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.

Statutory declarations in family violence visa claims: Form 1410i explained for 2026

How Form 1410i fits Australia's family violence visa evidence rules: when a statutory declaration is required, and when it counts as evidence.

A statutory declaration is not, on its own, proof of family violence. Under the Department of Home Affairs "Family violence evidence" page (as at October 2026), the declaration prepared using Form 1410i is the additional document that must travel with a non-judicial claim built on two pieces of evidence — and, separately, a statutory declaration written by a professional can itself be one of those two pieces. Most confusion about Form 1410i comes from mixing those two roles up.

This is general information about how the rules work, not personalised legal advice. The official Home Affairs pages are the authority on current requirements, and if you need advice about your own circumstances, get it from a qualified professional.

Where does a statutory declaration sit in the evidence rules?

Home Affairs accepts two broad kinds of family violence evidence: judicial and non-judicial. Judicial evidence is a court document — for example, an injunction under the Family Law Act 1975, a state or territory court order, or a court record of a conviction or finding of guilt for a family violence offence. You only need one of those.

Non-judicial evidence has two routes. Either you provide a joint undertaking made before the court, or you provide a minimum of two pieces of evidence from the listed categories. If you take the second route, you must also complete a Commonwealth statutory declaration form, and Form 1410i is the Home Affairs instruction sheet titled "Completing a statutory declaration for a family violence claim".

So the declaration enters the file at two different points, depending on who signs it:

Your own declaration, prepared with Form 1410i, sits alongside your two documents. It is the account that ties them together.
A professional's declaration — from a doctor, police officer, psychologist, social worker and so on — can be one of the two documents itself, because "statutory declaration" is a listed item inside almost every evidence category.

Is the 1410i declaration one of my two documents?

No. It is separate from them, and it does not raise a single document to the two-document minimum. If you submit only one professional report plus your own declaration, you have given one piece of non-judicial evidence, and the minimum is not met.

The same trap catches people in the other direction. Because a statutory declaration is a listed item in nearly every category, it is easy to assume two declarations from two different people will do the job. They will not if both writers belong to the same category. Home Affairs states you can give only one document from each category, and gives this example: a hospital report from a nurse and a statutory declaration from a medical practitioner are both medical documents, so they count as one.

Which categories accept a statutory declaration?

All of the categories below list a statutory declaration as an accepted item, but each one has to say different things. Every item must be made by a person acting in their professional capacity.

Who makes it	What the statutory declaration must cover
Medical practitioner, registered nurse or midwife	Identify the alleged victim, and detail injuries or treatment that may be consistent with family violence
Police officer	Identify the victim, identify the perpetrator (or give enough for identity to be reasonably inferred), and detail the incident(s)
Child welfare officer	Detail fears for the dependent child's safety due to family violence in the household, and identify the perpetrator or allow inference
Family violence support service provider	State that the victim has made a claim, give a professional opinion on whether the claims are consistent with the victim having been subjected to family violence, and identify the perpetrator or allow inference
Social worker	Same three elements as family violence support service provider evidence
Psychologist	Same three elements as family violence support service provider evidence
Family consultant or family relationship counsellor	State that they treated or counselled the victim, give the professional opinion, and identify the perpetrator or allow inference
Education professional	State observations they made or were made aware of that are consistent with the victim's claims, give details of those observations, and identify the perpetrator or allow inference

Note the difference in the first row. Medical evidence is the one category that does not require the perpetrator to be named or inferable; it focuses on injuries and treatment. Every other category has to connect the violence to a person.

What gives a statutory declaration its weight — and where does it run out?

A statutory declaration carries weight because of who makes it and what it says, not because of the form itself. For the categories that require it — family violence support service providers, social workers, psychologists, and family consultants or family relationship counsellors — the professional opinion element is what separates a usable declaration from a character reference: the writer has to state, in their professional opinion, whether your claims are consistent with you having been subjected to family violence. Police, medical, child welfare and education professional declarations do not have to contain that opinion; each of those categories has to cover the specific elements listed above.

Your own Form 1410i declaration works differently. It is your account, so it corroborates nothing on its own. Its job is to give the decision maker a continuous narrative that your two professional documents only cover in fragments. That has consequences:

Everything you submit must be in writing, in English, and in the format and level of detail requested.
The evidence as a whole must show that at least part of the violence happened while you were in the relationship with your former partner or spouse, and that this person was the alleged perpetrator.
If the decision maker is not satisfied, your claim is referred to an independent expert, who will interview you and give an opinion Home Affairs must accept. If the expert's opinion is negative, you get a chance to comment on it before a decision is made.
A declaration that contradicts your two documents, or that is vague on dates, invites exactly that referral.

Because a Commonwealth statutory declaration is a written statement declared to be true, accuracy matters as much as completeness. Write what happened, not what you think will be most persuasive.

Extra evidence beyond the minimum can be considered by the decision maker as part of a whole assessment, but the minimum evidentiary requirements still have to be met first.

How do you write a declaration that does its job?

Read Form 1410i before you start writing, and follow its structure.

Write in English and in your own words.

Set the events out in date order, with dates and places where you can give them.

Name your former partner or spouse as the alleged perpetrator.

State clearly which part of the violence happened while you were still in the relationship.

Explain the gaps between your two documents rather than repeating what they already say.

Keep a dated copy of everything you send.

What if I cannot get the documents together in time?

Home Affairs states that it understands gathering this evidence can be difficult and that delays are sometimes outside your control, and that it will give you more time to submit the documents if you need it. Timing is worth raising early rather than sending an incomplete two-document submission and hoping the declaration covers the gap — it does not.

If you are waiting on a court outcome, an interim order can be given while you wait, and you must supply the final order once one is made.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Form 1410i the statutory declaration itself?

Form 1410i is the Home Affairs instruction sheet for completing a statutory declaration for a family violence claim. The declaration itself is made on the Commonwealth statutory declaration form.

Does my own declaration count as one of the two pieces of evidence?

No. Your declaration accompanies the two pieces; it does not replace one of them. A Home Affairs statutory declaration only counts as one of the two when it is written by a professional acting in that capacity.

Can I use two statutory declarations from two different professionals?

Yes, but only if they come from different categories. Two declarations from two medical practitioners are one document for this purpose, because only one document per category is accepted.

Do I still need a declaration if I have a court order?

The declaration requirement attaches to the non-judicial route. Judicial evidence is a single court document from the listed options, and you only need one of those.

Does the declaration have to be in English?

Yes. Home Affairs requires all evidence to be in writing, in English, and in the format and level of detail requested.

What happens if my evidence is not enough?

If the decision maker is not satisfied that family violence occurred, the claim is referred to an independent expert who will interview you. Home Affairs must accept that expert's opinion, and you will be given a chance to comment if it is negative.