Who can you be protected from?

Home: Survivors: Violence in our Community: Violence against women

• spouse (includes former spouse and de-facto spouse);
• someone you have had an intimate personal relationship with, even if you have never lived together such as a boyfriend. This includes gay and lesbian relationships;
• someone who can be shown on the balance of probabilities to have stalked you, and is likely to do so again;
• relatives (includes parents, grandparents, sons and daughters, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, in-laws, etc.);
• person in a parental role with whom you usually live;
• your guardian (if you are a child);
• a person who is or was ordinarily a member of the same household.

If you are under 17 and want to apply for an order, you may be able to apply yourself or you may need to have the police or another person such as a social worker apply on your behalf.

Contact the registrar at the children's court or local magistrates' court for further information about getting an order.

If you are or were married to the violent person or in a de facto relationship and had children, you have a choice of obtaining an intervention order or seeking a restraining order under the Family Law Act.

You should discuss these options with your lawyer or support service worker, as there may be different implications for matters such as custody, child support or property depending on which option you choose.

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Council Against Violence

Disclaimer Copyright Updated: 13 Oct 2009