Safety
Domestic abuse, sexual assault and family violence
Immediate and longer-term support. What it means for partner visas — the family-violence provisions that let you continue an 801 or 100 application without your sponsor.
Published 17 May 2026 · Last reviewed 17 May 2026
These are unfortunately not rare. If you're affected:
Immediate
- 000 for emergency police, ambulance.
- 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) — 24/7 counselling, support and referral.
Longer-term
- Women's Legal Services in each state offer free legal advice for women experiencing violence.
- Sexual Assault Services have free counselling — different name per state (Full Stop Australia, 1800FULLSTOP).
- For men: MensLine (1300 78 99 78).
On visas
- If you hold a partner visa and experience family violence, the family violence provisions can let you continue your application without your sponsor. This is critical to know — don't stay in an abusive relationship because you think your visa depends on it.
- Get free legal advice through a Women's Legal Service or community legal centre before making decisions.
If this is something you're researching for yourself: you're not alone, you don't need to decide everything tonight, and the phone lines above will listen and refer without pushing you to do anything you're not ready for. Interpreters are available on the major lines.
This is a sensitive topic. If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, the full list of crisis lines is in crisis numbers.