When the Family Law Amendment Act 2024 came into effect on 10 June 2025 it marked one of the most significant overhauls of Australia’s family law system. At its core is a clear recognition of the impact of family violence on not just one’s body and emotions, but their finances as well, and family lawyers need to respond accordingly.
The definition of family violence in section 4AB of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) has been amended and broadened to include economic or financial abuse and coercive and controlling conduct. Section 4AB(1), section 4AB(2)(g) and section 4AB(2A) are the relevant sections of the Act to look to for understanding the definition with respect to its impact on property settlement matters. With this definition in place, you can see from the outset how family violence is now a key consideration in all property settlement matters.
If your client has been a victim of family violence, you must demonstrate a nexus between the family violence and the contributions your client did or did not make, and/or your client’s current and future circumstances – see sections 79(4)(a), (b) or (c), and 79(5) of the Act.
In practice, the key change when considering how to run a family violence argument as part of the property settlement case is evidence. You need evidence of the impact the family violence has had on your client either from a contribution or current and future circumstances basis. This may seem obvious, but it is easy to get lost in assumptions when running a complex family law matter, and you may not want to press your client for evidentiary material out of concern for the emotional wellbeing. It is important to implement strategies to circumvent this as the Court cannot consider the case without evidence.
It is however positive that the amendments have made it clearer as to what evidence needs to be provided. Prior to 10 June 2025, a party affected by family violence had to rely on and interpret case law to have its effects considered by the Court (the infamous “Kennon Argument”). The new sections set out above should assist with streamlining the extent of financial disclosure required and determining the need for expert reports, especially for self-represented litigants.
We are also now seeing more action from the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia itself in relation to dealing with family violence. For example, on 26 February 2026, the Court convened more than 70 national leaders from government, the judiciary, legal aid, specialist family violence sectors and others at its 2026 Family Violence Symposium. The Symposium focused on three key reform priorities:
As a result, practitioners and litigants can expect the judicial officers they appear before to have a more nuanced understanding of family violence and be willing to and able to address the practical impact of family violence on litigants during the Court process.
One of the more nuanced consequences of the amendments is the space it indirectly creates for tortious claims to be raised within FCFCOA proceedings. The changes to the law do not permit the family law courts to order compensation for harm caused by family violence. However, the FCFCOA has “accrued jurisdiction”: the power to hear state-law claims (which includes tort claims), that are sufficiently connected to a matter properly before it under the Family Law Act.
Where a party wishes to bring a claim for damages for the effects of violence against them, and the perpetrator of that violence is the other party to their property proceedings before the FCFCOA; this claim may be able to be heard by the FCFCOA as well. This allows the victim to avoid the cost and complexity of running parallel proceedings across different Courts. It will be interesting to watch case law developing on this issue in the future.
The 2024 amendments represent a watershed moment for family law practitioners, signaling a clear legislative intent to treat family violence as a consideration in property proceedings. For practitioners, the practical imperative is to build robust evidentiary frameworks from the outset of any matter involving family violence. As the Court itself signals a deeper institutional commitment to family violence literacy, practitioners who develop sophisticated, evidence-led approaches to these arguments will be best placed to serve their clients and shape the law.
