This article was written by Jialin Liu Solicitor at W & G Lawyers.
The forms of abuse most commonly overlooked — and what the law can do for you.
She had never been hit. But she had to account for every dollar she spent, was cut off from her own family, had her phone checked regularly, and needed his approval for every decision she made. She wasn’t sure whether what she was experiencing counted as family violence — or whether the law could help her.
Stories like hers are far more common than many people realise.
For many people, family violence is synonymous with physical harm. But that narrow understanding is itself one of the reasons so many victim-survivors remain trapped for so long. This article aims to broaden that picture to examine what family violence really looks like, and to address the particular barriers that make it harder for some communities to seek help. Because none of what is described below is something anyone should have to endure alone.
Part One: What Family Violence Actually Looks Like
Physical violence is the most recognisable form of family violence, but it is rarely where abuse begins, and in many cases, it never occurs at all.
Australian law has long recognised that family violence takes many forms. The following are among the most common and the most frequently overlooked:
Financial Control
This includes taking complete control of household finances, restricting access to bank accounts, demanding that a partner account for every purchase, or preventing them from working or studying. Financial control creates a dependency that makes leaving feel impossible which is precisely its purpose.
Emotional and Psychological Abuse
Sustained belittling, humiliation, and dismissal gradually erode a person’s confidence in their own judgment and sense of self-worth. Perpetrators often frame this behaviour as concern or correction, making it difficult for victim-survivors to name what is happening to them.
Coercive Control
Coercive control is a systematic, ongoing pattern of behaviour designed to dominate another person’s life. It can include monitoring movements, restricting social connections, isolating a partner from friends and family, using children as leverage, and creating a climate of fear and unpredictability. At its core, coercive control is the removal of another person’s autonomy.
Importantly, coercive control is almost always present before physical violence occurs. Research shows that it underpins the vast majority of serious family violence cases.
Digital Surveillance
Demanding access to a partner’s phone, requiring real-time location sharing, installing tracking software, or monitoring social media accounts — technology has given perpetrators new tools for control that are no less harmful for being invisible.
Queensland’s New Law: Coercive Control Is Now a Criminal Offence
In March 2024, the Queensland Parliament passed the Criminal Law (Coercive Control and Affirmative Consent) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024, which came into force on 26 May 2025.
Under this legislation — widely known as Hannah’s Law, named after Hannah Clarke and her three children who were murdered by her estranged husband in 2020 — it is now a criminal offence in Queensland to engage in a pattern of abusive conduct intended to coerce or control a partner or family member. This applies even where no physical violence has ever occurred. The maximum penalty is 14 years imprisonment. Queensland is now the second Australian state, after New South Wales, to criminalise coercive control as a standalone offence.
Hannah’s case made it undeniable: controlling behaviour had been present long before the violence that ended her life. The law has finally caught up.
If you recognise any of the behaviours described above in your own relationship, please know this: the absence of physical violence does not mean the absence of family violence.
Part Two: Why Asking for Help Can Feel Impossible
Acknowledging family violence takes courage for anyone. But for members of some communities, there are additional layers of pressure that make the path to safety even harder to find.
The Weight of Cultural Expectation
In many communities, family and relationship problems are considered deeply private. Seeking outside help can feel like a betrayal — of a spouse, of a family, of a community. Research specifically examining the experiences of Chinese migrant women in Australia has found that cultural values around family harmony, filial piety, and “face” play a significant role in shaping how domestic violence is experienced and responded to — and that perpetrators sometimes exploit these values as tools of control.
The stigma around divorce compounds this further. Many victim-survivors fear that seeking help will expose them to judgment from family and community — and that fear can outweigh their concern for their own safety.
Language and Information Barriers
Language difficulties don’t just make it harder to call for help in an emergency — they limit people’s understanding of what rights and protections exist. Not knowing that support services are available in your language, or that the law may already protect you, is itself a barrier to safety.
Research consistently shows that women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds are significantly less likely than others to seek formal help after experiencing family violence — even though they engage with crisis services at higher rates, suggesting that help is often sought only once the situation has become critical.
Unfamiliarity with the Legal System
Many people hesitate because they don’t know what will happen if they reach out. Will the police get involved? Will my children be taken away? Will this become public? These are understandable fears, often rooted in unfamiliarity with how Australian law actually works.
The answer is that Australia’s family violence laws are designed first and foremost to protect victim-survivors — not to punish or expose them. Seeking legal help does not mean immediately starting court proceedings. In many cases, a confidential initial consultation is simply a way to understand your options before making any decisions.
Visa Status: More Protection Than Many People Realise
This is one of the most significant — and least understood — areas of vulnerability. People on temporary visas, such as a Partner visa (Subclass 820/309), often fear that leaving an abusive relationship will jeopardise their immigration status. Perpetrators frequently exploit this fear as a means of control.
What many people do not know is that Australian migration law provides explicit protections through the Family Violence Provisions.8 Under the Migration Regulations 1994, if you hold an eligible visa and have experienced family violence, you may be able to continue your application for permanent residency even after the relationship has ended — without needing to remain in an abusive relationship to protect your visa status.
The vulnerability of temporary visa holders is well documented. Research has found that approximately 91% of cases involving migrant women on temporary visas include threatening and controlling behaviour — coercive control.Threats of deportation or visa cancellation are themselves a form of family violence, and the law recognises them as such.
Financial Dependence
Caring full-time for children, limited local work experience, language barriers — financial dependence is often the final obstacle that keeps people from taking the first step. It is worth knowing that legal pathways exist: property settlement, spousal maintenance, and access to emergency legal assistance are all real options, not distant possibilities.
Part Three: If Any of This Sounds Familiar
You do not need to prove you are a victim before you can ask for help.
You do not need to wait until things get worse before you have the right to speak up.
Legal protection is not reserved only for those who have been hurt badly enough.
If you recognise your own situation in anything described here — or if something simply doesn’t feel right — a confidential legal consultation can help you understand where you stand and what choices are available to you. No one will judge you for making that call. And you don’t have to make any decisions afterwards.
This is not an easy path. But help is real, and it is there.
Organizations You Can Seek Help From
If you or someone you know is in danger, please call the police at 000 immediately.
References
Visit or Contact Us
📍 68 Bryants Road, Shailer Park QLD 4128
📞 (07) 2810 5666
🌐 www.wglawyers.com.au
✉ info@wglawyers.com.au
Disclaimer
This article is general information only and does not constitute legal advice under Australian law. For advice specific to your situation, please contact W & G Lawyers. For further details, please click here to view our disclaimer.