to understand FVIOs and seek protection under the law.

A guide to the Stage 2 issues paper

1.21​This issues paper has two parts.

1.22​The first part sets out the current law and the way the FVIO system works in Victoria. We explain:

•​the prevalence, impacts and ongoing harm that family violence has on children and young people

•​how the FVIO system protects people who have been affected by family violence, including how children and young people are protected under the Act

•​how children and young people currently participate in the FVIO system, as applicants, affected family members, or protected people and the limits on how they may do this

•​how children and young people are treated at law, and the special protections and rights which they have because of their age and developmental stage

•​some of the ways that children and young people participate in other legal processes, such as in child protection proceedings, youth justice matters and in Family Court decisions, and how these differ from the FVIO system

•​how children and young people’s participation in Victoria’s FVIO system differs from the way they participate in other family violence systems in Australia and overseas.

1.23​The second part of this paper explains how you can share your views on the issues we are examining, including:

•​how you can tell us your views

•​questions which can guide how you respond to the issues in this paper

•​how we will use your responses to help develop our findings and recommendations for law reform.

A note on language

1.24​The language used to describe family violence and people who experience family violence has changed over time.

1.25​In this paper, we use the terms ‘victim survivor’ and ‘person who has experienced violence’ to refer to anyone who is experiencing or has experienced family violence, including children and young people. We use these terms to recognise that people who have been affected by family violence choose different ways to identify themselves, and may identify more with ‘victim’ or ‘survivor’ at different times.^[10]

1.26​We use the term ‘perpetrator’ or ‘person who uses violence’ to refer to an adult who uses or has used family violence. We use these terms to recognise that, while ‘perpetrator’ is used in legal and policy contexts, some people and communities prefer language which recognises that family violence is a behaviour which must be considered in context.^[11] We use the term ‘respondent’ to refer to a person who is alleged to have used family violence in proceedings under the Act.

1.27​We use the term ‘child’ to describe a person under the age of 18, We use this word because this is how a child is generally defined in the law in Victoria, including in the FVPA.^[12]

1.28​We use the term ‘young person’ to describe a person who is 12-17 years old. We use this term because we recognise that, while the law defines anyone under 18 as a ‘child’, many people in this age group do not see themselves as children. We also use this term to recognise that most people in this age group are in a different stage of physical, cognitive and psychosocial development to people under 12 years of age, and their capacity, wishes and needs are not the same.

1.29​We use the term ‘young adult’ to describe an adult who is 18-25 years old. We use this term to differentiate people in this age group from other adults. It recognises that, while people in this age group are legal adults, they may have unique views, experiences and needs as new adults.

1.30​We use the language which is used in the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) (the Act or FVPA) when defining ‘family violence’ and when describing how the Act works.

1.31​We recognise that family violence is defined in different ways and has different impacts across communities. For example, the Victorian Indigenous Family Violence Taskforce defines family violence as ‘An issue focused around a wide range of physical, emotional, sexual, social, spiritual, cultural, psychological and economic abuses that occur within families, intimate relationships, extended families, kinship networks and communities. It extends to one-on-one fighting, abuse of Indigenous community workers as well as self-harm, injury and suicide.’^[13]

1.32​We use the terms ‘family violence intervention order’ or ‘FVIO’ to describe orders made in Victoria under the Family Violence Protection Act. When we talk about equivalent orders which protect people from family violence in other places, we use the phrase ‘family violence order’.

2. ​Other than as a respondent.

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3. ​‘Suggest a Community Law Reform Project’, Victorian Law Reform Commission (Web Page) <https://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/engage-in-law-reform/suggest-a-reform/>.

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4. ​Victorian Law Reform Commission, Examining Aspects of Family Violence Intervention Orders for Children and Young Adults: Stage 1 – Protection for Children Who Turn 18 While on a Family Violence Intervention Order (Final Report No 48, November 2025) <https://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/publication/examining-aspects-of-family-violence-intervention-orders-for-children-and-young-adults-stage-1-protection-for-children-who-turn-18-while-on-a-family-violence-intervention-order/>.

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5. ​Unless the order is varied, revoked or discharged. See our Terms of Reference at p. 8.

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6. ​Victorian Law Reform Commission, Examining Aspects of Family Violence Intervention Orders for Children and Young Adults: Stage 1 – Protection for Children Who Turn 18 While on a Family Violence Intervention Order (Final Report No 48, November 2025) xx <https://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/publication/examining-aspects-of-family-violence-intervention-orders-for-children-and-young-adults-stage-1-protection-for-children-who-turn-18-while-on-a-family-violence-intervention-order/>.

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7. ​Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Stalking and Other Matters) Act 2026 (Vic) s 59 amends s 99(2) of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) to implement Recommendation 1. Section: 56 of the amending Act provides that protection continues where a child becomes an adult while an interim FVIO is in force. Peter Power, Research Materials (Children’s Court of Victoria, 2026) ‘6.23 Amendments to the FVPA & PSIA made by Act No. 1/2026’.

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8. ​See ‘Family Violence Victim Survivors Better Supported by Changes’, Victoria Legal Aid (Web Page, 5 March 2026) <https://www.legalaid.vic.gov.au/family-violence-victim-survivors-better-supported-changes> for a summary of reforms to the Act. The Act also implements recommendations 26 and 33 of the Commission’s Stalking Report. See, ‘Implementation’, Victorian Law Reform Commission (Web Page) <https://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au/all-projects/implementation/>.

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9. ​Amendments to the FVPA by the Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Stalking and Other Matters) Act 2026 (Vic) aim to ‘provide a streamlined process for a court to place a former child protected person on their own family violence intervention order when considering an application to vary or revoke a family violence intervention order’; Explanatory Memorandum, Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Stalking and Other Matters) Bill 2025 (Vic) cl 61. The court is now required to notify and consider the views of a ‘former child protected person’ i.e. a person who has turned 18 while an order is in force, when deciding whether to revoke or vary a FVIO. The court may make a new order for a former child protected person or keep a former child protected person on an extended order. See Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Stalking and Other Matters) Act 2026 (Vic) ss 60-62, 64 and 65.

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10. ​See also Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (Vic), Until Every Victorian Is Safe: Third Rolling Action Plan to End Family and Sexual Violence 2025 to 2027 (Report, September 2025).

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11. ​Family Safety Victoria, MARAM Practice Guides: Foundation Knowledge Guide – Guidance for Professionals Working with Child or Adult Victim Survivors, and Adults Using Family Violence (Report, 2021) 12.

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12. ​Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) s 4. See also, Age of Majority Act 1977 (Vic) s 3.

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13. ​Victorian Indigenous Family Violence Task Force, Victorian Indigenous Family Violence Task Force: Final Report (Report, December 2003). as cited in Family Safety Victoria, Dhelk Dja: Safe Our Way – Strong Culture, Strong Peoples, Strong Families (Report, 2018).

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