People searching for the “domestic violence and family protection act” are usually trying to answer one urgent question: what does the law actually do to keep me and my children safe? If you live in Erina or anywhere on the Central Coast, the answer depends on NSW state law and federal family law working together. This guide explains both in plain English, sets out the reforms that have taken effect between 2024 and 2026, and walks through the practical steps for reporting family violence, getting a protection order and protecting your position in parenting and property matters.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Every family’s situation is different, and the safest course is to speak with a family violence lawyer who can look at your circumstances confidentially.

Is there a “Domestic Violence and Family Protection Act” in NSW?

Not under that exact name. The phrase is a common way of describing a group of laws. Each Australian state and territory has its own domestic and family violence act, and the federal Family Law Act applies nationally to separating couples. For families on the Central Coast, the key NSW and federal laws are:

• Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) – sets up ADVOs, defines “domestic abuse” and “domestic relationship”, and creates the offence of breaching an order.
• Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) – contains the criminal offences, including assault, stalking and, since 1 July 2024, coercive control of a current or former intimate partner (section 54D).
• Bail Act 2013 (NSW) – amended in 2024 to make bail harder to get for people accused of serious domestic violence offences.
• Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) – governs parenting and property disputes after separation, including how family violence is treated by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.
• Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) – gives employees paid family and domestic violence leave.

Because so many people search using other states’ legislation names, the table below shows how the equivalent family violence law is named elsewhere in Australia. If you have moved to the Central Coast from interstate, a domestic violence order made in another state or territory is recognised and enforceable in NSW under the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme.

Victoria’s approach was heavily shaped by the Royal Commission into Family Violence, which reported in 2016 with 227 recommendations. Many ideas now appearing in NSW, such as better information sharing and a focus on patterns of controlling behaviour, reflect that national conversation.

What is domestic and family violence? The legal definition

A common question is “what is domestic family violence?” Legally, it is much broader than physical assault. The family violence definition in section 4AB of the Family Law Act describes it as violent, threatening or other behaviour by a person that coerces or controls a family member, or causes them to be fearful. NSW law similarly defines “domestic abuse” to include violent or threatening behaviour, and behaviour that coerces, controls or causes fear, directed at someone the person is or has been in a domestic relationship with.

A domestic relationship in NSW covers current and former spouses and de facto partners, intimate partners (whether or not you lived together), family members, people living in the same household, carers, and relatives, including kinship relationships in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Forms of family violence recognised by Australian law

• Physical violence – hitting, pushing, choking or strangulation, and damaging property.
• Sexual violence – any sexual activity without consent, including within a marriage.
• Emotional and psychological abuse – threats, constant put-downs, humiliation, and threats of self-harm used to control.
• Economic or financial abuse – controlling all the money, withholding funds for essentials, forcing someone to take on debt, or sabotaging their work. Since 10 June 2025 this is a stand-alone category in the Family Law Act, including dowry abuse.
• Social isolation – cutting someone off from friends, family or cultural community.
• Technology-facilitated abuse – tracking a phone or car, monitoring messages, or sharing intimate images.
• Harm to pets – threatening or hurting animals to frighten a partner or children.
• Exposing children to violence – a child who sees, hears or is otherwise exposed to family violence is recognised as being affected by it.

Signs of family violence to look out for

Family violence is often a pattern rather than a single incident, which is why it can be hard to recognise from the inside. Common signs of family violence include:

• feeling afraid of a partner’s reaction, or “walking on eggshells” at home;
• a partner checking your phone, location, bank account or who you spend time with;
• being denied access to money, or having to justify every purchase;
• repeated threats to take the children, report you to authorities or have you deported;
• unexplained injuries, or a friend or relative who has become withdrawn and isolated;
• children who are anxious, regressing, or copying aggressive behaviour.

If several of these feel familiar, you are not overreacting. Speaking with close family member or a family violence lawyer is confidential and does not commit you to any particular course of action.

Coercive control is now a crime in NSW

One of the biggest changes in NSW family violence law is the criminal offence of coercive control, which commenced on 1 July 2024. Under section 54D of the Crimes Act 1900, it is an offence for an adult to engage in a course of conduct of abusive behaviour against a current or former intimate partner, intending to coerce or control them. The maximum penalty is 7 years’ imprisonment.

The offence focuses on the pattern, not a single act. Behaviour such as monitoring, isolating, financial control, degrading comments and intimidation may each seem minor alone but can together amount to coercive control. Queensland has also criminalised coercive control, and other states are moving in the same direction.

Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVOs) on the Central Coast

An ADVO is the NSW equivalent of what other states call a family violence restraining order or protection order. It is a civil order, so it is not a criminal charge, but breaching it is a criminal offence.

How an ADVO is obtained

1. Police application. When police attend a domestic violence incident, they must consider applying for an ADVO. Police can also make a provisional ADVO that takes effect immediately, before the court hearing. Many ADVOs on the Central Coast start this way.
2. Private application. You can apply yourself at your Local Court. For people living in Erina, applications are generally dealt with at Gosford Local Court. A lawyer can prepare the application and appear with you.
3. Interim and final orders. The court can make an interim order to protect you until the matter is finalised, then a final order, which commonly lasts two years but can be longer.

What an ADVO can say

Every ADVO includes mandatory conditions stopping the defendant from assaulting, threatening, harassing, stalking or intimidating the protected person, and from deliberately damaging their property. Additional conditions can stop the defendant approaching your home, workplace or children’s school, contacting you except through a lawyer, or coming within a set distance of you.

Penalties for breaching an ADVO

A standard breach of an ADVO carries a maximum penalty of 2 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of 50 penalty units ($5,500). Recent reforms introduced more serious offences for knowingly breaching an order with intent to cause harm or fear, and for repeated breaches, with higher maximum penalties.

Latest NSW domestic violence law reforms (2024–2026)

NSW has amended its domestic violence laws several times since 2024. The key changes that Central Coast families should know about are:

• Tougher bail (2024). People charged with serious domestic violence offences, including coercive control, must now show cause why they should be granted bail, and courts must consider domestic abuse risk factors. Alleged serious offenders who are bailed can be electronically monitored by Corrective Services NSW.
• Stalking laws modernised (2024). The definition of stalking now expressly covers tracking or monitoring a person’s activities, communications or movements using technology such as GPS trackers.
• Serious Domestic Abuse Prevention Orders (SDAPOs). These orders allow strict supervision of the highest-risk perpetrators, with conditions such as reporting to police, disclosing new relationships and restricting tracking devices. Breaching an SDAPO carries a maximum of 5 years’ imprisonment and/or a $33,000 fine.
• Break and enter loophole (2026). In March 2026 the NSW Government introduced legislation so that a perpetrator who no longer lives at a home can be charged with breaking and entering even if their name is still on the lease or title. This responds to the High Court’s 2023 decision in BA v The King.
• Covert tracking (2026). A bill introduced in May 2026 proposes a new offence of covertly monitoring someone who does not know they are being tracked, closing a gap in the existing stalking offence.
• Renting and domestic violence. NSW tenants can already end a lease immediately and without penalty to escape domestic violence. The Residential Tenancies Amendment (Domestic Violence Reform) Act 2025 adds further protections and is expected to commence in the second half of 2026.

Some of these reforms may still be commencing in stages, so always check the current status with a lawyer or on the NSW Legislation website.

How family violence affects parenting and property matters

Family violence law does not stop at the Local Court. If you are separating, the Family Law Act 1975 has been significantly strengthened in the last two years.

Parenting arrangements (changes from 6 May 2024)

The Family Law Amendment Act 2023 removed the presumption of “equal shared parental responsibility”. When deciding what is in a child’s best interests, the court must now consider arrangements that promote the safety of the child and of each person who has care of the child, including safety from family violence. Any history of family violence and any family violence order is directly relevant. Courts can also receive information from state police and child protection agencies to assess risk earlier.

Property settlement (changes from 10 June 2025)

The Family Law Amendment Act 2024 now requires the court to consider the economic effect of family violence when dividing property. This applies at two stages: when assessing each party’s contributions, and when assessing their current and future circumstances. In practical terms, if abuse damaged your earning capacity, credit history or ability to contribute to the household, the court can take that into account. The reforms also create a framework for deciding who keeps family pets, including whether an animal has been used to perpetrate abuse. These rules apply to all separating couples, whether a case goes to court or is negotiated.

Family dispute resolution (mediation) is usually required before filing parenting proceedings, but there is an exception where there has been family violence or there is a risk of it. A family violence lawyer can advise whether the exception applies and how to keep you safe during negotiations.

What is family and domestic violence leave?

Paid family and domestic violence leave is a workplace right under the National Employment Standards in the Fair Work Act. Since 1 February 2023 (and 1 August 2023 for small businesses), all employees, including part-time and casual employees, are entitled to 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave in each 12-month period.

• The leave is available in full from the first day of employment and renews each year, but does not accumulate.
• It is paid at your full rate of pay, as if you had worked your normal hours.
• It can be used for things you cannot do outside work hours, such as attending court, meeting a lawyer, relocating, making safety arrangements or attending appointments with police or counsellors.
• Employers can ask for evidence, but must keep it confidential, and the leave must not be described as family violence leave on your payslip.

Family violence leave also covers situations where the violence is perpetrated by a close relative or a household member, and you need to deal with its impact.

Family violence and partner visas

Many people stay in abusive relationships because they fear losing their visa. Australian migration law addresses this through the Family Violence Provisions in the Migration Regulations 1994. If you have applied for a permanent partner visa and your relationship ends because of family violence by your sponsor, you may still be able to be granted the visa.

Evidence can be judicial, such as an ADVO made after the other party had a chance to be heard, or a conviction for a violent offence against you. It can also be non-judicial, usually a combination of reports from professionals such as doctors, psychologists, social workers or refuges. Since July 2024 the provisions have been expanded to more partner visa cohorts, and they now also extend to secondary applicants in many other permanent visa subclasses. Because the evidence rules are strict, speak with a registered migration lawyer alongside your family lawyer.

Reporting family violence and escaping safely

Reporting family violence and planning to leave can feel overwhelming. You do not need to do everything at once. A safe, step-by-step approach usually looks like this:

1. Make a safety plan. Think about where you would go, who you can call, and a code word for friends or children. 1800RESPECT can help you create one.
2. Keep evidence safely. Photos of injuries or damage, screenshots of messages, dates of incidents and medical records all help. Store them somewhere the other person cannot access, such as a new email account.
3. Contact police. The police family violence response on the Central Coast includes applying for ADVOs and referring you to support services. You can report at your local station, or call the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 for non-urgent matters.
4. Get support at court. The Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service supports women going through ADVO proceedings at Local Courts, including Gosford.
5. Secure your documents and money. Passports, birth certificates, Medicare cards and some cash or a separate bank account are important when escaping family violence.
6. Get legal advice early. A lawyer can advise on ADVOs, urgent parenting orders, recovery orders if a child has been taken, and protecting your share of property.

24/7 and support contacts

Stopping family violence: awareness and accountability

Stopping family violence is a whole-of-community effort. Australia’s National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032 sets the long-term framework, and the national Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission, established in 2022, monitors progress. NSW also has its own Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner. According to the ABS Personal Safety Survey 2021–22, around one in four women and one in fourteen men have experienced violence by an intimate partner or family member since the age of 15.

Awareness events help keep the issue visible. Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month runs in May in Queensland and is often referred to as family violence awareness month. The global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence runs from 25 November to 10 December, and Victoria’s Walk Against Family Violence is held each November. Local Central Coast services often hold their own family violence week events during these periods.

How a family violence lawyer in Erina can help

When people search for a “family violence lawyer near me”, they want someone who understands both the law and the fear that comes with it. At Copper Tree Family Law in Erina, we act for clients across the Central Coast on the family law side of domestic and family violence, including:

• advising on ADVO applications and how existing orders interact with parenting arrangements;
• urgent parenting and recovery orders where a child’s safety is at risk;
• property settlements that take into account the economic effect of family violence under the 2025 reforms;
• safety-focused negotiations, including shuttle mediation so you never need to be in the same room as the other party;
• referrals to trusted criminal defence, migration and counselling professionals when your matter needs them.

We take a trauma-informed approach. Your first conversation is confidential, and we will help you understand your options before you make any decisions. Whether you need a lawyer for a family violence matter today or simply want to know where you stand, contact our Erina office.