Family Violence Intervention Orders

Transcription

1 Family Violence Intervention Orders 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. When Can an Intervention Order be Used 1. 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))

2 2. 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? 3. 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? If the person is a family member and you said yes to any of these questions read on to see: 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. 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.

3 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. 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): 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.

4 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. EMERGENCIES If it is an emergency and not during normal working hours, telephone D24 on or 000 (freecall). 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. 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.

5 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). 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. 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. 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.

6 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). 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. 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.

7 After the Hearing: What 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. 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 breaching the intervention order. 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. Will an Intervention Order Help Me? Things to seriously think about: 1. You will have to be prepared to talk, in detail, to the magistrate about the problems with the family member 2. 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

8 IN A PLACE WHERE THE OTHER PERSON CANNOT FIND YOU. Helpful Phone Numbers and Addresses: (Where not otherwise stated all numbers are (03)): Police: OR 000 (freecall) Police Victim Liaison Officer: Community Policing Squad: (24 hours) for investigations of abuse. Community Legal Service: For your nearest service ring Legal Aid: For your nearest office ring Magistrates Courts: For your closest magistrates court see Justice Department of Victoria in the White Pages (telephone book). Crimes Compensation Tribunal: Interpreters: Telephone Interpreter Service: (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 : Aboriginal Health Service: Family Mediation Centre: (Noble Park) Alcohol and Drug Counselling Information: (24 hours support and referral) Sexual assault: Centre Against Sexual Assault: for your nearest one Royal Women s Centre Against Sexual Assault ( 24 hours) Royal Children s Hospital Child Protection Unit: Housing: Women s Refuge Referrals:

9 Department of Planning and Development: Financial: Consumer Advocates and Financial Counsellors Association: Free service: (for your nearest one). Welfare Rights Unit: for info. on social security payments and legal referrals. Child Support Agency: Council of Single Mothers and their Children: and Salvation Army Family Support Services: Other: Women s Legal Resource Group: or Women s Information and Referral Exchange: or Domestic Violence and Incest Resource Centre: Lifeline: or Your local community centre, citizen s advice bureau, neighbourhood house, council or migrant resource centre also provide help and information. The information provided in this pamphlet is a general guide only. To be sure of your rights and responsibilities, you should get advice from a solicitor or a community legal service.