At the time that you seek an application for a Final Personal Violence Order, you may seek an Interim Personal Violence Order.   You should mark the box on the application form and provide a brief explanation as to why you need an Interim Personal Violence Order.

If you lodge your application at the ACT Magistrates Court before 11:30 am on any weekday (that is not a public holiday) your application for an interim order will be heard the same day.  If you file your application after 11:30 am you should advise the staff whether you are seeking an urgent interim order.  A registrar will assess the application and determine whether the matter will be heard by the Court on the same day or the next business day.

Yes.    You can seek an order protecting your children (or children who live with you) from personal 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 Personal 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.  The applicant will be asked to provide information they have about where the respondent can be located.

Personal address 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.

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 will usually last until the Court can finalise the application for a Final Personal Violence Order. Sometimes, the Court may decide to make that period shorter, the date will be on the Order.

A Final Personal Violence Order will usually be in place for 12 months.  However, the Court may make this longer if there are special or exceptional circumstances.

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.