Most people are served with an intervention order at the worst possible moment. Police arrive at the door after an incident, hand over a stack of paperwork, and tell you that you cannot go home. Others get an application in the mail weeks after an argument with a neighbour.
An intervention order, usually called an IVO, is a court order that limits how you can behave towards another person. It is not a criminal charge, and it does not give you a criminal record. But it applies the moment you are served, and breaking it is a crime. This article explains how intervention orders work, what one means for you, and the options you have.
What Is an Intervention Order in Victoria?#
The person asking for protection is called the protected person. The person the order is made against is called the respondent, and if you have been served, that is you. Applications are usually made by police on someone's behalf, or by the person themselves at a court such as the Melbourne Magistrates' Court.
Orders come in stages. Police can hand you a safety notice on the spot, which lasts until your first court date. A magistrate can then make a temporary order, even if you are not in court that day. A final order comes at the end, and whichever stage you are at, the conditions are what matter most:
- Not committing family violence against the protected person
- Not contacting them, directly or through someone else
- Not going to their home, workplace or school
- Staying a set distance away from them
- Not damaging their property
- Moving out of a home you own or rent, if an exclusion condition applies
Read every condition before you do anything else, and follow all of them even if you believe the allegations are false. Arguing about it belongs in court, not at the front door. Do not contact the protected person to explain, apologise, or ask them to drop it, because each attempt is a separate offence.
If you have been told to move out, arrange to collect your things through police or your lawyer rather than going back yourself. Keep the paperwork and note the date you have to attend court. Save your own messages and call logs, because they often matter at a hearing.
What Is the Difference Between an FVIO and a PSIO?#
Victoria has two types of intervention order, and which one applies depends on your relationship to the other person.
Family violence intervention order (FVIO) | Personal safety intervention order (PSIO) | |
|---|---|---|
Covers | Partners, ex-partners, family members, relatives, and some carers | Neighbours, coworkers, customers, acquaintances, strangers |
Behaviour it targets | Family violence, including physical, sexual, emotional and financial abuse, and letting a child see it | Assault, sexual assault, harassment, property damage, serious threats, stalking |
Who usually applies | Victoria Police, sometimes the person themselves | Usually the person themselves |
Mediation | Not available | The court can send you to free mediation first, unless stalking is alleged |
Penalty for breaking it | Up to 2 years in prison | Up to 2 years in prison |
The difference matters. Family violence orders affect firearm licences, work checks and family court cases, and police run the case rather than the other person. Neighbour and workplace disputes often settle at mediation with no order made at all.
What Happens If an IVO Is Made Against You?#
An intervention order is not a criminal conviction. It does not show up on a criminal record check, and agreeing to one is not an admission that you did anything. The knock-on effects are still real:
- Firearms: a final order makes you a banned person under firearm laws. Your licence is cancelled, police can take firearms and ammunition, and the ban lasts for the length of the order plus another five years.
- Work: an order can affect a Working with Children Check, a security licence, or registration in a licensed profession.
- Your home: an exclusion condition means you cannot go back, even if the lease or title is in your name, and you still have to pay the rent or mortgage.
- Your children: the order can be used as evidence in family court. It does not automatically stop you seeing your children, but conditions allowing contact have to be asked for before the order is made.
Breaking an order is where a civil case turns criminal.
What you did | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|
Broke an order | 2 years in prison, or a fine of about $50,000 |
Broke it intending to hurt or frighten someone | 5 years in prison, or a fine of about $125,000 |
Broke it three times within 28 days | 5 years in prison |
You do not have to be violent to break an order. A single text message, a reply to a social media post, or turning up at the same venue can be enough. The protected person cannot give you permission either. If they call you and you answer, you have committed an offence and they have not.
How Can an Intervention Order Lawyer Help?#
You have four options, and choosing between them without advice is the costliest mistake people make. An intervention order lawyer in Melbourne works through them with you before your first court date, not on the morning of it.
Agree without admitting anything#
You accept the order being made but do not accept the allegations. This is the most common outcome, and it ends the case quickly without anyone giving evidence. The catch is that the order and all its effects still apply, so the conditions need sorting out first.
Agree and admit the allegations#
You accept both the order and what has been alleged. This is rare and usually a bad idea, particularly if criminal charges have been laid or might be, because those admissions can follow you into that case.
Offer an undertaking#
An undertaking is a written promise to the court to behave in a particular way. It is not an intervention order, so it does not affect firearm licences or work checks, and breaking it is not a crime. Courts accept these more often in neighbour and workplace matters than family violence ones.
Fight the application#
You argue no order should be made. The case goes to a hearing where both sides give evidence, and the other person only has to show their version is more likely than not. This is the right call in some cases, especially where the claims arise during a separation, but it means more court dates and being questioned.
Negotiate the conditions#
This runs alongside the other options and is where most of the practical value sits. Standard conditions are written broadly. A lawyer can ask to remove an exclusion condition, allow contact for parenting or a shared workplace, change the distance, or shorten how long the order runs.
The Conditions Matter More Than the Order#
An intervention order is usually decided by its conditions, not by whether one is made at all. Most people agree without admitting anything. The difference between an order you can live with and one that costs you your home, your licence and time with your children comes down to what was negotiated before the magistrate signed it.
Russo Lawyers acts for people seeking protection and for people who have been served, and every case is handled personally by Sam Russo, Principal and a former Court Registrar. Call (03) 7040 9825 for a same-day response, or book a free call.
If you are experiencing family violence, safe steps Family Violence Response Centre is available on 1800 015 188, and 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
Frequently asked questions
No. It is a civil order, so there is no conviction, including where you agree to it. Breaking an order is a crime, and a conviction for that will show up on a record check.
Possibly. The court can include conditions allowing contact for agreed parenting arrangements or a family court order. This has to be raised before the order is made.
Do not respond. The order only binds you, and they cannot be charged for contacting you or encouraging you to break it. Keep a record, tell your lawyer, and apply to the court if the conditions need changing.
The court decides. Twelve months is common for a final order, but longer periods are regularly made. Orders can also be extended, changed or cancelled later on application.
Yes. If you do not attend, the magistrate can make a final order without you, based only on the other person's evidence, with conditions you never had a chance to negotiate.
You can apply to change or cancel one, but you usually need the court's permission and evidence that something has changed since. That is much harder than getting the conditions right at the start.
