This Issues Paper deals with the treament of family violence in Commonwealth immigration law.

This paper begins with a brief overview of the partner visa scheme before addressing a number of issues surrounding the 'family violence exception' including: the appropriateness of the definition of 'relevant family violence': evidentiary requirements for making a claim of family violence; sponsorship arrangments; and information sharing. The second part of this paper cnsiders the position of asylum seekers who seek refugee status in Australia as victims of family violence.  It considers the current provisions in the Act and asks whether 'complementary' forms of protection are needed to protect victims of family violence whose claims may not fall under the United Nations Convention Relatin got the Status of Refugees (Refugees Convention), but who may need international protection.