The role of the Department of Home Affairs
Call 000 in an emergency. If you or someone you know is in danger call the Police on 000. Police in Australia are safe and can be trusted. We cannot help you in an emergency.
The Australian Government has zero tolerance for domestic and family violence against anyone. This includes permanent or temporary visa holders. The Department of Home Affairs is committed to supporting victims of domestic and family violence. We will work with you to resolve your immigration matters under the migration law framework.
Regardless of your visa status, you can contact the Department to discuss your situation. You may also contact the Department to notify of changes in your situation. We also encourage you to seek independent immigration assistance.
There are specialist services available in each state and territory. These services include:
- visa and immigration services and
- domestic and family violence legal services.
You can find information about these services on the following pages:
Support for temporary visa holders
There is financial support available to people on temporary visas. This is available through the Australian Red Cross.
The Australian Red Cross Family and Domestic Violence Financial Assistance Program is available for people who are:
- on temporary visas, or with uncertain visa status, living in Australia
- experiencing domestic and family violence
- experiencing financial hardship.
If you are a temporary visa holder, you can contact our specialist Domestic and Family Violence Support Section. Service providers who support temporary visa holders experiencing domestic and family violence can also contact us. This includes:
- legal
- specialist migration and
- community organisations.
You can do this by completing the online form at Contact us. Once we have received your online form, a Visa Support Officer will contact you to discuss your situation.
Informing us about domestic and family violence
If your relationship status has changed due to domestic and family violence you can let us know about this change.
There are different ways you can contact the Department depending on your situation.
If you have an ongoing Partner visa application, see Family violence provisions.
If you have another type of visa application that is still outstanding, you can tell us about changes in your circumstances in one of the following ways:
We will not refer the matter to the police, unless:
- it is an immediate threat to your life
- you are at immediate risk of harm or
- it is required due to mandatory child reporting obligations.
Your visa checklist
There are some important things you can do to stay safe and ensure you have a valid visa.
We have developed a checklist that can help. You can use the checklist to help as part of safety planning too.
The checklist is available in several different community languages:
Visa cancellations
Only the Minister or a delegated officer has the power to refuse or cancel a person’s visa.
A person who commits domestic and family violence cannot cancel your visa. We use the term “perpetrator” to refer to this person.
If you are the perpetrator of domestic and family violence, we may refuse or cancel your visa.
The Department’s policy is to not cancel a person’s temporary visa solely because their relationship with the primary visa holder broke down due to domestic and family violence. However, we may cancel a visa on other grounds. For more information see
Cancelling a visa
We do not encourage visa applicants to stay in violent or dangerous relationships under any circumstance. This includes to get a visa outcome. If you are experiencing domestic and family violence, we strongly encourage you to contact the police. You can also seek help from service providers.
