Last updated 21 December 2006
Crisis payment [2] for a person who remains in the family home after being subjected to domestic or family violence [2] is intended to assist with minor repairs to the home e.g. replacing or re-keying locks, or repairing or replacing essential household items.
A person applying for a crisis payment due to domestic or family violence must fulfil the following eligibility criteria:
Note: A person will not be eligible for a crisis payment for domestic or family violence if the Commission [2] is satisfied that the perpetrator of the violence left the person's home with a view to enabling the person to obtain a crisis payment.
It is possible for a crisis payment due to domestic or family violence to be paid to more than one person, provided all other eligibility criteria are met.
A person and their elderly mother who lives with them are subjected to domestic violence by the partner of the person in the family home. The partner is removed by the police and an apprehended violence order (AVO) is issued, meaning that the partner is not able to return to the home. Provided all other criteria are met, both the person and their mother are able to claim a crisis payment for the same incident. The partner who has been removed is also able to claim crisis payment for extreme circumstances causing departure from the home. The person's father, who also lives in the home, was not present at the time of the incident, therefore is not eligible to claim a crisis payment.
A crisis payment is a one-off non-taxable payment to extend immediate financial assistance to people in severe financial hardship who:
Domestic or family violence is described by a variety of terms, including but not restricted to:
According to section 5L of the VEA [3]a family member, in relation to a person, means:
Please note, the definition of a parent is further defined in section 10A of the VEA [3].
In general terms, this is where someone is suffering from serious money difficulties, such as insufficient income to manage their basic living expenses. More detailed descriptions of various financial hardship situations are covered under the following topics:
Income support pension is:
According to Section 179 [4]of the VEA [4], the Commission is a body corporate under the name of Repatriation Commission.
Links
[1] https://clik.dva.gov.au/user/login?destination=node/16835%23comment-form
[2] https://clik.dva.gov.au/%23
[3] http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Series/C2004A03268
[4] http://clik.dva.gov.au/legislation-library