Inquiry calls for nationally consistent family violence orders

Protection from family violence is a postcode lottery, and children should be allowed to apply for their own family violence orders, a parliamentary inquiry into the system has found.

The parliamentary inquiry into family violence orders (FVOs) said the Australian government must act swiftly to coordinate rules for protection orders across states and territories, finding wide variation across the country is a barrier to justice for victim survivors.

"Australians have a right to expect access to the same protections, regardless of where they live, but this is not currently the case," the committee said in its report.

Advocates are backing the inquiry's call for children and young people to be able to apply for their own FVOs and say such a step could help break the cycle of violence.

Children would be the main applicant on an order, rather than having to rely on a third party like a parent or a police officer.

The inquiry also found community legal centres supporting victim survivors to escape violence are overwhelmed and having to turn people away, with staff calling on the federal government to urgently address the problem.

Conor Pall, deputy chair of the Victorian government's Victim Survivors' Advisory Council, backed the inquiry's call for children to get FVOs in their own right.

"When I was 17, my mum applied for an FVIO to keep us safe, I went to the court with her — it was my way of standing up to the perpetrator and signalling that enough was enough," he said.

But even though being in court was important to Mr Pall, he wasn't allowed in.

"The magistrate asked how old I was, when I replied that I was 17, I was told to leave the courtroom as it's "not a place for children".

He said the culture of children being talked about, rather than to, is pervasive throughout the justice system.

"I had a voice, I wanted to use it," he said.

"The court didn't let me."

Mr Pall said the system is lagging when it comes to supporting children and young people and that the inquiry's recommendations don't go far enough.

"Allowing children and young people to apply and be a Protected Person under FVOs is one thing, but doing the urgent work to change the cultures of judicial officers is another."

Read the full story via the ABC.