Application for protection order — family violence — "child of the applicant’s family" — Family Violence Act 2018, ss 9, 62, 79, 86 & 89 — Care of Children Act 2004 — Evidence Act 2006, s 95. This was an application for a protection order for the applicant and the parties' children against the respondent and his mother. The issue of a protection order had been dealt with and denied in previous hearings in the Family Court, with the applicant's allegations of abuse never being substantiated despite numerous investigations. The applicant claimed that a new disclosure by the children that their father had strangled them had led to this new application. The overwhelming majority of the applicant's evidence was in regard to the protection of the children. Section 79 of the Family Violence Act requires the Court to be satisfied that the respondent has inflicted family violence against the applicant or the applicant's children, and that making a protection order is necessary for the protection of the applicant or the applicant's children. At the time of the application, the children did not reside with the applicant. The only contact between the applicant and the children was two to three hours of supervised contact a week, which meant that under the Act they were not "children of the applicant's family". As a result, there was no jurisdiction for the Court to make a protection order that applied to the children. As there was no satisfying evidence that the respondent had used family violence against the applicant, the application was dismissed. Judgment Date: 19 July 2023. * * * Note: names have been changed to comply with legal requirements. * * *