Beyond Marriage: Evaluating Legal Protection Against Intimate Partner Violence In De Facto And Casual Relationships In Aotearoa New Zealand
- IJLLR Journal
- Jul 8
- 2 min read
Abhinav Singh, M.A., B.A., LL.B., Panjab University, Chandigarh
Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9089-3518
ABSTRACT
This article examines the legal effectiveness of protection orders under New Zealand’s Family Violence Act 2018 in the context of de facto, casual, and non-cohabiting intimate partner relationships. While the Act purports to move beyond the confines of marriage and cohabitation by recognising “close personal relationships,” the practical application of this provision has proved inconsistent and, at times, exclusionary. Victims in informal or contested relationships often encounter significant evidentiary and procedural hurdles when seeking protection orders—obstacles compounded by judicial discretion, vague statutory guidance, and social assumptions about relationship legitimacy. Drawing on statutory analysis, case law, and comparative approaches from Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, this article argues that New Zealand’s current legal framework continues to privilege conventional relationship forms, thereby limiting equitable access to protection. It critically assesses the threshold requirements for obtaining protection orders, the burden of proving relationship status, and the intersection with parenting disputes under the Care of Children Act 2004. The analysis reveals that the law’s relational prerequisites can obscure the core issue of risk and harm, particularly for victims of coercive control, digital abuse, or psychological violence. The article concludes by proposing legislative and policy reforms, including clearer statutory definitions of intimate relationships, judicial training, evidentiary presumptions based on credible risk, and enhanced support for victims outside legally recognised partnerships. These reforms are necessary to align New Zealand’s legal response to intimate partner violence with contemporary relational realities and ensure that protection is guided by the presence of harm, not the form of a relationship.
Keywords: Family Violence Act 2018; Close Personal Relationships; Non- Marital Intimate Partner Violence; Protection Orders in New Zealand; Legal Barriers to Victim Protection
