Many people across Australia silently endure being subjected to violence perpetrated by a family member simply because they feel helpless or don't know what they can do about the issue. A court-issued family violence intervention order, also called a domestic violence order, is meant to protect victims of family violence from their abusers. The order basically comprises a set of conditions that must not be broken by the accused party in order to ensure protection of the affected family member. The affected family members may be victims of various forms of domestic violence including but not limited to: physical assault, sexual abuse, harassment, threats, stalking, and so forth.
Family violence intervention orders can be either an interim order (also called a temporary protection order) or a final order (also referred to as a protection order). Read on to understand the difference between these two types of intervention orders that can be made in the court of law.
Interim intervention order
As the name implies, this kind of intervention order is issued by the magistrate at court on a short-term or temporary basis. Hence, it only lasts until the magistrate has heard all the evidence presented before the court and then makes a final ruling on the protected person's application.
The Court may issue an interim order when they are satisfied that:
a) the applicant (the person applying for protection) is not safe and needs immediate protection; and
b) the respondent (the person against whom the order is being sought) poses a real risk to the safety or property of the applicant.
An interim order serves the same purpose as a final order and it can be issued without the respondent being asked to appear before the court or even knowing about the order.
Final intervention order
This kind of intervention order is the issued by the magistrate at court on a longer-term or permanent basis. Hence, it merely serves as an extension of an interim order. A final order is issued after the magistrate has heard all the evidence presented before the court and is convinced that the applicant needs protection from the accused family member.
No one should suffer in the hands of abusive family members. Family violence should never be treated as a simple domestic matter, so consider talking to a family lawyer today if you think you will need to get a court-issued family violence intervention order.
Share9 October 2017
I love watching legal dramas from all different countries. I often call up my friend who is a lawyer to ask her about whether the cases I have seen on the latest drama are realistic or if they wouldn't happen that way in Australia. It's so interesting to me to see the changes that they make to make the stories flow more convincingly as well as the differences between the law in Australian compared to other countries. This blog is for other fans of legal dramas like me and has some tips on the best places to get real legal advice (hint, it's not on the TV!).