The Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Stalking and Other Matters) Bill 2025 – also known as the Women’s Safety Package – introduces significant reforms designed to strengthen protection for victim‑survivors and make the family violence system more responsive, fair and trauma‑informed. For families navigating separation, intervention orders and safety planning, these changes will have real impacts on how risk is assessed, how orders are made, and how long protection lasts.  

What is the Women’s Safety Package? 

The Bill amends the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 and related legislation to better protect women, children and gender‑diverse people experiencing family violence and stalking. It does this by expanding the definition of family violence, strengthening intervention order processes, and improving safeguards for children and young people involved in the system.  

In practice, this means courts and police will have clearer powers and responsibilities when responding to abuse, include systems abuse and stalking, and will be required to look more closely at who is at risk of harm in a family violence situation.  

Expanded definition of family violence 

One of the most important reforms is the expanded definition of family violence in the Family Violence Protection Act 2008. The definition of Family Violence per s5(2) will now expressly include stalking, system abuse, and situations where animals are used or harmed to perpetuate family violence.  

Systems abuse refers to patterns of using legal processes and institutions – such as repeated applications, delayed disclosures of tactical non-compliance – to continue control and intimidation following a separation. By explicitly recognising this form of abuse, the law makes it easier for courts to respond with appropriate conditions in family violence intervention orders, including conditions to stop a perpetrator locating an affected family member.  

The inclusion of stalking, and inflicting harm to animals reflect what many victim survivors and practitioners have long been aware of – that abuse is not limited to physical violence. Threatening to harm pets as well as monitoring can be deeply coercive and traumatic. These changes help ensure that patterns of control are seen and treated as family violence, not dismissed as background conflict.  

Tackling misidentification of victim‑survivors 

Another focus of the reforms is reducing the misidentification of victim survivors as the primary aggressor. Research by Legal Aid Victoria shows that certain groups – including women (particularly First Nations women), LGBTQIA+ people, children, and individuals with disability or mental health issues – are disproportionately misidentified.  

To address this, the Bill requires police and courts to consider specific risk factors before making a Family Violence Intervention Order (FVIOs). Such factors include age, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability. The aim is to detect earlier and prevent misidentification, and to support fairer decision-making at the first point of contact.  

These changes are part of a broader government effort, which includes a Predominant Aggressor Working Group and improved data collection, to better identify the predominant aggressor and create clearer solutions to correct misidentification when it occurs.  

Stronger and more consistent intervention orders 

The reforms also strengthen the framework for FVIOs, with a focus on longer, more stable protection and clearer rules for children and young people. A new default term of two years will apply to final FVIOs against adult respondents. This change will give victim-survivors more predictable protection and reduce the need to return to court repeatedly to extend orders.  

Courts will now be able to make FVIOs even where the alleged family violence and the affected family members were both outside Victoria, closing gaps that previously limited protection in cross-border situations. The law also confirms that where a child is listed as an affected family member on a parent’s order and then turns 18, they will remain protected for the full duration of that order, avoiding a sudden loss of protection when they become an adult.  

Children and young people: protections and safeguards 

For young people who are named respondents, the Bill introduces several important safeguards. First, it sets a minimum age of 12 for a child to be a respondent to an FVIO, aligning with the minimum age of criminal responsibility while still recognising that legal responses are not always the best response to family conflict involving children. 

Secondly, courts must now consider a child respondent’s ability to understand the nature and effect of an interim or final intervention order. This responds to concerns that many orders have been made against children who were not present in court or had no legal advice, leaving them at risk of breaching orders they did not fully understand. 

These changes sit alongside strengthened witness protections and the extension of special measures – such as alternative arrangements for evidence and limits on personal cross‑examination – in stalking and family violence‑related proceedings. 

What this means for our clients 

For our clients, these reforms mean a legal system that is better equipped to recognise the entire spectrum of family violence, to identify who is most at risk, and to provide protection that is both stable and more tailored to individual circumstances.  

If you are experiencing family violence, systems abuse or stalking – or if you are worried you have been misidentified as the primary aggressor – obtaining early legal advice can help you understand your options under the new laws and take steps to protect your safety and your family’s future. There is never any excuse for any form of family violence, and help is always available.