Family Justice System
Protection Orders and Police Safety Orders
The main piece of legislation in the Family Court addressing violence between adults is the Family Violence Act 2018. Family violence includes physical violence, sexual violence and psychological/emotional violence (e.g. stalking, harassment, verbal abuse, economic abuse, controlling or manipulative behaviour, threats, belittling, etc.). More recently the terminology "family harm" has been favoured by Police and other sector agencies.
The person named in the PSO (bound person) must leave the address even if it is owned by the person or is where they usually live. The bound person must not subject the protected person (or their children) to any further violence or harassment. The bound person must not encourage anyone else to abuse or harass the protected person on their behalf.
Unlike PSOs, protection orders are issued by the Court. This requires a court application and an affidavit. The Court needs to know whether there is a domestic or close personal relationship; what violence has occurred and; why a court order is necessary. An application is filed, served on the other person – who has a chance to reply – and if the application is defended then a hearing is held for a Judge to determine any disputed facts and decide if the order is necessary. In urgent situations (and this is what leads to most applications being made) an application and affidavit may be filed and seen quickly by a Judge. The Judge will make a decision about whether a temporary protection order (TPO) should be issued so there is immediate protection for the applicant and the children of the family. The Judge needs to be satisfied that the delay that might be caused by applying on notice (the standard process) might place the applicant or the children of the family at serious risk of injury, harm or undue hardship. The other party still has the chance to respond and have the matter heard in Court if the person disputes that a permanent order should be made.
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Children, Parents, Guardians and the Law
There is an emphasis on all parties working together to resolve their disputes around children in the Family Court. Before filing a non-urgent application in the Family Court the applicant must have completed Parenting Through Separation within the last two years and the parties must have attempted (or been exempted from) Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) mediation. There is limited funding available for people who are unable to privately pay a lawyer. The government funds the Family Legal Advice Service (FLAS) for pre-court legal advice. This advice is broken into two stages and is discussed in detail further on this page.
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Putting Children First
FLAS - Family Legal Advice Service
Legal aid is only available for 'on-notice' Care of Children Act matters in exceptional circumstances. But to assist low-income people to access the family justice system there is the Family Legal Advice Service. If you qualify for government funding you can get some free advice from a lawyer to help you understand the legal aspects of settling a dispute about caring for your children. This service can also help you fill out forms to apply to the Family Court. It is different from legal aid, which is where the government pays for a lawyer for those who are eligible once their case is in court. The Family Legal Advice Service covers two things: your rights and responsibilities in regard to your children, and; your legal options in agreeing how you'll care for your children. It can also cover the cost for getting a lawyer to help fill in forms if you do go to the Family Court, whether you are asking the Court to do something (applying to the Court) or responding when someone is asking the Court to do something that involves you. If you need more advice or to get help filling out further forms than the service provides you will have to |
pay privately or seek free help from a Community Law Centre or Citizens Advice Bureau.
You may access FLAS at any time. Getting some legal advice before, during or after Family Dispute Resolution may be helpful. You might want to talk to one of our lawyers after Parenting Through Separation about your options or the legal aspects of a private agreement you're thinking of making after you complete mediation. If you want to know if you qualify for the free service just ring us on (0800) 339 223 and we'll do the calculations for you. When you get us to provide legal advice under FLAS we don't just stop there. Our service extends to helping you access the Family Dispute Resolution mediation service through FairWay and we can also book you in for a free Parenting Through Separation course (PTS) through Barnardos, Plunket, Family Works or any other authorised provider. We'll follow-up with you after a few months as well, to see how things went and help you arrange for a second FLAS meeting if required (this is covered by the grant).
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Our Family Dispute Resolution Partners |