Do I need a lawyer or a migration agent?

Many visa applications are lodged directly. A registered migration agent or immigration lawyer helps with complex or refused matters.

What is a Section 48 bar?

It limits the visas you can apply for while unlawfully in Australia after a refusal or cancellation. A professional can map your options.

Can I appeal a refused visa?

Often yes — the Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviews many decisions, but strict time limits apply.

Staying safe online while making a family violence claim in 2026

How private browsing, a new email address and the eSafety checklist fit into a family violence claim, plus where to replace identity documents.

If you are making a family violence claim in 2026, the online steps that matter most are using private browsing mode, clearing your browsing history, opening a new ImmiAccount with an email address your former partner cannot access, and following the eSafety Commissioner's online safety checklist. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' "Where to get help" page and its "Family violence provisions – Partner visa applicants" page, as at the October 2026 official pages, the Department recommends exactly those steps and also points applicants to their home consulate or embassy when identity documents issued by their government are out of reach. This article is general information about how those pieces fit together, not personalised advice about your case, so check the current official pages or speak with a qualified professional before you rely on it.

What does the Department of Home Affairs say about staying safe online?

Home Affairs recommends using any website in private browsing mode where possible, and clearing your browsing history if you cannot. The recommendation appears on its "Where to get help" page alongside a separate point about phone calls: most helplines are free from a landline, payphone and most mobile phones, but the phone number will still appear on your phone bill, so anyone who can see the bill will be able to see that you called it.

The same page links to the Department's own guidance on online security and safety for its website, and to the eSafety Commissioner's online safety checklist. Treat both as safety resources for you, not as documents you lodge with a visa application.

Where does the eSafety online safety checklist fit into a claim?

It sits at the point where the Department tells you to change accounts. On the "Family violence provisions – Partner visa applicants" page, the instruction to create a new ImmiAccount after reporting that the relationship has ended is paired with a link to the eSafety Commissioner's online safety checklist, under the phrase "stay safe online". The same checklist link appears on the "Family violence provisions – Secondary applicants" page next to the same instruction.

In other words, the checklist is not evidence and it is not a form. It is a set of tips the official pages point you to while you move your visa business onto an account and email address the other person cannot reach.

How do I move my application to an account my former partner cannot see?

The order matters, because the automatic protection only starts once you file the right notification.

Log in to ImmiAccount.
Open the 'Update Details' tab.
Complete the 'Notification of Relationship Cessation' form.
Submit the form.
Create a new ImmiAccount using an email address your former sponsor cannot access.
Wait for the Department to contact you to transfer your application.
Give the Department your new ImmiAccount username and email address when asked.

After you submit the notification, your Partner visa application and the sponsorship application are automatically removed from all ImmiAccounts for your safety and privacy, including your former sponsor's account and your migration agent's account.

The form asks when the relationship ceased, whether you have experienced family violence, and whether you have children with your former sponsor. Choose both the family violence option and the children of the relationship option if both apply. The automatic removal only happens if you choose the family violence option.

What if I cannot get into ImmiAccount?

Partner visa applicants who cannot access ImmiAccount can report that the relationship has ended using the Partner processing enquiry form. A migration agent or legal practitioner helping you can also tell the Department on your behalf, but there is an important limit: they can choose to opt out of the removal of the Partner visa application from ImmiAccount, while the sponsorship application is always removed automatically.

Secondary applicants have their own fallback. If you cannot use ImmiAccount, you can notify the Department with the Notification of family violence – Secondary applicants form.

What changes if I am a secondary applicant rather than a Partner visa applicant?

To make a claim as a secondary applicant you must be a secondary applicant on one of the visas the Department lists, the alleged perpetrator must be the primary applicant, you must be their former partner or spouse, and when the visa application was made you must have been in Australia or entered Australia afterwards. The in-account route runs through the 'Notification of family violence – Secondary applicants' form:

Find the reference number for your application in correspondence the Department has sent you.
Log into your ImmiAccount.
Click 'New application'.
Complete the 'Notification of family violence – Secondary applicants' form.

If you are using an existing ImmiAccount, make sure that only you have access to it. If you do not have one, create a new ImmiAccount with an email address your former partner cannot access.

Can my former sponsor still find out about my application?

If a sponsor withdraws their sponsorship, privacy law stops the Department from giving them any details about the visa application or the applicant, including the outcome and whether the applicant is in Australia. Separately, when the Department receives information that a relationship has ended, it must tell the visa applicant and give them a chance to respond before a decision is made.

What if my identity documents are with my former partner?

Home Affairs directs people who need help accessing identity documents issued by their own government to their home consulate or embassy, and points to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Foreign Embassies and Consulates in Australia listing for contact details. That covers documents your government issued, such as a passport or national identity card; it is not a route to Australian visa documents.

If you are outside Australia, the Department's page refers you to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for advice about local support groups and help.

Does gathering evidence change my online safety plan?

It does, mainly because evidence has to be written, in English, and lodged in the format and level of detail requested. You can provide judicial evidence, such as a court injunction against your former partner or spouse under the Family Law Act 1975 or a state or territory court order against your former partner or spouse, or non-judicial evidence, which is either a joint undertaking made before the court or a minimum of two pieces of evidence from the listed categories. If you go with two pieces, you must also complete a Commonwealth statutory declaration form.

Only one document counts per category, so a hospital report from a nurse and a statutory declaration from a medical practitioner cannot both be counted. The Department also says it understands evidence can be difficult to gather and will give you more time if you need it, and if it is not satisfied on the evidence it will refer you to an independent expert.

The practical point for safety: anything you scan, photograph or upload should happen on a device and an account only you control, and ideally after the notification that triggers the automatic account removal has been submitted.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will a helpline call show up on my phone bill?

Yes. Most helplines are free from a landline, payphone and most mobile phones, but the number will still appear on your phone bill, which means anyone who can see the bill can see you called it.

Do I need a new email address before I tell the Department?

Report the end of the relationship first, then create a new ImmiAccount with an email address your former partner cannot access. The Department will contact you to transfer the application and will ask for your new username and email address.

Is the eSafety checklist something I lodge with my claim?

No. It is a checklist of online safety tips that the Home Affairs pages link to when they tell you to create a new ImmiAccount. The evidence you lodge is judicial or non-judicial evidence of family violence, in writing and in English.

My former partner is holding my passport. Where do I start?

The Department's guidance is to contact your home consulate or embassy for help accessing identity documents issued by your government. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade publishes a list of foreign embassies and consulates in Australia.

Will my application be removed from my migration agent's account as well?

Yes, removal covers all ImmiAccounts, including a migration agent's. If an agent or legal practitioner notified the Department on your behalf, they can opt out of removing the Partner visa application, but the sponsorship application is always removed automatically.

What if I am not eligible for the family violence provisions?

The Department states that help is still available if you are not eligible, and that you have a right to a safe environment in Australia regardless of your visa status. Its "Where to get help" page lists national and state and territory support services.