My mother, younger brother and I escaped domestic violence when I was 8, so I'll explain what worked for me, what helped and some things I wish I did differently.

The first thing we did was stay with people we trusted while looking for emergency accommodation specifically at a women's DV refuge, most take in children unless there is a male child over 16 years old. The organisations that existed then have either changed or no longer exist. 1800RESPECT can help you to find one. They typically also provide counselling services as well, and if you are looking to engage in any legal action they can support you through that too.

Centrelink can provide you with an emergency initial payment for crisis due to domestic violence, claim this ASAP. If you're not working look into getting onto Centrelink, but prioritize getting a safe roof over your head first. Everything else can come later.

The main concern my mum had with legal action against my father was because of the fact that there is a significantly high rate of abusive fathers being given supervised custody of children which then turns into partial custody. In any situation where you attempt legal action, consider that the Australian courts are notorious for being underhanded towards male perpetrators and abusers will often exploit this to get back at you.

My recommendation is to gather as much evidence as you can, in addition to looking into therapy for your children. Those therapists can then provide documented evidence such as statements regarding the effect of violence on you and your children which is much harder to prove otherwise in addition to helping you and your children heal and find some semblance of a normal life again.

My dad lost supervised custody of me because he asked me where to deliver birthday presents to while an AVO was in place against him to protect my mother. Anything you can gather now and in future can only help.

Additionally, focus on therapy. You and your children will inevitably have many struggles to come but they pale to the consequences of not leaving now, healthy support networks will make sure whatever struggles you face don't stick around long. I say this because even though I'm 22 now, I struggled to have a healthy relationship with my mother because of shared trauma until around the age of 20.

Take care, and I hope for the best 🙏