By James Stevens, Director and Solicitor, Go To Court Lawyers. Last reviewed 10 April 2026.
Key points
- A family violence intervention order (FVIO) is a civil court order protecting a family member from family violence. Agreeing to one does not give you a criminal record; breaching it is a crime.
- If police gave you a family violence safety notice, it protects the family member until court, works as a summons, and the first court date must be within 14 days of service.
- An interim order can be made before you have your say, and usually lasts until the final hearing. Obey every condition from the moment you are served.
- At the first mention you can consent, consent without admissions, offer an undertaking if the applicant accepts it, or contest. A contested hearing is at least 28 days later.
- A final order lasts as long as the court specifies, and until revoked if it specifies no period. For a child respondent, no more than 12 months unless there are exceptional circumstances.
- Breach: up to 2 years' jail or $50,184 (240 penalty units), or both. Breaching to cause harm or fear, or three times within 28 days: up to 5 years or $125,460. The share of breaches sentenced to prison rose from 14% in 2011 to 40% in 2020.
- Help: Safe Steps 1800 015 188 and the Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491, both 24 hours; Victoria Legal Aid 1300 792 387, 8am to 6pm weekdays. In danger now, call 000.
- For a lawyer, call 1800 577 015 at any hour: free general legal information, and a 60-minute consultation with a Victorian lawyer for a fixed $295.
In Victoria, breaching a family violence intervention order carries up to two years' imprisonment or 240 penalty units ($50,184 in 2026-27), or both, under section 123 of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008, rising to five years or 600 penalty units for a breach intended to cause harm or fear, or for persistent breaches.
Checked on 22 October 2026 against the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (authorised version 070, in force from 30 September 2026), Victoria Legal Aid, the Department of Justice and Community Safety (penalty unit $209.10 from 1 July 2026) and the Sentencing Advisory Council.
How it starts: safety notice, application, interim order
- Family violence safety notice. Police can issue one on the spot. It starts when served on you, can include conditions such as no contact or excluding you from the home, and is taken to be both an application for an intervention order and a summons to the first mention. The first mention must be no later than 14 days after service, and as soon as practicable if you are excluded from your home and police believe you may not have somewhere to stay. It ends at the first mention, or when an order made that day is served on you.
- Application. Police or the affected family member can apply to the Magistrates' Court. You must be served with the application, which tells you the first mention date.
- Interim order. The court can make an interim order, including in your absence, if it is satisfied that one is necessary until the final decision to ensure the safety of the affected family member, to preserve their property, or to protect a child; if the parties consent; or where a safety notice was issued and nothing justifies ending the protection. You must obey it once served or once it has been explained to you.
Your options at the first mention
| Option | What it means |
|---|---|
| Consent | You agree to the order and its conditions. The magistrate can decide quickly and you may not need to come back. |
| Consent without admissions | You agree to the conditions without accepting what the application says about you. The court makes the order without deciding whether you used family violence (section 78). Not available for a child respondent. |
| Undertaking | A written promise to follow certain conditions, only if the applicant agrees; police applicants are less likely to. The application is withdrawn, but can be brought again, and breaking the promise makes an order more likely. |
| Contest | You argue against the order or some conditions. The case goes to a directions hearing and then a contested hearing at least 28 days after the first mention; the interim order usually continues meanwhile. |
| Do not attend | The hearing goes ahead without you, and the magistrate can make an order without hearing your side. |
Whichever you choose, you can ask the magistrate to change or leave out conditions that are impractical, for example one that stops you doing your job. Agreeing to an order does not stop you applying for family law orders about children and property. A free duty lawyer may be able to help on the day: tell the registrar when you arrive.
The contested hearing
- The magistrate hears the evidence from both sides, including witnesses. Witnesses must have seen or heard something themselves.
- The court can make a final order if it is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that you have committed family violence against the affected family member and are likely to continue or do so again (section 74).
- Without a lawyer you cannot cross-examine the affected family member or any children. If you cannot afford one, the magistrate can order Victoria Legal Aid to arrange a lawyer for the cross-examination.
- If police have charged you with a related criminal offence, the court deals with the case more quickly, and the contested hearing for the order is listed only once the criminal charges have been dealt with.
What an order can say
The court can include any conditions that appear necessary or desirable (section 81), including conditions:
- prohibiting you from committing family violence against the protected person, or locating or trying to locate them;
- excluding you from the protected person's home (an exclusion condition, which the court must consider in every case);
- prohibiting you from approaching, phoning, texting, emailing or otherwise contacting them, unless with a police officer or a specified person;
- prohibiting you from being within a specified distance of them, a specified place or a specified animal;
- prohibiting you from getting someone else to do what the order forbids; and
- about personal property, and cancelling or suspending your firearms authority or weapons approval.
How long it lasts
The court may specify the period. In choosing it, the protected person's safety is paramount, and the court takes into account the applicant's and protected person's assessment of the level and duration of the risk; it may also consider what you raise. If the order specifies a period, it lasts for that period unless revoked or set aside on appeal. If it specifies none, it lasts until the court revokes it or it is set aside on appeal. If the respondent is a child, the period must not be more than 12 months unless there are exceptional circumstances (sections 97 to 99).
Breaching an intervention order
| Offence | Section | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Contravening an intervention order (you were served with it or had it explained to you) | s 123 | 2 years' imprisonment or 240 penalty units ($50,184), or both |
| Contravening it intending to cause, or knowing you will probably cause, physical or mental harm or fear for safety | s 123A | 5 years or 600 penalty units ($125,460), or both |
| Persistent contravention: a breach plus at least two others within the previous 28 days | s 125A | 5 years or 600 penalty units ($125,460), or both |
Dollar figures use the Victorian penalty unit for 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027, $209.10. Breaching a safety notice is also an offence. The Sentencing Advisory Council found that the share of breach offences receiving a prison term rose from 14% in 2011 to 40% in 2020, and to 34% even for breaches without aggravating features, driven largely by a tenfold increase in short prison sentences of under six months (report of April 2022).
Help lines in Victoria
| Service | Number | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre | 1800 015 188 | 24 hours, 7 days |
| Men's Referral Service (for men using violence who want to change, and their families) | 1300 766 491 | 24 hours, 7 days |
| Victoria Legal Aid, Legal Help | 1300 792 387 | 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday |
| 1800RESPECT | 1800 737 732 | 24 hours, 7 days |
| Djirra (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women) | 1800 105 303 | See Djirra's website |
| Emergency | 000 | Any time |
What to do now
- Read the safety notice, application or interim order, and obey every condition from now on, even if the protected person contacts you.
- Note the first mention date and go to court. If you need a duty lawyer, tell the registrar when you arrive.
- Decide with advice whether to consent, consent without admissions or contest, and which conditions you need changed for work or children.
- If you have firearms, the order can cancel or suspend your authority; get advice before the hearing.
- For a lawyer of your own, call 1800 577 015 at any hour, or request a $295 consultation with a Victorian lawyer.
How Go To Court Lawyers can help
Our free line, 1800 577 015, answers at any hour. Jen, our AI legal information assistant, gives general legal information and takes your details; Jen is not a lawyer and does not give advice about your case. A 60-minute consultation with a lawyer who practises in Victoria is a fixed $295, by phone, video or in person. The lawyer can explain the conditions sought and how they will work for you, advise on consent without admissions or contesting, negotiate the conditions, and represent you at the hearing or on a breach charge. Requests are taken at any hour; how soon a lawyer can see you depends on who is available.
General information only, not legal advice. Updated 22 October 2026. Checked against the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic), authorised version 070; Victoria Legal Aid's "Respondent options for dealing with a family violence intervention order"; the Department of Justice and Community Safety's penalty unit page; the Sentencing Advisory Council's "Sentencing Breaches of Family Violence Intervention Orders and Safety Notices" (April 2022); and the Safe Steps, Men's Referral Service and Djirra websites, on 22 October 2026.