Permanent Residency Secured in Same-Sex Partnership Under Non-Judicial Family Violence Claim

Visa TypeSubclass 820 / Subclass 100

CategoryPartner Visa

Case Summary

A woman in a same-sex de facto relationship on a Subclass 820 Partner Visa experienced manipulation, threats, verbal, emotional and financial abuse from her former partner and visa sponsor. With no court order or criminal conviction available, we assisted her to establish a non-judicial family violence claim, resulting in a grant of permanent residency.

Background

Our client held a Subclass 820 Partner (Residence) visa sponsorsed by her same-sex de facto partner. When the relationship broke down due to family violence perpetrated by the sponsor, the applicant came to us for assistance. As there was no court order or criminal conviction of family violence, the applicant needed to pursue a non-judicial determination pathway. This required establishing both that she was the de facto partner of the perpetrator and that she had been the victim of the relevant family violence.

Challenges

Absence of a court order or conviction meant the matter had to proceed as a non-judicial determination
Required demonstrating both the existence of the de facto relationship and the family violence perpetrated by the sponsor
Conduct included manipulation, control, threats, verbal, emotional and financial abuse — requiring professional substantiation
Sensitive circumstances requiring careful and empathetic evidence gathering and presentation

How We Helped

We assisted the applicant in establishing all elements of the non-judicial family violence claim. We obtained reports from a Psychologist and Mental Health Social Worker, together with supporting documentation, that established the applicant's experience of manipulation, control, threats and verbal, emotional and financial abuse perpetrated by her former partner. We presented a complete submission to the Department demonstrating both the genuine de facto relationship and the family violence suffered.

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Key Success Factors

Expert reports from a Psychologist and Mental Health Social Worker substantiating the abuse
Clear evidence of the genuine de facto relationship between the applicant and the perpetrator
Thorough documentation of all forms of abuse including manipulation, control and financial abuse
Proper engagement with the non-judicial determination process given the absence of a court record

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Outcome

The applicant successfully established that she was the victim of family violence perpetrated by her former de facto partner and was granted a Subclass 100 Permanent Partner Visa.

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