Responding to an intervention order

See the family violence intervention orders page if you are responding to an intervention order made against you by a family member, partner or ex-partner.

If you have been named as a respondent in a personal safety intervention order (intervention order) application, the police or a court registrar will serve you with court documents, including a copy of the intervention order application, and either a summons telling you when to come to court or a warrant for your arrest.

The application and summons will:

• describe what the affected person says has happened; and
• tell you the date of the court hearing.

If a warrant has been issued, the police can arrest you and bail you to appear in court.

You will also receive a copy of an interim intervention order, if a judicial officer has made one. The interim intervention order will include conditions (rules) that you must follow while the order is in place.

It is a criminal offence not to follow the conditions in an interim order.

Contacting the court

The best way to contact the court is by completing the pre-court information form.

The form provides the court with essential information to help prepare your matter for court. The court will use this form to:

• contact you (if necessary) to prepare for your court hearing
• provide you with court documents
• refer you to services that can help you (if you agree).

You can contact your local court by phone or email.

If it is less than seven days before your court hearing or you need help filling in the form, please contact your local court directly.

Going to court

You must attend court in person at the relevant court venue for the intervention order hearing unless otherwise directed by the court.

You can find the date, time and location of the hearing on the court or police documents.

You must take part in the hearing in-person at court. You should plan to be at court all day. For more information visit the going to court page.

If you cannot attend the hearing due to a medical condition or other reason beyond your control, you must contact the court where the matter is listed to talk about your options.

If you signed an undertaking of bail and do not go to court, you may be arrested. See the bail and custody page for more information.

Decisions a judicial officer can make

There are different decisions a judicial officer can make at the hearing. These include:

• making a final intervention order or interim intervention order
• directing you and the other party to go to a mediation assessment or mediation
• refusing or striking out the application
• getting parties to come back to court for another hearing.

A lawyer can provide advice about your matter and what decisions a judicial officer can make.

Final and interim orders

A judicial officer can make a final intervention order or interim intervention order if:

• the affected person fears for their safety
• you have committed certain behaviours against the affected person – called prohibited behaviours
• the judicial officer believes the behaviour is likely to happen again
• you have stalked the affected person and the judicial officer believes you are likely to do so again.

You can agree to an intervention order but disagree to what was said in the application. This is called consent without admission of the allegations.

The order will remain in place until it expires or is cancelled by a judicial officer.

Referral to mediation

A magistrate or judicial registrar can direct you and the other party to go to mediation or a mediation assessment, if the dispute is non-violent. The judicial officer will usually adjourn the hearing in this case.

If mediation is successful, you may not need to return to court. The court will advise you of the outcome and what happens next.

Rehearing

You can apply for a rehearing if you are the respondent and were not personally served with the intervention order application, or there are exceptional circumstances and a rehearing is fair and just in all the circumstances of the case.

Contact the court where the intervention order application was made for more information.

Further details of allegations (further and better particulars)

As the respondent, if you disagree with the order you may request further details of allegations be provided to the court.

Further details of allegations may be requested by a party to the proceeding at any stage. The judicial officer may order that the applicant provide further details of allegations and can also order a response by the respondent to these further details of allegations.

This order is usually made before the proceeding is listed for a contested hearing.

Contested hearings 

If you disagree with the intervention order application, you must advise the court. The judicial officer will decide if the proceeding should be adjourned and decide what type of hearing the proceeding should be listed for. Usually, the court will hold a directions hearing before a contested hearing.

At the contested hearing, a judicial officer will hear evidence from witnesses and decide whether to make a final intervention order. If you have witnesses, you should arrange for them to be at the hearing. 

A contested hearing has to be booked in by the court for a particular day, time and duration. The matter will have to be adjourned to a contested hearing where all parties to the proceeding (witnesses) may be required to attend on a different day.

Court appeals

It is important to get legal advice before lodging an appeal.

You can appeal a judicial officer's decision to make or refuse a final intervention order. Grounds for appeal include legal grounds, factual grounds or discretionary error. The applicant and affected person can also appeal the judicial officer's decision.

You cannot appeal a decision to make or refuse an interim intervention order.

How to appeal

You must:

• complete a notice of appeal. You can download the form or get a printed form from your local court.
• submit the completed form to the court where the intervention order matter was heard. You can submit the form by mail, email or in-person.
• make sure to submit the completed form within 30 days of the decision you want to appeal.

The court will:

• arrange for Victoria Police to serve appeal documents on the other parties; and
• file all documents with the higher court that will consider the appeal.

The County Court hears most intervention order appeals. The Supreme Court and Court of Appeal hear intervention order appeals in some circumstances.

Judicial review

If you do not agree with the decision made by a judicial registrar, you can seek a review of the decision by a magistrate. 

For more information, contact the court where the decision was made.