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Five Immediate Reforms to the ACT’s DFV-RAMF — and How to Build an Independent Risk-Assessment Audit System

The ACT’s Domestic and Family Violence Risk Assessment and Management Framework (DFV-RAMF) was meant to align agencies, improve safety, and standardise responses to family violence. But it’s become a closed-loop system — one that often pre-decides outcomes , omits evidentiary balance, and lacks any form of external scrutiny. Reform doesn’t need to be radical. It needs to be competent, transparent, and measurable. Here are five immediate steps that would make the DFV-RAMF con

What the latest data say about male victims of family violence in Australia

If you only know one line about family violence in Australia, make it this: at least one in three victims is male. That’s not a slogan; it’s a summary of multiple official datasets and peer-reviewed studies. The reality is complex, often uncomfortable, and it demands policy responses that support all victims, regardless of gender. Why this article Public policy should follow evidence, not narratives. Below is a concise review of key statistics on male victimisation, with link

What to Do Immediately After an Allegation or Interim Order

<This is general information, not legal advice.> Most men are blindsided by an allegation or an interim Family Violence Order (FVO/AVO/IVO). One minute you’re living your life; the next, you’re served papers, locked out of your home, and facing restrictions you don’t fully understand. The first 48 hours matter. What you do (and don’t do) in those early moments can decide the outcome months down the track. 1. Stay Calm and Stay Polite Shock and anger are normal, but how you ha

How the ACT’s Domestic Violence “Risk Tools” Pre-Decide the Outcome

The ACT Government’s Domestic and Family Violence Risk Assessment and Management Framework (DFV-RAMF) claims to be an evidence-based system for identifying and managing family-violence risk. But on inspection, the so-called “ Practice Guide 1: Screening for Adults ” and “ Fact Sheet 7: Risk Management Conversation Guide ” operate less like diagnostic tools and more like ideological scripts . They cannot return a “no risk” result , they direct workers to “proactively name th

The ACT Government’s Domestic Violence “Risk Framework” — A Case Study in Incompetence and Bias

An expert review has revealed that the ACT Government’s Domestic and Family Violence Risk Assessment and Management Framework (DFV-RAMF) is not fit for purpose . In plain English: it’s a mess — one that mixes ideology with guesswork and breaches the ACT Government’s own mandatory risk management standards. You can read the DFV-RAMF yourself on the ACT Government site: act.gov.au/DFVrisk . You might want to download it now before they take down this shameful document. A Frame

Getting Inside the OODA Loop of Your Ex — and Why It Matters

If you’ve ever been blindsided by a lawyer’s letter or a last-minute court move, you know what it feels like to be reacting instead of leading. It’s exhausting, demoralising, and expensive. The solution? Learn to operate inside your ex’s OODA loop — a concept borrowed from military and aviation strategy that applies beautifully to high-stakes family disputes. What’s the OODA Loop? Developed by U.S. Air Force Colonel John Boyd, the OODA loop stands for: Observe – Gather inf

Practical Prompts: How to Use ChatGPT to Write Real Legal Letters

Now that you know how to use ChatGPT to write a legal letter, let’s talk about the actual prompts that work best. You don’t need to be a lawyer or an AI whisperer. You just need a clear structure and five minutes of focus. 1. Before You Start When you open ChatGPT: ✅ Use the GPT-4 model (available in the $20/month plan). ✅ If possible, use a Custom GPT you’ve set up for your case — it remembers your correspondence, tone, and key facts. ✅ Always paste or attach your previo

How to Use ChatGPT to Write a Legal Letter (and Make It Look Like You Paid $500 for It)

If you’ve ever spent $400 on a “short” lawyer letter, (and been underwhelmed with the result or timeframe) this one’s for you. You can now draft clean, professional, and well-structured legal correspondence using ChatGPT — and it’s easier than you think. When the relationship falls apart, and we start exchanging legal correspondence, most of us are caught by suprise. To use a volleyball metaphor, we are standing at the baseline flat-footed and waiting for the next ball (lett

Judge Neville slams $26,000 in family-law legal fees — calls it “effectively a licence to print money”

In a blistering November 2023 judgment, Judge W.J. Neville of the Federal Circuit and Family Court took aim at the soaring cost of Australian family-law litigation, describing it as “effectively a licence to print money.” The case — Renner & Renner [2023] FedCFamC2F 1499 — involved a simple dispute about children’s passports that somehow generated $26,287.80 in legal fees . The Court found that 11 different lawyers and paralegals had billed the mother for the same narrow

The Soft Underbelly of the Family Law Industrial Complex

Family law in Australia has become less about resolution and more about revenue. Behind the polite emails, mediation invitations, and “we’re here to help” slogans lies a machine that feeds on conflict — a sprawling ecosystem of firms, counsellors, experts, and consultants whose livelihoods depend on keeping families at war. When relationships collapse, the system doesn’t reward peace; it rewards persistence. The longer the fight, the larger the bill. How the Cycle Works It st

The Pressure Letter: How Spousal-Maintenance Threats Work

He’d spent weeks assembling every document—tax returns, bank statements, property valuations, and debt schedules—ready to finalise disclosure. Then the email arrived. “Our client requires urgent support. Unless you agree to pay $800 per week in interim spousal maintenance and $100,000 by way of interim property settlement, our client will commence proceedings immediately.” The letter was polished and polite, but the message was blunt: pay now, or be dragged through court . Th

The Family Lawyer Playbook

A Field Guide to the Tactics You May Encounter in Family Court Family law is supposed to deliver justice, not strategy. Yet, some legal representatives have developed a pattern of tactics that—while technically lawful—tilt the process in their client’s favour by stretching time, evidence, and emotion to breaking point. Understanding these moves doesn’t make you paranoid. It makes you prepared. Below is an anonymised summary of recurring patterns seen across Australian Family

Fair process for all

The Fair Hearing project exists to restore balance, transparency, and evidence to Australia’s family-violence and family-law systems.

Many men face allegations that are untested, exaggerated, or strategically deployed — yet they experience automatic penalties long before any evidence is heard.

We believe in a justice system where safety remains paramount, but rights and reputations are protected through due process, proportionate responses, and data-driven reform.

Our mission is simple: