Family Violence - Intervention Orders
What are they?
How can they help me?
Intervention orders are a legal way you can order a violent
or abusive person to stop seeing you or your children. They may be used
to keep that person away from places where you or your children live,
play or work. They may be made to keep that person away from you and your
children wherever you are in Victoria. They may be used to stop that person
from telephoning you or sending you letters. They may also order that
the person hand over any guns they have. You can also ask that other orders
be made to protect you and your children.
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When Can an Intervention Order be Used
- Is this person a ‘family member’?
- Family members include: ·
- husbands and wives ·
- ex- husbands and ex-wives ·
- de facto ·
- former de facto ·
- guardians ·
- relatives ( including your children, brothers, sisters, parents,
grandparents, aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces ( whether they
are your relatives by blood or marriage), a person who has ordinarily
been or is a member of your household (including in-laws and de
facto family as if married)).
- Has this family member been violent to you or abused
you or your children and do you think that they might do this again?
(This may include emotional, sexual, verbal, psychological and physical
abuse.)
AND/OR
Has the family member broken or damaged property belonging to
you or your children and do you think that they might do this again
- Has this family member threatened you or your children with
violence, abuse or damage to property and do you believe it is likely
that they will carry out this threat?
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If the person is a family member
and you said yes to any of these questions read on to see:
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Who Can Apply to Get an Intervention Order?
Anyone can apply for an intervention order although some people must
get someone else to help them.
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Are you seventeen years or older?
If you are seventeen or over you can apply for an intervention order
yourself against the family member (See ‘How Do You Get An Intervention
Order’) OR you may give another person your written consent to apply
for an intervention order for you. This person may be a friend you trust,
a social worker, etc
Are you between fourteen and sixteen years old?
If you are, you do not need your parents’ consent to apply for an order.
BUT before you can apply you will have to tell the magistrate why you
want the order, and show that you understand what an order does. You will
also need to show that the order is in your best interests. Then, if the
magistrate lets you apply, the application for the order will be heard
straight away, so you need to be prepared.
Are you under fourteen?
If you are, then you will need to get someone to apply for an intervention
order for you. This may be your parent, a person with the written consent
of your parent, a member of the police or any other person who has got
the permission of the court to apply, eg someone you normally live with
such as your sister, or a social worker.
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Guardians
Your guardian (if they were appointed under the Guardianship and Administration
Board Act) may apply for an intervention order for you.
Other People
Other people with the permission of the court, (eg friends, relatives)
may apply for you.
Police
If you are scared of violence, the police may apply for an order for
you against the person you want to be protected from.
(For a list of other people who may help you to get an order see pages
nine and ten).
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How Do You Get an Intervention Order?
The application for an intervention order is FREE.
Between 9 am and 5pm on working days: (see also Emergencies)
To make an application for an intervention order you should go to your
local magistrates’ court (see page nine). When you get to the court, ask
the person at the front desk if you could see the registrar as you want
to apply for an intervention order.
Most court staff and registrars are helpful. They will ask you questions
about what has been happening. It is their job to help you and they are
used to helping people get these orders.
If they are not helpful, go to another magistrates’ court. Remember that
it is your right to have the application decided by a magistrate, not
a registrar.
You may be given forms to fill in. If so they will be one of the following
forms, depending on what you need done (some courts are not using forms
anymore and they will ask you questions and type your answers into a computer):
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Interim Order Form
This form may be given to you to fill in where there is a real immediate
threat to your personal safety or your property if you wait until
the hearing date for an order to be made. It will provide an interim intervention
order (that is temporary) until the hearing date of the intervention order
itself.
Interim Intervention Orders
These may be made without the family member being present (this is called
‘ex-parte’). They are temporary intervention orders which can be made
to give you immediate protection and may be combined with a warrant
for the person’s arrest. At the same time as an interim order is made,
a date will be set for the hearing of the longer term intervention order.
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Complaint and Summons Form
This may be what you need where you are not in direct physical danger
and can safely wait until the making of an intervention order on the hearing
date.
Complaint and Warrant Form
Where you have been assaulted or your property has been damaged, or where
you have been threatened with either of these things and there is serious
concern for your personal safety, this form may be the best for you. This
form allows the registrar to issue a warrant for the arrest of the family
member, although after the arrest the family member may apply for bail.
In some serious cases bail will not be granted and the person will be
held in jail until the hearing.
A Consent Form: will also be necessary when someone else is applying
for an order for you. The person who is applying for you should pick up
this form from the court for you to fill in and sign.
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EMERGENCIES
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If it is an emergency and not during
normal working hours, telephone D24 on 11444 or 000 (freecall).
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The people at D24 will contact a registrar by telephone
or FAX and a warrant for the person’s arrest or an interim intervention
order may be issued to help protect you immediately.
What Happens When All the Forms are Filled In?
When the forms are filled in (the people at the court will
help you with this), and sworn to be true, a date will be set for the
hearing. You may ask that the date be as soon as possible. However, the
date of the hearing may be up to two weeks from the time the forms are
filled in.
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How Does the Other Person Find Out About the Hearing/Order?
Service
This is where the other person gets a form given to them
telling them of your complaint and when the hearing is for the intervention
order.
In Person: Service may be done in person. In urgent
cases the police may do the serving for you. You may want someone else
to give the other person the form so that you do not have to see them.
If you do not know someone who will do this for you, there
are people who serve documents for you for a small fee. Ask at your local
legal service, or look under ‘process servers’ in the yellow pages.
OR
Leaving the Documents with a person over 16 years
or older at the last known place of work or home of the other person may
be better for you.
The other person has a right to appear at the court when
the application is heard for an intervention order. Service should not
be left to the last minute as the court may say the other person was not
given enough time and refuse to go on with your case.
All people who serve documents should be made aware of
the risk to their safety
(Service must also be made on the person who the
intervention order is meant to protect, if they did not apply for the
order themselves).
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What If the Other Person Agrees to the Intervention Order?
Sometimes, the other person will agree (consent)
to the intervention order you want.
If you think they will agree you should talk with a lawyer
to find out how to go about this and what might go wrong.
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What If the Other Person will not Agree to an Intervention
Order?
If the other person objects to the application you should
take great care in preparing for the hearing. They may bring a lawyer
with them to the hearing to argue against you. A lawyer (there are free
lawyers at the Community Legal Services on page nine) would give you
a better chance of putting the best possible case for you to the magistrate.
They will also have experience in arguing a case in court which can be
quite scary if you are not used to it. They also know what the magistrate
will look at when you apply for the order.
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What You Need to do Before the Hearing ·
- You should prepare a written list of reasons as to why the magistrate
should grant the order. This list should include all the times you can
remember when the abuse occurred and any dates you can remember as near
as possible to the day. ·
- If you do not know the day then the month is okay but try to be as
correct as possible. It is up to you to show why you need the order
to protect you.
- You should discuss whether you need a lawyer with someone at a Community
Legal Service. ·
- You need to prepare for questions which the other side might ask
you when trying to show why the intervention order should not be granted.
A lawyer would be helpful in preparing you for these.
You may also want to apply for Legal
Aid to help cover the costs of the case.
You may also be able to get compensation for any injuries
you have suffered from the Crimes Compensation Tribunal. (See your local
legal service about this).
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What Happens at the Hearing?
The Magistrate
When you go to the court for the hearing of the application for an intervention
order you will see the Magistrate. She or he will need you to talk about
what has been happening to make you want an intervention order. This takes
place in the court and you will be expected to tell your story in the
witness box. You will have to swear that what you are saying is true.
The Magistrate will know that the hearing may be difficult for you, but
they must know the facts to decide if an intervention order is the best
decision they can make for you.
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The Other Person
Sometimes the other person will be at the court. Police at the court
will stop the other person harassing you if you let them know about your
problem when you come to court. You may even want to telephone the court
on the day before your hearing and tell them that you might need protection
from the other person.
It is useful to have some support if you chose to go through this. Whether
it is a friend, social worker, lawyer or relative. Although getting an
intervention order is meant to be able to be done without a lawyer helping
you, there are free legal services where you can get help and legal advice.
A lawyer can help argue your case for you and guide you through the process.
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After the Hearing: Whatt Happens Then?
If the intervention order is granted then copies of it should be given
to the local police and the other person. It may also be useful to give
copies to people at places you visit often, such as where you work or
your children's schools.
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What if the Other Person Ignores the Intervention Order?
An automatic power of arrest is part of the intervention order. If the
other person does not obey (breaches) the order, you must call the police.
Your local police station should have a copy of the intervention order
and be aware of your problem. They will arrest the person and may charge
them as it is a crime to not obey an intervention order.
The family member may then be brought before a Magistrate who can order
that the person do a number of things, including the most severe punishment
of spending six months in jail or paying a $2,000 fine.
However, sometimes the magistrate may decide not to make an order to
punish the other person for breachintg the intervention order.
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It is useful to have some support if you chose to go
through this. Whether it is a friend, social worker, lawyuer or relative.
Although getting an intervention order is meant to be able to be done
without a lawyer helping you, there are free legal services where you
can get help and legal advice. A lawyer can help argue your case for you
and guide you through the process.
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Will an Intervention Order Help Me?
Things to seriously think about:
- You will have to be prepared to talk, in detail, to the magistrate
about the problems with the family member
- The order will only work if either · the other person respects the
law; OR
a) you are prepared to enforce the order by calling the police, AND
b) bring criminal charges against the other person
3. The order could make the other
person even angrier
IF YOU ARE FEMALE, SOMETIMES THE SAFEST THING YOU
CAN DO IS GO TO A WOMEN’S REFUGE (SEE BELOW)
AND BEGIN A NEW LIFE IN A PLACE WHERE THE OTHER PERSON CANNOT FIND YOU.
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Helpful Phone Numbers and Addresses:
(Where not otherwise stated all numbers are (03)):
Police: 11444 OR 000 (freecall)
Police Victim Liaison Officer: 9247–6940
Community Policing Squad: 9650-9418 (24 hours) for investigations
of abuse.
Community Legal Service: For your nearest service ring
9419-2752
Legal Aid: For your nearest office ring
9607-0234
Magistrates’ Courts: For your closest magistrates’ court see ‘‘Justice
Department of Victoria’’ in the White Pages (telephone book).
Crimes Compensation Tribunal: 9520-7511
Interpreters: Telephone Interpreter Service: 13 14 50 (24 hours)
Medical treatment, Counselling and Health Services:
Major public hospitals are open 24 hours for accident and emergency services.
Community Health Centres: for nearest regional office call :
9616-7876
Aboriginal Health Service: 9419-3000
Family Mediation Centre: 9547-6466 (Noble Park)
Alcohol and Drug Counselling Information: 9416-1818 (24 hours
support and referral)
Sexual assault: Centre Against Sexual Assault: for your nearest
one 9344-2233.
Royal Women’s Centre Against Sexual Assault 9344-2210 ( 24 hours)
Royal Children’s Hospital Child Protection Unit: 9345-5522
Housing:
Women’s Refuge Referrals: 9329 8433
Department of Planning and Development: 9669 1100
Financial: Consumer Advocates and Financial Counsellors Association:
Free service: 9650 5422 (for your nearest one).
Welfare Rights Unit: 9416 1111 for info. on social security payments
and legal referrals.
Child Support Agency: 131272
Council of Single Mothers and their Children: 9415 1171 and 9415
1682
Salvation Army Family Support Services: 9653 3215
Other:
Women’s Legal Resource Group: 9416 0144 or 1800 133302
Womens’ Information and Referral Exchange: 9654 6844 or
1800 136570
Domestic Violence and Incest Resource Centre: 9387 9155
Lifeline: 9662 1000 or 131114
Your local community centre, citizen’s advice bureau, neighbourhood house,
council or migrant resource centre also provide help and information.
