Domestic violence safety plans

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Are you the victim of domestic violence and required to attend Court or Mediation where the perpetrator will be present?

If you fear for your safety, whether you are attending the Family Court, Criminal Court or mediation, there are measures we can implement to ensure your safety and bring you peace of mind.

Hi, my name is Sally Elphick, and I’m a family and criminal lawyer here at Turnbull Hill Lawyers, and I’ll briefly explain how we can do this.

If you are attending Court for a criminal case, there are Court staff that can escort you to and from the Court safety rooms. We can seek to have you to remain in these rooms for the duration of your Court appearance. In this instance, we will appear in the Court room itself on your behalf.

If you have a family law case, we can seek that the majority of court appearances be heard via video conferencing. You will not be required to be present on screen or even see the other party. If the Court appearance is required to be in person, we can implement similar measures as I mentioned for criminal cases.

If you are attending mediation, we can seek that this occurs by way of shuttle.  This means that each party and their lawyers will be in their own private room and speak to the Mediator separately to the other party. You won’t have to see your former partner.

For some cases, we also seek that the shuttle mediation occurs by way of electronic means such as video conferencing, so that the parties aren’t even in the same building but can still mediate an outcome to their case.

Rest assured; you have come to the right place. This is something that we assist clients with on an almost daily basis. We are experienced in creating and implementing individualised plans to ensure your safety, as every case is different.

If you require a safety plan to be implemented for your family law or criminal law matter, please do not hesitate to contact us here at Turnbull Hill Lawyers.