• A domestic partner or former domestic partner of the person;
• An intimate partner or former intimate partner of the person;
• A relative of the person; or
• A child of a domestic partner or former domestic partner;
• A parent of a child of the person

relative, of a person—

1. Means the person’s—
   • father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather, stepmother, father-in-law or mother-in-law; or
   • son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, stepson, stepdaughter, son-in-law or daughter-in-law; or
   • brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law; or
   • uncle, aunt, uncle-in-law or aunt-in-law; or

   nephew, niece or cousin; and

2. If the person has or had a domestic partner (other than a spouse or civil union partner)—includes someone who would have been a relative mentioned in paragraph (1) if the person had been married to or in a civil union with the domestic partner; and
3. Includes—
   • someone who has been a relative mentioned in paragraph (1) or (2) of the person; and
4. If the person is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, the following people:
   • someone the person has responsibility for, or an interest in, in accordance with the traditions and customs of the person’s Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community;
   • someone who has responsibility for, or an interest in, the person in accordance with the traditions and customs of the person’s Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community; and
   • someone regarded and treated by the person as a relative; and
5. Someone with whom the person has a family-like relationship; and
6. Anyone else who could reasonably be considered to be, or have been, a relative of the person.

If you require immediate protection, you may apply to the Court for an Interim Family Violence Order at the time that you apply for a Final Family Violence Order.

The Court may make an interim order if satisfied that the order is necessary to protect you from family violence, or to prevent substantial damage to your property.

Mark the box on page 2 of the application form and provide an explanation and supporting evidence as to why you need immediate protection through an Interim Family Violence Order.

The Court will schedule to hear your interim order application within 2 days after the day the application is received (in line with s47 of the Family Violence Act 2016 (ACT)).

The Court is not open on weekends or public holidays.

If you need urgent protection, including after business hours or on public holidays, please call the ACT Police on 000 or 131 444.  The Police may apply for an after-hours family violence order on your behalf.

Yes.    You can seek an order protecting your children (or children who live with you) from family violence.

If your children are over the age of 18 years old, they must make their own application unless they have impaired decision making ability.  If your adult child has impaired decision-making ability, you may be appointed as their litigation guardian

There are no court fees for making an application for a Family Violence Order.

Not if you do not want to disclose your address. You will be asked to provide to the Court details of your address and any information you have about where the respondent can be located.    This information will be used for the police and the Court to serve any documents or to advise you or the respondent about the court proceedings.

Your personal contact details (including your address and telephone number) will not be provided to the other party unless you give the Court permission to do so.

If you do not want the respondent to know where you live, please do not put your address on the application form.  Only provide these details in the ‘private and confidential form’ and the notice of address for service.

Where the Registrar refuses an application for interim orders, an applicant may request a review of the decision. A request to review the decision must be made before close of registry (ie 4:30pm) on the day the decision is made.

A request to review may be made by notifying the Registrar in court immediately after the decision to refuse an interim order is made. Alternatively, a request to review the decision may be made by attending the court registry counter or by emailing protection@courts.act.gov.au

The application will be listed before a Magistrate no later than two days after the request to review the decision is received.

A preliminary conference is a meeting with a deputy registrar of the Court.  The deputy registrar will seek to determine whether the application can be settled by consent before the application is heard by a Magistrate.

You will be required to attend a preliminary conference:

• If an application for an interim order is made, as soon as practicable after the application for an interim order is heard;
• If an interim order has not been applied for, the preliminary conference will be set for a time and date as soon as practicable after the application was lodged with the court.

This will usually be within three weeks of the above.

If you do not attend Court on the day of the preliminary conference, the Court may make a decision about the application in your absence.

No, the other party will be required to attend Court at the same time.  But they will not be in the same room as you.  The deputy registrar will go between yourself and the other party to discuss whether the application can be settled by consent.

If you have concerns for your safety at Court please advise the staff at the counter and they will assist you.

The deputy registrar will provide you with a date that the matter will be heard by a Magistrate.  This will not happen on the same day as the first preliminary conference.

You will meet with a deputy registrar.  The deputy registrar will discuss with you and the other party (again in a separate room) about whether you can agree.

If not, you will proceed before a Magistrate.  You will need to be prepared to run your case. You need to bring to Court on the hearing day, any evidence or witnesses that you will be relying on to support your case.

You will need a litigation guardian if you have impaired decision-making ability.

A person has impaired decision-making ability if the person—

• cannot make decisions in relation to the proceeding; or
• does not understand the nature and effect of the decisions the person makes in relation to the proceeding.

If you are a respondent to an application and you are between the ages of 10 and 14 years, you will be taken to have impaired decision making and will need to appoint a litigation guardian.

Any adult who does not have impaired decision making ability may be appointed as a litigation guardian.  If you do not have an adult who can assist you, you can ask the Public Advocate to be your litigation guardian.

Contact the Public Advocates office on:  (02) 6205 2222

Public Advocate Website

A person may be appointed as a litigation guardian by completing ‘a Statement for appointment as a litigation guardian’.

An interim order is in place for the length of time specified on the order. This may be until a specific date or until a final order has been made by the Court. If the Interim Order is a Special Interim Family Violence Order it will be in place until the Court has finalised any related criminal charges.

If a respondent is not present at court at the making of a final order and the general interim order in place would expire before the final order is served on the respondent, then the interim order is extended until the final order is served on the respondent.

If the final order is unable to be served on the respondent despite reasonable attempts by police, the general interim order is extended for the period that the final order would have been in place had it been served on the respondent.

A Final Family Violence Order will usually be in place for 24 months.  However, the Court may make this longer if there are special or exceptional circumstances.

When there is an order for an Interim Family Violence Order and there are related criminal charges, the Court must make what is called a Special Interim Family Violence Order.

This means that the Court is prevented from finalising the application for a Final Family Violence Order where there are related criminal charges unless:

1. the parties consent;
2. the respondent or the applicant fails to attend Court on the date of the preliminary conference;
3. the application for final order is discontinued.

A charge against a person for an offence is related to application for a final Family Violence Order and, if an interim order is made on the application, an interim order if:

1. the person charged is:
   1. the respondent to the application; and
   2. a family member of the affected person; and
2. the offence is against the affected person, other than an offence against s43 of the Family Violence Act 2016.

You may apply to the Magistrates Court for an amendment to the Order.  An application may be made by lodging an application for amendment at the ACT Magistrates Court.

A protected person or the applicant for the Order (eg the Police Officer who applied for the original order or the Litigation guardian may make an application for a review of the order.

A respondent to the original order may make an application for review only if they have leave of the Court.  The application for leave can be made at the same time as the application to review the order.

If the Court makes an order including a child or young person as a protected person, the order continues to be in force when the protected person turns 18 years old.

The order will remain in force until:

• the end of the stated time on the order; or
• an application for a final order is withdrawn by the Applicant (if the order is an interim order); or
• new orders are made by the Court.

Protected persons seeking to change a protection order can make an application to the Court to amend an order. The counter staff at Court can provide this paperwork to you. The application forms can also be found here:

• Application to amend a family violence order or registered order
• Application to amend a personal protection order, workplace protection order or registered order

Persons who are also subject to an order made under the Family Law Act 1975 should seek legal advice about how a parenting order made by the Family Court interacts with a family violence order made by the ACT Magistrates Court.

More information about complying with orders of the Family Court and the Magistrates Court can be found on the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia website: https://www.fcfcoa.gov.au/fl/fv/orders