Do I still have to prove my relationship was genuine after family violence in 2026?

Updated 2026-10-10 · General information, not migration advice · Run by the Arrivau team

Yes. A family violence claim does not switch off the relationship test — it comes after it. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Family violence provisions – Partner visa applicants page, the Department must first be satisfied that you were in a genuine and ongoing relationship with your former sponsor before the relationship ended; only once it has assessed the relationship to have been genuine does it go on to assess your family violence claims. The same order is set out on the Department's Family violence evidence page, which states that family violence evidence is assessed after the relationship has been assessed as genuine. What follows is general information about how those published rules are arranged, not advice about any individual case or a prediction of outcome.

So what does the Department actually assess first?

It assesses the relationship, then the violence. The partner visa page describes the sequence plainly: relationship evidence comes first, and the family violence claim is assessed second. The Department may send you a request for information asking for evidence of your relationship, and it asks you to provide as much information as you can.

This is the part many applicants misread. People often assume that because the relationship ended badly, the relationship itself no longer needs explaining. In fact, the family violence provisions operate on a relationship — they let you keep pursuing a permanent visa after that relationship has ended. If the relationship is not accepted, there is nothing for the provisions to attach to.

What has to be true before the provisions apply at all?

The Department's Family violence provisions page lists a set of conditions that sit in front of everything else. 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 this person
you are no longer in a relationship with this person.

For Partner visa applicants and holders, the page adds a further condition: the perpetrator must be the former sponsor of the visa application. The partner visas covered are the Temporary Partner (subclass 820) visa — held or applied for — the Provisional Partner (subclass 309) visa, which you hold, or have applied for and entered Australia since applying, and the Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa, which you hold or previously held. For the subclass 300 visa you must be in Australia, and if that visa has ceased you must also not currently hold a substantive visa and must have applied for the Partner (subclasses 820 and 801) visa. A dependent child of a Partner visa-holding parent who has applied under the provisions may be covered through the Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa.

Why can't the relationship evidence be treated as a formality?

Because the two tests overlap on the same period of time. The family violence evidence has to show that at least part of the violence happened while you were in a relationship with your former partner or spouse, and that this person was the alleged perpetrator. The relationship evidence is what establishes that there was a relationship of the kind the provisions refer to, running over the period you are pointing to. Weak relationship evidence does not just slow the relationship limb down; it leaves the timing requirement in the violence limb without an anchor.

This matters most where the relationship was short, where you lived apart for stretches, or where the controlling behaviour included isolating you from the usual paper trail. Assume the Department will ask for relationship evidence and start assembling what you can.

What does the relationship evidence request actually ask for?

The Department has a separate official page for this, Relationship evidence, reached from the family violence provisions section. The partner visa page says a request for information may be sent to you asking for evidence of your relationship, and that you should provide as much information as you can. Treat that request as the first substantive step of the claim rather than as paperwork to deal with later, and answer it in the terms set out on that official page.

What counts as family violence evidence once the relationship is accepted?

The Family violence evidence page requires that all evidence be in writing, in English, and in the format and level of detail requested. You can give either judicial or non-judicial evidence.

Judicial evidence

Judicial evidence is a document from a court of law. You only need to give one of these:

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

An interim order may meet the threshold in some situations. If it does not, you can give a copy of the interim order while you wait for a final court outcome, and you must give a copy of the final order if one is made.

Non-judicial evidence

Non-judicial evidence is either a joint undertaking made before the court, or a minimum of two pieces of evidence from the categories below. If you go the two-piece route, you must also complete a Commonwealth statutory declaration form; the Department points to Form 1410i – Completing a statutory declaration for a family violence claim for how to do this.

The listed categories are medical evidence, police evidence, child welfare officer evidence, family violence support service provider evidence, social worker evidence, psychologist evidence, family consultant and family relationship counsellor evidence, and education professional evidence. Each category has its own content requirements — for example, police evidence must identify the alleged victim, identify the alleged perpetrator or give information from which the identity can reasonably be inferred, and detail the incident or incidents; medical evidence must identify the alleged victim and detail injuries or treatment that may be consistent with family violence. Each item must be made by a person acting in their professional capacity.

One document per category

You can only give one document from each category. The Department's own example: with medical documents you cannot give a hospital report from a nurse and a statutory declaration from a medical practitioner, because both sit in the same category. You can also give other evidence as long as the minimum evidentiary requirements are met, and the decision maker may consider that extra evidence as part of a whole assessment.

What if you can't get the documents?

Say so, and ask for time. The partner visa applicant page states that the Department understands gathering evidence of your relationship and of family violence can be difficult, and the family violence evidence page states that there are sometimes delays outside your control; both pages state that it will give you more time to submit these documents if you need it.

On the practical side, the partner visa page also advises creating a new ImmiAccount after you have told the Department the relationship has ended, using an email address your former sponsor cannot access, and the Department will then contact you to transfer your application into that new account.

Does your former sponsor see any of this?

Not through the application. If you notify the relationship cessation using the 'Notification of Relationship Cessation' form in ImmiAccount and select the family violence option, your Partner visa application and the sponsorship application are automatically removed from all ImmiAccounts, including your former sponsor's or migration agent's account. The form also asks whether you have children with your former sponsor, and the Department advises selecting both options if both apply.

If your former sponsor withdraws the sponsorship, that is not the end of the matter. The Department's Information for Partner visa sponsors page states that there may still be grounds to grant the visa applicant a permanent Partner visa, that privacy law stops the Department from giving the withdrawing sponsor any details about the application or the applicant, and that when it receives information that a relationship has ended it must tell the visa applicant and give them a chance to respond before a decision is made.

What happens if the Department is not satisfied about the violence?

It refers you to an independent expert. The partner visa page sets out that the expert will contact you to arrange an interview about your family violence claims and give the Department an opinion on whether they think you experienced family violence. The Department must accept that opinion. If the expert determines that you have not experienced family violence, you will be given the opportunity to comment on the opinion. If either the Department or the expert is satisfied that you have, you may be asked for further information, which can include a health exam or character documents such as an Australian or overseas police certificate.

Help is available regardless of your visa status. The Department's Where to get help page states that you have a right to feel safe and that support is available whether or not you hold a visa, and it lists national and state and territory services. For anything outside the visa process itself, the most current contact details are on that official page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a family violence claim replace the requirement to prove a genuine relationship?

No. The Department's partner visa page says it must first be satisfied that you were in a genuine and ongoing relationship with your former sponsor before the relationship ended, and the family violence claims are assessed only after that. Both parts of the claim need to succeed.

Does the violence have to have happened while we were still together?

At least part of it does. The evidence must show that at least part of the family violence happened while you were in a relationship with your former partner or spouse, and that this person was the alleged perpetrator.

Do I need a court order to prove family violence?

No. Judicial evidence is one route, but you can instead give non-judicial evidence: either a joint undertaking made before the court, or at least two pieces of evidence from the listed categories, together with a completed Commonwealth statutory declaration form.

Can I give two medical documents as my two pieces of non-judicial evidence?

No. The Department allows only one document from each category, and it uses a hospital report from a nurse plus a statutory declaration from a medical practitioner as the example of two items that are in the same category.

My former partner is holding the joint documents. What should I do?

The Department states that it understands gathering this evidence can be difficult and that there are sometimes delays outside your control, and that it will give you more time to submit documents if you need it. It also advises using a new ImmiAccount with an email address your former sponsor cannot access.

My sponsor has withdrawn the sponsorship — is my application finished?

Not automatically. The Department states there may still be grounds to grant a permanent Partner visa, that it must tell you it has received information that the relationship has ended and give you a chance to respond, and that privacy law prevents it from giving the withdrawing sponsor details about you or the application.