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Divorce and separation are not just legal or financial events; for many men they’re a high-risk period for suicide. In 2024, 3,307 Australians died by suicide; over three-quarters (76.5%) were men. The age-standardised rate was 18.3 deaths per 100,000 for males versus 5.5 for females—about a 3.3:1 ratio.  What the numbers show here at home Relationship breakdown is a leading risk factor. In 2024, “problems in spousal relationship circumstances”—which the ABS notes includes s

The message below is part of a campaign by Kilo4Delta. The concerns raised about the Family Court system are now formally on record.A Notice of Intention to Commence Proceedings has been issued and served on the Commonwealth. At the same time, six Federal e-petitions have now been approved and opened for public signatures. These petitions are not symbolic. They are formal parliamentary instruments.And numbers matter. This is where your support becomes critical. What We Need Y

A recent decision of the NSW District Court has made an important — and largely under-appreciated — shift in Australian law: emails and text messages can constitute “property” for the purposes of criminal law. While the case arose in a criminal appeal, its implications extend well beyond assault law and directly into family law, property disputes, evidence handling, and allegations of coercive or unlawful conduct during separation. This is one of those decisions that will not

Divorce and family violence allegations can deeply affect anyone involved, but men in Australia face unique challenges that often go unnoticed. The combination of relationship breakdown and false accusations of family violence can lead to severe mental health struggles, sometimes ending in tragic outcomes like suicide. This article explores how these factors impact men’s mental health, supported by Australian statistics, and highlights the urgent need for awareness and suppor

Every year, tens of thousands of men across Australia are served with Family Violence Orders (FVOs). Some of those men deserve it. Some do not. We don't know many because 80% to 90% of the roughly 170,000 or so FVO applications in Australia each year ARE NEVER PROVEN . Most of them are never even tested in Court. Not because they the respondents all guilty of family violence. But because the system is stacked against contesting — a process that is costly, confusing, and care

For years, Australian men facing false or exaggerated allegations under family-violence law have had almost no recourse. Once a complaint is filed, the machine takes over — police issue or pursue an order, courts err on the side of caution, and even when claims collapse, accountability is rare. That may now be changing. In February 2025, the South Australian Court of Appeal handed down a quietly revolutionary decision in MT v SE [2025] SASCA 8. The case doesn’t rewrite the l

Every year, thousands of interim Family Violence Intervention Orders (FVIOs) are made across Victoria — often within hours of a complaint. They are issued “on the papers,” sometimes by police, sometimes by registrars, and almost always without testing evidence in court. So how many of those orders are later found to be false, exaggerated, or unsubstantiated? The uncomfortable truth is that no one knows — because the system doesn’t measure it. But what we do know, from multip

In Victoria, more than 90 per cent of Family Violence Intervention Orders (FVIOs) are made by consent — usually “by consent without admissions.” On paper, this looks like efficiency. In reality, it often reflects coercion through circumstance, exhaustion, or fear rather than genuine agreement. The situation is similar across Australia, but we have solid data for Victoria that other states don't provide as transparently. For thousands of men each year, “consent” is not a free

(Compact Magazine, Oct 2025) In her essay “ The Great Feminization ” , Helen Andrews advances a bold thesis: the phenomenon often described as “wokeness” is not primarily an ideological shift, but the result of the demographic feminisation of major institutions.  Key arguments Institutional tipping-points matter Andrews notes that a range of professions recently tipped from majority male to majority female: e.g., law schools became majority women in 2016, the staff of New Yor

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

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

<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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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