Family Violence Provisions: Your Partner Visa After Leaving a Violent Relationship

If you are in immediate danger call 000. For 24/7 counselling and support call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

The family violence provisions mean you may be able to stay in Australia on a permanent visa if:

• you have applied for or currently hold an eligible visa
• you have experienced family violence
• the perpetrator was your former partner or spouse
• the family violence, or part of it, occurred during your relationship with that person
• you are no longer in a relationship with that person.

See the Department of Home Affairs family violence provisions page.

According to the Department of Home Affairs, you may be eligible for a permanent visa if you:

• hold or have applied for a Temporary Partner (subclass 820) visa
• hold or have applied for (and entered Australia since applying) a Provisional Partner (subclass 309) visa
• hold or previously held a Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa.

For partner visa applicants and holders, the perpetrator must have been the former sponsor of the visa application. Separate family violence provisions apply to secondary applicants on other visas.

You need to tell the Department that the relationship has ended. If you have ImmiAccount access, use the Notification of Relationship Cessation form in the Update Details tab.

Once you submit that form and select the family violence option, your partner visa application and the sponsorship application are automatically removed from all ImmiAccounts for your safety and privacy — including your former sponsor’s account and any migration agent’s account. It is important to select both the family violence and the children options if both apply to you.

If you do not have ImmiAccount access, you can notify the Department using the Partner processing enquiry form. We can do all of this for you.

There are two stages.

1. Relationship evidence. The Department must first be satisfied that you were in a genuine and ongoing relationship with your former sponsor before the relationship ended.

2. Family violence evidence. Once your relationship is accepted as genuine, the Department assesses your family violence claims. The evidence must show that at least part of the family violence happened while you were in the relationship and that your former partner or spouse was the alleged perpetrator.

All evidence must be in writing, in English, and in the format and level of detail requested. The Department acknowledges this can be difficult to gather and will give you more time if you need it.

Judicial evidence is a document from a court of law. You only need one of the following:

• a court injunction against your former partner or spouse under the Family Law Act 1975
• a court order against your former partner or spouse made under a state or territory law
• a record that a court has convicted your former partner or spouse of a family violence offence against you or your dependants
• a record that a court has recorded a finding of guilt against your former partner or spouse for family violence offences against you or your dependants.

In some situations an interim order may meet the threshold. If it does not, you can provide the interim order while awaiting the final court outcome, and must provide the final order once it is made.

You can rely on non-judicial evidence instead. This is either:

• a joint undertaking made before the court, or
• a minimum of two pieces of non-judicial evidence, together with a Commonwealth statutory declaration (see the Department’s Form 1410i on completing a statutory declaration for a family violence claim).

You can only provide one document from each category of evidence — for example, you cannot use a hospital report and a statutory declaration from a medical practitioner, because they fall in the same category. Evidence must be made by people acting in their professional capacity. You may also provide other supporting evidence once the minimum requirements are met.

The family violence provisions do not change the Department’s visa application charge. As of August 2026, the onshore Partner visa (subclass 820 and 801) charge is from AUD11,710.00 for most applicants, or from AUD1,955.00 for Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa holders.

According to the Department’s processing time guide (last updated 4 August 2026), the subclass 820 is processed in 18 months for 50% of applications and 32 months for 90%, and the subclass 801 in 5 months for 50% and 12 months for 90%. A family violence claim adds an assessment stage, but the Department will allow additional time for you to gather evidence.

Your safety comes first. The Notification of Relationship Cessation process is designed to remove your application from your former sponsor’s ImmiAccount, and we act only on your instructions.

Family violence claims are evidence-heavy and the categories of acceptable evidence are strictly defined, so a claim can fail on technical grounds even where the violence is real. We prepare the statutory declarations, organise professional evidence and deal with the Department so you do not have to relive the detail more often than necessary.

If you are in immediate danger call 000. For confidential 24/7 support call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.