Intervention Order Lawyers, Melbourne

A family violence intervention order in Victoria is an order of the Court made under the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 intended to protect a person from future family violence. Family violence is behaviour that makes a family member fear for the safety of themselves, their property, or another person or animal. This includes any behaviour that is used to force, control, threaten or dominate a family member, and may amount to physical, emotional, sexual, financial or psychological abuse.

Intervention Orders

Our expert intervention order lawyers at TP Legal & Associates will provide you with legal advice and representation in all aspects of the Family Violence Intervention Order application process for yourself or a minor. We will ensure you are kept informed and receive the best possible outcome.

Our vast experience and knowledge of family violence mean that we understand the gravity of each victim’s situation and their needs. This allows us to communicate with more compassion and work with more urgency to put your fears at ease and manage your court proceedings in a professional and caring manner.

Legal Aid for Intervention Orders

It’s important to understand that not all intervention order proceedings are eligible for legal aid support. A member of our friendly and efficient team will access your eligibility and advice on the next course of action.

Private paying fees are available for those who are ineligible, and our intervention order lawyers will do their utmost to help those experiencing financial hardship receive the legal support they need.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Family Violence Intervention Order?

A family violence intervention order in Victoria is an order of the Court made under the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 intended to protect a person from future family violence. This type of order is used between parties who are either related as a family or have been in an intimate relationship.

The order includes conditions to stop the offender from using family violence against the victim. If the respondent breaks the conditions, the police can charge them with a criminal offence.

What is family violence?

Family violence is behaviour that makes a family member fear for the safety of themselves, their property, another person, or an animal.

This includes any behaviour that is used to force, control, threaten, or dominate a family member, and may amount to physical, emotional, sexual, financial, or psychological abuse.

Who can apply for a Family Violence Intervention Order?

You can apply for a Family Violence Intervention Order at your local Magistrates’ Court, or reach out to your local police to apply on your behalf. Our team of professional intervention order lawyers can not only help apply for an order on your behalf but also guide you throughout the process and offer expert legal advice tailored to your situation.

If you require immediate protection, a magistrate can put an interim intervention order in place. This protects from family violence until both parties can come to court. The court can also issue a warrant if required. In addition, you can include your children in your application if you fear for their safety – as long they are under the age of 18.

What are the conditions in a Family Violence Intervention Order?

You can select from a list of conditions on the application or ask the magistrate to include any other conditions that will make you safe when you apply for the order.

The conditions listed on the application form for an intervention order include stopping the offender from:

• Committing family violence against the victim.
• Intentionally damaging the victim’s property or threatening to do so.
• Attempting to locate or follow the victim or keep them under surveillance.
• Publishing on the internet, by email, or other electronic communication any material about the victim.
• Contacting or communicating with the victim by any means.
• Approaching or remaining within a certain distance of the victim.
• Going to or remaining within a certain distance of where the victim lives, works or attends school or childcare.
• Getting another person to do anything the offender must not do under the order.

In addition, you can also ask the magistrate to order the offender to:

• Return your personal property or that of your family member.
• Return jointly owned property that allows your everyday life to continue with little disruption.
• Hand in any firearms or weapons to police.
• Suspend or cancel any firearms authority, weapons approval, or weapons exemption.

How can the Family Violence Intervention Order help children?

If a child has been exposed to family violence, the magistrate will include them as an affected family member on the intervention order.

The magistrate may also include specific conditions that allow the parents of the child to communicate with each other for child arrangements. However, if you are concerned about your children’s safety, you can ask the magistrate to include a condition to change, revive, discharge, or suspend a parenting order if it’s inconsistent with the intervention order.

You can choose as many conditions as you like from the list above or talk to the court registrar if you wish to:

• Include any other conditions that will make you and your children feel safe.
• Apply the conditions to an associate of the offender.

How to apply for a Family Violence Intervention Order?

To apply for a Family Violence Intervention Order, you need to:

• Make an appointment with the Magistrates’ Court to have your application processed.
• Bring along any evidence to support your application – abusive messages, photos of property damage, or doctor’s reports.
• Fill in the application form and provide the requested details such as information about the people included in your application and the offender, and the conditions that you want to be implemented.
• Attend an interview with the court registrar to share details about what happened and explain any other personal details that you may not have mentioned in the application form.
• The court will then determine an appropriate length of the Family Violence Intervention Order.

After everything is finalised, the registrar will give a copy of the application, summons, and any other court documents to the police. The police will then find and serve the offender with the documents. If a warrant is issued, the police will arrest the offender.

It is recommended that you seek legal advice before you go to court to make the application. Our expert team of intervention order lawyers at TP Legal & Associates can offer detailed guidance and representation based on your situation.

What is a contested hearing?

Both parties will be required to attend a “mention” at court to receive legal advice and try to finalise the matter. If the issue is unable to be finalised, a magistrate will set a date for a contested hearing.

A contested hearing is when a magistrate listens to your application for any intervention orders, hears the evidence, and decides whether a final order should be put in place.

Who needs to know about the order?

It is recommended that you carry a copy of your Family Violence Intervention Order with you. Give a copy to people at places where you and your children regularly go, such as school, kindergarten, childcare, or work. If the offender turns up at these places, they can call the police immediately.

What if a Family Violence Intervention Order has been made against me?

If you receive an application and summons from the police, do not get angry and abuse the police. Take time to go through the document and understand the conditions that have been set in place. If you would like to contest this application, reach out to experienced intervention order lawyers to help guide you on what you should do next.

You should also speak to your lawyer about the effects of this order on your job and other areas of your life to prevent accidentally breaching the conditions set in place.

What happens if I breach a Family Violence Intervention Order?

If you breach the conditions of an order served to you, the police can charge you with a criminal offence. If found guilty, you will have a criminal record and may be given:

• A prison sentence.
• A fine.
• A good behaviour bond or other penalties.

It is recommended that you have an intervention order lawyer for your court hearing to provide you with expert legal advice well before your hearing date to reach the best possible outcome for your case.

Do TP Legal & Associates cover Personal Safety Orders?

No, our Melbourne intervention order lawyers do not assist with Personal Safety Orders for now.

Why work with TP Legal & Associates?

Our intervention order lawyers have vast experience in handling cases related to Family Violence Intervention Orders; hence, you are guaranteed compassionate, professional, and efficient legal representation and assistance throughout your application process.

We also try to provide our clients with legal aid to help ease their financial burden during this trying time. If you’re not eligible for legal aid, we try our best to provide you with a fee structure that is affordable according to your budget.