Further provisions of the Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence Protection and Other Matters) Act 2018 commenced on 29 March 2019.
Relevant amendments include:
- Examples have been added to the definition of Family Violence in s 5 (10) (b) of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008;
- Interim or final protection orders for children at the court’s own initiative have been added to s 53AB (2) and s 77B (3) of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 where an interim or final order has not been made for affected family member of the child;
- A new Specialist Family Violence Court Division has been established under the Magistrates’ Court Act 1989 which has jurisdiction to deal with proceedings in respect to the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 and other relevant acts.
Corresponding updates to the By Lawyers Intervention Orders guide, found in the Magistrates’ Court Criminal and Magistrates’ Court Civil publications for Victoria, have occurred or are underway.
Remaining provisions of the amending act commence on 1 September 2020 if not proclaimed before.