A personal safety intervention order is an order made by a magistrate to protect a person from physical or mental harm caused by someone who is not a family member.
The order has rules, called ‘conditions’, about how the respondent (the person the order is made against) can behave towards the applicant or protected person (the person the order protects). The respondent must follow the conditions of the order.
If the protected person and respondent are family members, you need a family violence intervention order instead.
Conditions on the application form
There are standard conditions for a personal safety intervention order. They include stopping the respondent:
- stalking, assaulting, harassing, threatening, or behaving offensively towards the protected person
- approaching, telephoning, texting, emailing, or contacting the protected person in any way, except through police, a lawyer, a mediator or some other nominated person
- approaching or remaining within a certain distance of the protected person
- going near any premises where the protect person lives, works, attends school or childcare, except in the company of a police officer
- damaging, threatening to damage or interfere with any property of the protected person
- causing another person to behave in a way that is covered by the order.
The magistrate will ask if the respondent has any firearms or weapons. If the magistrate believes that an order is necessary they may order the respondent to:
- hand in any firearms or weapons to police
- suspend or cancel any firearms licence, weapons approval or weapons exemption.
Other conditions you may want to apply for
The protected person can apply for any of these conditions. The protected person can also ask the magistrate to stop the respondent from getting another person to do any of the behaviours listed in the order.
Firearms and weapons
If a final order is made, even if the magistrate does not make a special condition that restricts a person from having a firearms licence, the respondent will automatically become a ‘prohibited person’ for five years. A prohibited person cannot get a firearms licence.
If the magistrate does not make an order with a special condition that restricts the respondent from having a firearms licence, the respondent can apply to be a non-prohibited person.
The magistrate makes the final decision
The magistrate makes the final decision about what conditions are included in an interim or final order.
Personal safety intervention orders work in the same way as family violence intervention orders. See How intervention orders work.
Other support
Find out how you can get other support for violence, abuse and personal safety.
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