1. Introduction: Protecting children who turn 18 while on a family violence intervention order

1.1​On 25 September 2024, the Commission initiated a community law reform project to examine aspects of family violence intervention orders for children and young adults affected by family violence (other than as a respondent).

1.2​Under section 5(1)(b) of the Victorian Law Reform Commission Act 2000 (Vic), the Commission may initiate its own inquiries into legal issues of general community concern, provided they are limited in size and scope.

1.3​Community law reform projects are often suggested to the Commission by community members or groups.

1.4​This project idea was raised by community members in discussions about family violence reform. Young people with lived experience of family violence, and people who supported them, raised concerns about the difficulties they faced when their orders expired at 18 and how they felt silenced in this decision-making process.

Examining reform in two stages

1.5​This community law reform project is being conducted in two stages.

1.6​At the start of our project, we were advised by the Department of Justice and Community Safety that if we could deliver our final report quickly, some of our recommendations may be considered for legislative reform in 2025. The scope of this community law reform project was too large to complete it in its entirety by mid-2025. However, so as not to miss the opportunity to have the courts’ powers to make family violence intervention orders (FVIOs or orders) that endure beyond a young person’s 18th birthday clarified as quickly as possible, the Commission divided the project into two stages.

1.7​In this Stage 1 report, we examine whether family violence laws should be reformed to ensure a child can continue to have the protection of a FVIO when they turn 18. This problem is sometimes referred to as ‘ageing out’ of an order.

1.8​In Stage 2 we will examine the issue of the right of children to participate and have their views heard in FVIO proceedings, together with the remaining terms of reference. Work on Stage 2 will commence when Stage 1 is completed. A report will be produced on this broader issue in 2027.

1.9​There is an obvious and important overlap between Stage 1 and Stage 2 of our work. We acknowledge that it is difficult to focus on the issue of ‘ageing out’ of a FVIO without also examining how we hear from children about what they think should happen to their orders when they turn 18.

1.10​The recommendations in this report aim to make our laws clearer and to encourage the court to hear from children about what they want to happen when they turn 18 using existing mechanisms in the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) (FVPA or the Act).

1.11​We do this ahead of more comprehensive and innovative Stage 2 reforms aimed at centring the needs and voices of children and young people in the FVIO court process.

What is out of scope

Minimum duration of FVIOs

1.12​Our community law reform project is not considering the duration of FVIOs more broadly. Data published in 2022 indicates that more than three-quarters of FVIOs issued in the Magistrates’ Court are made for between 12 and 18 months.^[48] In May 2024, the Victorian Government announced a package of reforms including an intention to legislate a minimum mandatory length for final FVIOs.^[49] On 11 June 2025 it was reported in the media that Government intends to reform the FVPA to create a presumption of a minimum duration of two years for FVIOs, among other reforms.^[50] If Government legislates a presumption of two-year FVIOs there may be more children who would potentially turn 18 while on an order. Therefore, it is timely that Government considers the recommendations in this report.

Children and young people as respondents

1.13​Our terms of reference exclude the consideration of children and young people who are respondents to FVIOs. The focus for this report is on children and young people who have or will turn 18 who are listed as the applicant, protected person or affected family member on a FVIO.

1.14​We recognise that many children who are respondents in family violence proceedings are also victim-survivors of family violence. Research has shown that almost nine out of 10 young people using violence previously either witnessed or directly experienced family violence themselves (89 per cent).^[51] Many of these children also have a disability.^[52]

1.15​The Centre for Innovative Justice^[53] observed that many children who have experiences of family violence only become visible in the justice system once they become respondents in FVIO proceedings:

… young people may come to the attention of the system for use of violence for a range of reasons – including where they are replicating behaviour they have seen used by an adult; as a result of [the impacts of trauma] on their neurodevelopment, language skills or ability to self-regulate; through resistance to current abuse; or, particularly concerningly, as a result of systems abuse by a perpetrator parent.^[54]

1.16​While there are important reform issues to consider regarding children and young people who are respondents to FVIOs, they are not being examined in this community law reform project.

Misidentification of children and young people as perpetrators

1.17​The Commission does not make specific recommendations about the issue of misidentification of children and young people as perpetrators of family violence in this Stage 1 report.

1.18​We understand that some children and young people who are respondents in FVIO proceedings, have been misidentified as the predominant aggressor by the police.

1.19​Some people and organisations we spoke to identified that the FVPA does not contain mechanisms to address and resolve perpetrator misidentification.^[55] This topic is important, but it is also beyond the scope of our current terms of reference.

1.20​The Commission anticipates that reforms in Stage 2 to give children agency and voice in FVIO proceedings will also assist this cohort of children and young people. We also note comments in the media in June 2025 that the Government’s proposed package of family violence reforms, announced in 2024^[56], will include safeguards to prevent misidentification.^[57]

Our process

1.21​Stage 1 of our community law reform project was led by the Hon. Jennifer Coate AO as Acting Chairperson of the Commission and the Hon. Anthony North KC on his return to the Commission in April 2025. The Commission established a Division to guide and make decisions about this project. All Commissioners were Division members. Their names are listed on the inside front cover.

Responses to our Issues Paper

1.22​The Commission published an Issues Paper for Stage 1 in March 2025. The paper examined the operation of the law and called for community responses on three key issues: people’s experiences with the law, the impacts of the current law, and views about reform.

1.23​The Issues Paper invited young people with lived experience of the FVIO system, adults supporting a child or young person who had turned 18, and organisations and professionals with expertise in family violence and FVIO processes to provide their views on law reform.

1.24​The Issues Paper also invited people making submissions to consider the operation of the law and its impact on people from marginalised groups, including First Peoples, LGBTIQA+ people, people with disability, people from multicultural and multifaith communities, and people who live in rural, remote or regional areas in Victoria.

1.25​The Commission is very grateful to the young people, victim-survivors and groups from the broader legal and advocacy community who met with us at short notice to discuss their concerns and ideas for reform.

Consultations we held

1.26​The Commission undertook 20 consultations with people and organisations across Victoria exploring questions in the Issues Paper. A list of consultation participants can be found in Appendix A. Consultations included:

•​young people with lived experience of family violence and family violence intervention orders and family members and people who supported people with lived experience

•​legal practitioners and legal service and advocacy organisations working across Victoria

•​family violence practitioners and family violence support service organisations

•​representatives of the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria, the County Court and Victoria Police.

Submissions we received

1.27​The Commission received 14 submissions, which can be found on our website. A list of submissions appears in Appendix B.

How made our process safe and ethical

1.28​In consulting and seeking submissions for this project, the Commission was aware of the enduring impact that family violence may have on victim-survivors, including the possibility that discussing experiences of family violence and FVIO court processes could be retraumatising and distressing.

1.29​The Commission identified that seeking views and experiences from children and young people posed particular risks. To address the identified risks, we chose not to meet with any children under the age of 18 and we developed an ethical governance framework for engaging with adults and young victim-survivors. We also adopted a trauma-informed approach when conducting consultations and when collecting, analysing and publishing consultation information and submissions. This included:

•​informing participants about the role of the Commission, the project objectives, reporting timelines, and how community members could have their say about their experiences and reform ideas

•​providing content warnings and support services in our publications, consultation information and website

•​prioritising face-to-face engagement with people with lived experience of family violence who wished to engage with us

•​running consultations in a safe and sensitive way in partnership with advocacy agencies with experience supporting victim-survivors

•​seeking advice and involvement from partner organisations with knowledge and experience conducting consultations with victim-survivors

•​ensuring participants with lived experience could access support options and advising them to only provide information that they felt comfortable sharing

•​seeking participant approval of consultation notes and the information we could use in our publications

•​making sure consultation participants were comfortable with the Commission sharing their information in a de-identified way

•​allowing community members to provide submissions on a name withheld basis

•​reviewing submissions to ensure that case studies adequately de-identified people involved in FVIO proceedings, and redacting information where necessary before publishing.

A note on language

1.30​The language we use to describe people who have experienced family violence is important and has changed over time.

1.31​In this report, we use the term ‘victim-survivor’ to refer to an adult, child or young person who is experiencing or has experienced family violence. We use this term to recognise the agency, strength and resilience of those who have experienced family violence. We recognise that some people who have experienced or are experiencing family violence do not identify with this term and that family violence does not define who a person is.

47. ​Submission 9, Stage 1 (Women’s Legal Service Victoria and Safe and Equal).

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48. ​A 2022 report by the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council (SAC) found that 220,285 out of 283,058 FVIOs issued in the Magistrates’ Court between 2011 and 2020 had a duration of between 6 months and 18 months. SAC noted that it was likely that ‘many of the FVIOs appearing as six months to less than one year would actually be precisely 12 months, and that this small disconnect stems from how the data is recorded’. Sentencing Advisory Council, Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices: Third Monitoring Report (Report, May 2022) 24–26.

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49. ​Jacinta Allan (Premier of Victoria), ‘Changing Laws And Culture To Save Women’s Lives’ (Media release, 30 May 2024) <https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/changing-laws-and-culture-save-womens-lives>.

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50. ​Benita Kolovos, ‘While Friends Were Partying, Conor Was Preparing for Court. His Case Has Now Prompted Labor to Act on Family Violence’, The Guardian (Australia) (online, 11 June 2025) <https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/11/while-friends-were-partying-conor-was-preparing-for-court-his-case-has-now-prompted-labor-to-act-ntwnfb>.

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51. ​Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS), Adolescent Family Violence in Australia (Fact Sheet, 2022) <https://www.anrows.org.au/resources/fact-sheet-adolescent-family-violence-in-australia/>.

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52. ​The Centre for Innovative Justice at RMIT submitted: ‘The CIJ’s research clearly indicates that 25% of the young people who are respondents to FVIO applications brought by police have diagnoses of significant neurodivergence and 50% have some sort of diagnosed disability, including psychosocial disability. Added to this, of course, are the impacts of trauma on neurodevelopment, language skills and behavioural regulation.’ Submission 13, Stage 1 (Centre for Innovative Justice RMIT); See also Victorian Government, Royal Commission into Family Violence: Volume 4 Report and Recommendations (Parliamentary Paper No 132 (2014–16), 2016) 154–155 <http://rcfv.archive.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/MediaLibraries/RCFamilyViolence/Reports/Final/RCFV-Vol-IV.pdf>.

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53. ​The Centre for Innovative Justice is based at RMIT University.

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54. ​Submission 13, Stage 1 (Centre for Innovative Justice RMIT).

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55. ​Representative of Westjustice, Consultation 15, Stage 1 (Roundtable with Community Legal Centres – Eastern Community Legal Centre, Peninsula Community Legal Centre, Westjustice). Submission 13, Stage 1 (Centre for Innovative Justice RMIT).

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56. ​Jacinta Allan (Premier of Victoria), ‘Changing Laws And Culture To Save Women’s Lives’ (Media release, 30 May 2024) <https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/changing-laws-and-culture-save-womens-lives>.

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57. ​Benita Kolovos, ‘While Friends Were Partying, Conor Was Preparing for Court. His Case Has Now Prompted Labor to Act on Family Violence’, The Guardian (Australia) (online, 11 June 2025) <https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/11/while-friends-were-partying-conor-was-preparing-for-court-his-case-has-now-prompted-labor-to-act-ntwnfb>.

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