How do I tell Home Affairs my relationship has ended due to violence in 2026?

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

If your relationship with your sponsoring partner has ended because of family violence, you tell the Australian Department of Home Affairs by submitting the 'Notification of Relationship Cessation' form in the Update Details tab of ImmiAccount, and by ticking the family violence option on that form. Ticking that option is what triggers the automatic removal of both your Partner visa application and the sponsorship application from every ImmiAccount, including your former sponsor's account and any migration agent's account. This comes from the Department of Home Affairs' "Family violence provisions – Partner visa applicants" page.

Why the family violence tick box matters more than the rest of the form

The form asks three things: when your relationship with your former sponsor ended, whether you have experienced family violence, and whether you have children with your former sponsor.

Only the family violence answer drives the removal. If you complete the form without selecting that option, your Partner visa application is not automatically taken out of the other accounts, and the people who had access to it keep that access.

Do you have to tick the children option as well?

Tick both if both are true. The Department's instruction is explicit: choose both the family violence option and the children of the relationship option when both circumstances apply to you.

Selecting one does not substitute for the other. Children of the relationship is a separate fact the Department records, and the removal protection is tied to the family violence option alone — so a parent who ticks only the children box gets the children recorded but not the account removal.

What exactly disappears from the old accounts

Both applications go, and they go from all accounts at once:

your Partner visa application
the sponsorship application your former sponsor lodged

That includes the ImmiAccount of your former sponsor and of any migration agent who was acting on the file. The removal is automatic once you submit the form with the family violence option selected — it is not a request you make separately and it is not something you have to ask the Department to do.

What to do immediately after you submit

Create a new ImmiAccount. Use an email address your former sponsor cannot access; the Department points applicants to the eSafety Commissioner's online safety material on this point.

Then wait for contact. The Department says it will contact you to transfer your application into the new account, and will ask for your new ImmiAccount username and email address. Your application is not lost in the interval — it moves from the removed accounts to yours.

What if you cannot get into ImmiAccount at all?

Use the Partner processing enquiry form instead. That is the alternative channel the Department names for people who do not have access to ImmiAccount, and it is the same form a sponsor uses to withdraw a sponsorship.

Suppose an applicant shared one ImmiAccount with their former partner and no longer has the password. The enquiry form is the route that still lets the relationship cessation reach the Department without logging in.

Can a migration agent or lawyer notify for you?

Yes. A migration agent or legal practitioner helping you can tell the Department your relationship has ended on your behalf.

There is one difference worth knowing before you hand this over. The agent can choose to opt out of the removal of the Partner visa application from ImmiAccount, which means the visa application can stay visible in accounts. The sponsorship application has no such choice: it is always automatically removed.

After the notification: what the Department asks for next

The notification starts a claim; it does not finish one. The Department assesses relationship evidence first, and only once it is satisfied the relationship was genuine and ongoing before it ended does it assess the family violence claim.

When it reaches the violence evidence, the evidence must show two things: at least part of the family violence happened while you were in a relationship with your former sponsor, and your former sponsor was the alleged perpetrator. Evidence can be judicial, such as a court injunction under the Family Law Act 1975, a state or territory court order, or a conviction or finding of guilt for a family violence offence; or non-judicial, meaning either a joint undertaking made before the court or at least two pieces of evidence from different categories. If you rely on two pieces, you also complete a Commonwealth statutory declaration.

Only one document counts per category, so a hospital report and a statutory declaration from a medical practitioner cannot both be used as your two items. If the Department is not satisfied, it refers you to an independent expert, whose opinion it must accept; you get a chance to comment if that opinion goes against you.

Eligibility is limited to particular visas: you may be eligible if you hold or have applied for a Temporary Partner (subclass 820) visa, hold or have applied for a Provisional Partner (subclass 309) visa and entered Australia since applying, or hold or previously held a Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa. For subclass 300 you must be in Australia, and if that visa has ceased you must not currently hold a substantive visa and must have applied for the Partner (subclasses 820 and 801) visa.

What if the sponsor withdraws instead of you notifying first?

A sponsor withdraws through the Partner processing enquiry form, with a statement that they withdraw the sponsorship. Privacy law then stops the Department from giving that sponsor any details about the application or the applicant, including the outcome and whether the applicant is in Australia.

Withdrawal does not end the matter by itself. When the Department receives information that a relationship has ended, it must tell the visa applicant and give them a chance to respond before deciding, and there may still be grounds to grant a permanent Partner visa.

This article describes the Department's published process in general terms and is not personalised advice about whether the family violence provisions apply in your circumstances; check the current official pages, and seek advice from a qualified professional if you need it for your own case. You do not have to stay in a relationship where you fear for your or your family's safety, and support services are available regardless of your visa status.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is telling the Department the same as making a family violence claim?

No. The notification is step one of the claim process described by the Department. After it, you still provide relationship evidence and then family violence evidence, and the Department assesses both before deciding.

Will my former sponsor be told that I notified?

The Department's published step is that the applications are removed from all ImmiAccounts after you submit with the family violence option selected. Separately, when the Department receives information that a relationship has ended, it must tell the visa applicant and give them a chance to respond.

What if I do not have evidence yet?

The Department states it understands evidence can be hard to gather and that there are sometimes delays outside your control, and that it will give you more time to submit documents if you need it.

Do I need a court order?

Not necessarily. Judicial evidence is one route, but you can also give non-judicial evidence: either a joint undertaking made before the court, or a minimum of two pieces of evidence from different categories plus a Commonwealth statutory declaration.

Can I use two documents from the same type of source?

No. You can give only one document from each category, so two medical items — for example a hospital report and a statutory declaration from a medical practitioner — count as one category, not two.

What happens after the transfer to my new ImmiAccount?

The Department contacts you to move your application into the new account and asks for your new username and email address, so keep those details ready after you create it.