Your Statement of Allegations is the written account, in your own words, of what the other person did and why you need protection. It is the single most important part of an FVRO or VRO application in Western Australia, because the magistrate relies on it to decide whether the legal test is met. A clear, specific, well-structured statement gives you the best chance; a vague or rambling one undermines an otherwise strong case.
Key facts at a glance
- What it is: your factual account supporting the application, usually sworn or affirmed
- What it must do: show the conduct happened and that an order is justified
- Tone: factual and specific, not emotional or argumentative
- Structure: chronological, incident by incident
- What weakens it: vagueness, opinion, irrelevant history, exaggeration
What the magistrate is looking for
The magistrate reads your statement to answer a practical question: has there been family violence (or an act of abuse), and are you likely to face it again or do you reasonably fear it? So your statement needs to show specific conduct and, where relevant, a pattern. Since the 2024 reforms, family violence in WA expressly includes coercive and controlling behaviour and patterns of behaviour, so describing the ongoing dynamic matters, not just the worst single incident.
How to structure it
A reliable structure is chronological and incident-based:
- A brief background — who the parties are and the nature of the relationship (a few lines, not a life story).
- Each incident in order, with for each:
- the date and time (or your best estimate)
- where it happened
- what the respondent said or did — specific words and actions
- who else was present
- how it affected you (injury, fear, what you did afterwards)
- any evidence that supports it (e.g. "see message at Tab 3")
- The pattern — if individual incidents are part of ongoing control or harassment, draw that together.
- Why you need the order now — the current risk and what you fear.
Writing tips that strengthen your statement
- Be specific. "He grabbed my wrist and twisted it until I dropped the phone" is stronger than "he got physical."
- Use the person's actual words where you can recall them, in quotation marks.
- Stick to first-hand facts — what you saw, heard and experienced.
- Keep it in order so it reads like a timeline.
- Number and reference your evidence so the magistrate can follow along.
- Be honest and accurate. Exaggeration that unravels under questioning damages your credibility on everything else.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Opinion and labels ("he's a narcissist", "she's crazy") instead of conduct.
- Vagueness ("he's always threatening me") with no dates or detail.
- Information overload — pages of irrelevant relationship history that bury the conduct.
- Argument — the statement is evidence, not a closing speech.
- Leaving out the current risk — the magistrate needs to see why protection is needed now.
A note on incident logs
If you have been keeping an incident log — a running record of events as they happen — your Statement of Allegations almost writes itself, because you already have the dates, details and evidence references in one place. Building the log first, then drafting the statement from it, is the most reliable way to produce a complete, persuasive account.
For respondents: your response
If you are responding to an application, you prepare a response (often an affidavit) that addresses the allegations. Use the same discipline: take each alleged incident in turn, set out your account with specifics, and attach any evidence that gives context or contradicts the claim. Avoid attacking the applicant generally and focus on the facts.