Dedicated Family Violence lawyer Services for Immediate Protection. If you are facing family violence, our legal team provides clear guidance, urgent support, and effective strategies focused on stopping family violence and protecting your future.
Protect Yourself And Your Loved Ones With An Experienced Family Violence Lawyer
Whether you need urgent legal protection or advice regarding family law proceedings, our Family Violence Lawyer team serving Erina is ready to assist. We offer practical solutions designed to safeguard your wellbeing while helping you navigate complex legal matters.
On the Central Coast, a family violence matter usually runs on two tracks at once. Gosford, Woy Woy or Wyong Local Court deals with safety and any criminal charges. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia deals with your children and your property. Decisions made quickly on one track can quietly shape the other for years.
Our job is to hold both tracks in view — so the protection order you agree to at Gosford this month does not undercut the parenting arrangement you need next month, and so the violence you lived through is actually put before the court that divides your assets.
Many people delay getting advice because there has been no physical assault. Australian family law has never required one. Section 4AB of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), which applies in NSW as it does across Australia, defines family violence as violent, threatening or other behaviour that coerces or controls a family member, or causes them to be fearful.
The Act provides several examples of behaviour that may amount to family violence. These are signs of family violence that a court can act on:
Including situations where no criminal charge was ever laid.
Following, monitoring, tracking your phone, or engaging in sustained humiliation.
Damaging possessions, or harming or killing a pet to frighten you.
Controlling bank accounts, taking wages, or limiting access to money through an allowance.
Refusing financial support that you and your children reasonably need.
Cutting you off from family, friends, culture, community, or religion.
Locking you in, taking keys, visa documents, identification, or your phone.
A child who witnesses, overhears, or comforts a parent after family violence may also be affected.
Two bodies of law will touch your matter, and they do different jobs. Knowing which is which explains why you may end up in two different courts.
New South Wales
An Apprehended Domestic Violence Order is made under the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW). Police make most applications and must apply where they believe a domestic violence offence has been committed. Knowingly breaching an AVO is an offence under section 14 carrying up to two years’ imprisonment, 50 penalty units, or both — with higher maximums where a breach is intended to cause harm or fear, or is repeated within 28 days. Coercive control became a separate NSW offence on 1 July 2024 under section 54D of the Crimes Act 1900, with a maximum of seven years, and applies only to conduct on or after that date.
Commonwealth
The Family Law Act 1975 governs parenting and property for everyone in NSW. Since May 2024 the court’s first consideration in parenting matters is the arrangement that promotes a child’s safety, including safety from family violence, and the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility has been removed. Since 10 June 2025 the court must weigh the effect of family violence and economic abuse in property settlements. Applications are filed electronically through the Commonwealth Courts Portal; the nearest registries to the Coast are Sydney and Newcastle, and electronic appearances are routinely available.
If you have moved to the Coast with a protection order made in another state or territory, it is recognised and enforceable here under the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme. Bring it to your first appointment so we can check how it operates in NSW and whether it needs varying.
Four kinds of work, usually running at the same time. We tell you at the start which ones your situation needs and which it does not.
Protection
We advise on conditions, exclusion from the home, consenting without admissions, variations and defended hearings, and on what an order will mean for your family law case. Free support is available at court through the Central Coast Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service, which runs safe rooms at Gosford and Wyong Local Courts — we work alongside it rather than duplicating it.
Children
Applications where a child is at risk, recovery orders where a child has been taken, supervised or suspended time, and travel and passport restraints. Where a matter is urgent it can often be filed within days, with an early return date, rather than waiting for the general list.
Money
Debts loaded onto your name, a career you were prevented from having, and assets moved out of sight are all arguable under the current property provisions. We also handle spousal maintenance and urgent injunctions to stop assets or superannuation disappearing before settlement.
Visa status
The family violence provisions in the Migration Regulations 1994 mean a partner visa applicant is not forced to stay in a violent relationship to secure permanent residence. We prepare the family law evidence that supports a claim — orders, affidavits, chronologies and court material — and work with your registered migration agent or immigration lawyer on the application itself.
People hesitate because they do not know what reporting sets in motion. Here is the honest sequence in this region.
Call 000 in an emergency, or 131 444 when it is not. The Coast is covered by the Brisbane Water and Tuggerah Lakes Police Districts. Officers complete a risk assessment, may take a recorded statement, and may issue a provisional ADVO on the spot.
It binds the other person straight away, before any hearing, and remains in force until the Local Court deals with the application.
Police referrals for the two local districts go to the Central Coast Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service, which is the local coordination point. Its workers provide free court support, safety planning and referrals, and can connect you with the Legal Aid NSW solicitors who attend the ADVO list days.
Gosford, Woy Woy or Wyong, depending on where you live. The other person consents, or the matter is defended and set down for hearing. Only the court can change or revoke an order — if the protected person invites contact, the defendant still commits an offence by responding.
An ADVO does not decide who the children live with, who stays in the house long-term, or how property is divided. That is the work we do, and it is better started early than after positions have hardened.
Anonymous
2 years ago
I would highly recommend Cheryl for your family law needs. She is professional, efficient, committed and friendly to work with. Cheryl will endeavour to achieve the best outcome for you.
I would highly recommend Cheryl for your family law needs. She is professional, efficient, committed and friendly to work with. Cheryl will endeavour to achieve the best outcome for you.
Ely M
1 year ago
Very good I recommend to my friends and family all the time.
Very happy with the advice Cheryl gave and provided peace of mind.
From my experience I found them easy to deal with and straight to the point with advice…. which is all you really want in these sort of matters
Leaving a violent or controlling relationship is often the most dangerous period, and financial pressure is one of the main reasons people remain in unsafe situations. The good news is that a range of support services are available to Central Coast residents, and you do not need a lawyer to access them.
Eligible victim-survivors of intimate partner violence may access up to $5,155 in support. This can include direct financial assistance, goods and services, safety planning and referrals. The program is available regardless of gender, sexuality or visa status.
tel:1800253283 Call 1800 253 283Full-time, part-time and casual employees may be entitled to ten days of paid family and domestic violence leave each year under the Fair Work Act. The entitlement is available upfront and does not need to be accrued over time.
A one-off crisis payment may be available if you have left your home, or remained after the other person has left, because of family and domestic violence and are experiencing severe financial hardship.
This NSW program can help you remain safely in your own home while the perpetrator leaves, reducing the need to disrupt your life, children's schooling or local support networks.
Legal Aid NSW provides assistance through its Domestic Violence Unit and duty solicitor schemes. Support is available at Central Coast courts, while the Family Advocacy and Support Service can assist with family law matters. Advice is available regarding eligibility and available services.
Text messages, emails, bank records, medical reports, photographs and a dated diary can all become important evidence later. If it is safe to do so, store copies somewhere the other person cannot access, such as a secure cloud account, work email or with a trusted friend.
Your safety comes first. Never place yourself at risk to collect evidence. If gathering proof could put you in danger, focus on getting to safety and seek assistance immediately.
Our office is at 23/90–96 The Entrance Road, Erina NSW 2250, a few minutes from Erina Fair. We act for clients from Woy Woy, Umina and Ettalong through Gosford, Terrigal, Avoca, Kincumber and Wamberal, and north to Bateau Bay, The Entrance, Wyong, Toukley and Budgewoi. Appointments are available by phone and video where coming to Erina is not safe or practical.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Optio, neque qui velit. Magni dolorum quidem ipsam eligendi, totam, facilis laudantium cum accusamus ullam volupNot for the ADVO application itself — police prosecute it, and the Central Coast Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service supports women at court free of charge. You need a family lawyer for everything the order does not cover: where the children live, who stays in the house, and how property is divided. Those are decided under the Family Law Act, and the position you take early tends to stick.tatibus commodi numquam, error, est. Ea, consequatur.
They describe the same work. “Attorney” is the American term; in NSW you are looking for a solicitor, and in family violence matters for one who appears regularly in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. In this country, “attorney” usually refers instead to a power of attorney — a document appointing someone to make decisions for you.
Yes. An order or a charge is useful evidence, but it is not a precondition. The court decides on the evidence before it, which commonly includes your affidavit, text messages, medical records, school notes and accounts from people who saw the effect on you and the children.
No, and it is a common source of confusion because search results mix the states together. The Family Violence Act 2004 is Tasmanian, the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 is Victorian, and the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 — sometimes searched as the “domestic violence and family protection act” — is Queensland’s. The Royal Commission into Family Violence was a Victorian inquiry that reported in 2016, and the Walk Against Family Violence is a Melbourne event. In NSW, the legislation that applies to you is the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 together with the Family Law Act 1975.
It depends on whether the other side negotiates or litigates. You will receive written costs disclosure before we start and a stage-by-stage estimate, and we will tell you when a legal fight is not worth what it will cost you. Ask us about Legal Aid NSW eligibility at the first appointment.
Yes. An order or a charge is useful evidence, but it is not a precondition. The court decides on the evidence before it, which commonly includes your affidavit, text messages, medical records, school notes and accounts from people who saw the effect on you and the children.
It can, and since 10 June 2025 the Family Law Act says so directly. The court must consider the effect of family violence on a party’s ability to make contributions during the relationship, and the effect of economic or financial abuse on their circumstances going forward. Financial abuse — debt in your name, concealed assets, sabotaged employment, dowry abuse — is now named in the definition of family violence.
The family violence provisions of the Migration Regulations allow certain partner visa applicants to be granted the permanent visa even though the relationship has ended, if the relationship was genuine and there was family violence by the sponsor. The evidence must meet specific requirements, which is why the family law material needs to be prepared properly. We prepare that evidence and coordinate with a registered migration agent or immigration lawyer on the visa application.
Not necessarily. An ADVO can include a condition excluding the other person from the home even if they own or lease it, and the NSW Staying Home Leaving Violence program exists to support that outcome. Separately, the family court can make orders about who occupies a home pending settlement. It is worth asking before you pack.
Denial and threats of that kind are common and are not a reason to hold back. Write down what has happened with dates while it is fresh, keep it somewhere safe, and get advice before agreeing to any arrangement. If a child has already been taken, a recovery order can be sought urgently — sometimes within days.
Yes. The Family Law Act definition covers any family member, and an ADVO can be made where the parties are in a domestic relationship under the NSW Act — including parents and children, relatives, carers and people living in the same household. The NSW coercive control offence, by contrast, currently applies only to current or former intimate partners.
Call (02) 4369 6838 and tell reception the matter involves family violence. Urgent applications for children’s safety or to preserve assets can be filed within days, and sometimes the same week. If you are in immediate danger, call 000 first.
At CopperTree Family Law, we protect and advocate for your interest at all times, while advising you of the legal framework under which your needs will be considered.
© Copyright 2018-.
CopperTree Family Law. All rights reserved. Liability limited by a scheme approved under professional standards legislation.
Privacy Policy | Site Designed by IT Company
