Family violence is not in itself a criminal offence. However, family violence may give rise to various charges. In addition to criminal offences such as assault, assault causing actual or grievous bodily harm, intent to do grievous bodily harm, indecent assault, rape, sexual assault or attempted murder, there are a number of offences specifically aimed at domestic violence, including:

If someone is charged with an offence relating to family violence, bail conditions must be set with primary consideration for the victim.

For the purposes of family violence law, a "family member" is defined as a: (a) spouse or former spouse (including an opposite sex de facto spouse) of the offender; (b) child of whom the respondent or a spouse or former spouse of the respondent has custody as a parent or guardian; (c) child who normally or regularly resides with the respondent or a spouse or former spouse of the respondent;

An intervention order, while not a criminal charge, may also be an appropriate response to family violence.

In an emergency: 000

For police attendance: 131 444

Domestic Violence Crisis Line: 1800 800 098

1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732.