FAQs

If your spouse, dependent or relative deliberately:

• Injures or threatens to injure you
• Damages or threatens to damage your property or your pet
• Treats you indecently without your consent
• Places you in a financially dire situation by restricting funds
• Monitors your every move and every cent you spend
• Intimidates or harasses you
• Repeatedly puts you down
• Isolates you from family, friends and other support
• Or threatens to do any of these things, it is domestic violence.

You can get help from DV LAWYER.

DV LAWYER can help you to apply to a Magistrates Court for a domestic violence protection order to try to stop the violence.  The Court will make the order if the Magistrate is convinced that there has been violence and it is likely to occur again.

From September 2012 the law provides protection from violence for people who have been in, or are:

• An intimate personal relationship: for example, de facto, engaged, dating, married.
• An informal care relationship: this is where a person is dependent on another for help in an activity of daily living such as cooking for them or dressing them.
• A family relationship: of a child, your relatives, a parent or former parent.

It should be noted that under the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012:

• Neighbours
• Flatmates
• Friends
• Workmates
• If children under 18 are violent towards parents. This is considered within the scope of the child protection system,

cannot apply for protection as an Aggrieved, however they can be considered by the Court as a Named Person under your protection order.

From the day a protection order is granted by the Court and is served, it tells the Respondent (the person whom you are taking the order out against / perpetrator) that violence will not be tolerated and that they must be of good behaviour and not commit or expose any domestic violence to you or anyone else named on the order.  It provides conditions that the Respondent must obey or they will be in breach and have to face criminal proceedings.

A standard condition of a protection order prohibits the Respondent from owning a weapon or holding a weapons licence.  The Court may also include a range of other conditions including no contact, no approach, orders that prohibit the perpetrator from staying or entering the home, among others.

A domestic violence order can be obtained in a number of ways.

• In certain circumstances the Police can, and are required to apply for one, however, in Somers cases due to a lack of resources, the Police may tell you to get a protection order by going to Court yourself or to get legal representation.

• We can apply for one for you and represent you in Court.  We can draft all the required court documents, affidavits, subpoenas and provide strong representation before the Magistrate.  In urgent matters, we can obtain assist you to obtain temporary protection orders that same day or the next business day.  Thereafter, if you need to sort out children’s or property matters, we will see it through to the end with you.  We work closely with good domestic violence support organisations who can assist you through ongoing counselling, support and assistance in reestablishing you and the children in alternate accommodation if required.

To grant a domestic violence order, a Court must be satisfied that:

1. A relevant relationship existed
2. An act of domestic violence has occurred
3. That it is necessary and desirable to protect the Aggrieved

A court must regard the safety, protection and well-being of people who fear or experience domestic violence, including children as the paramount consideration in deciding whether to make a domestic violence protection order.

The Magistrates Court is required to hold perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their violence and its impact on others, and to take into account that people who experience or fear domestic violence (including children) should be treated with respect and to minimise disruption in their lives.

When there are allegations being made by both sides, or indications that both are committing acts of violence (including for their self-protection), the Court is required to identify the person who is most in need of protection.

The court is required to give greater weight to the consideration of the need to protect the child from harm.

When the Magistrate makes a final protection order, the Magistrate will decide how long the order will last for.  The order will not last longer than two years unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Yes.  If another person injures, damages the property of, intimidates, harasses or threatens to do any of those things to your relatives, friends or workmates, those people can be listed in the protection order as a Named Person.