Intervention Order Lawyers in Melbourne

An intervention order is an order made by a magistrate to protect a person from physical or mental harm caused by someone else. There are two types of orders – Personal Safety Intervention Orders (PSIO) and Family Violence Intervention Orders (FVIO).

An intervention order contains several ‘conditions’, about how the respondent can behave towards the applicant or protected person. The respondent must obey all intervention order conditions. If the protected person and respondent are family members, you need a FVIO instead.

If you are the person that an intervention order has been made against, a police officer will send you copies of the application, a court summons and copies of any interim orders that may have already been made.

It is important to obtain legal advice at this stage. You have several options available to you once you have been served by police, which a lawyer can explain to you in further detail. You can:

• Consent to the order without admissions to the conduct that is alleged
• Contest the order, which will require a Contested Hearing
• Offer an undertaking, if the applicant agrees to do this

If the protected person agrees, you can also try and resolve the dispute by mediation.

An intervention order is a civil process, provided that you comply with the conditions of the order, this process will not result in a criminal record.

However, breaching the intervention order conditions has serious consequences and is considered a criminal matter. If you are charged and found guilty or plead guilty to breaching an order, you will get a criminal record.

On some occasions, the conduct that gives rise to an intervention order application will be charged as a criminal offence. If you are found guilty of this offence, you will have a criminal record. However, the order itself is not a criminal matter unless it is breached.

The behaviour of the Respondent that resulted in the Intervention Order may also be conduct that attracts criminal charges.

For example, a high volume of text messages or phone calls may attract charges of stalking or use carriage service to harass. Other common criminal charges that are alleged at the time of the order being applied for can include Unlawful Assault or Criminal Damage.

The Applicant must make an application for an Intervention Order at the Magistrates Court.

The Magistrate can make an Interim Order (a temporary restraining order) immediately if the Magistrate is satisfied that it is necessary to protect the Applicant or Affected Family Member;

After the Application Hearing, the process is:

1. Mention Hearing to determine whether the order is consented to or not;
2. Directions Hearing to determine what the facts and issues are between parties;
3. Intervention Order Hearing to determine whether the Applicant needs an IVO to protect them from the Respondent
4. If an order is made or consented to then a ‘Final Intervention Order’ with set conditions and duration will be served on the Respondent.

What happens at court during an intervention order court hearing will depend on how the respondent responds to the order application.

The respondent may:

• Consent to the order being made (with or without admissions to the alleged conduct). The respondent can agree to all or parts of the application including its duration and proposed conditions. This must be agreed to by the applicant before the court makes any final order.
• Negotiate an undertaking to behave in an agreed manner rather than proceed with the order. An undertaking is a written promise to the applicant to follow certain conditions. Again, this course must be agreed to by the applicant.
• Contest the order. If you wish to contest the order, future court hearing dates will be required such as a Directions Hearing and a Contested Hearing. Evidence is not heard by the court until the Contested Hearing is reached. Legal representation is essential.
• Not go to court

It is important to get legal advice prior to proceeding with any of these options.

Although Intervention Orders are made in Victoria, they apply nationwide. For example, if one of the prohibited behaviours is that you cannot contact the protected person by any means, then it would be breaching the order to call the person from Queensland.

The courts take intervention order breaches very seriously. A breach can be constituted by any conduct that is in contravention of the conditions of the order. You can even be charged with breaching an order if you are alleged to have asked someone else to behave in a way that is contrary to the order.

For example, getting another person to email the protected person or even driving past the protected person’s house can be a breach if a person has been ordered not to go within 200 metres of the address.

If it is alleged that you breached an intervention order you will be charged and required to attend court. A breach can also be charged with other offences (e.g. Assault or Threaten to Kill) if other criminal conduct is alleged to have taken place at the time of the breach.

If a person has a history of breaching intervention orders, then it is likely that police will arrest and remand that person in custody.

The maximum penalty for breaching an intervention order is two years imprisonment.