Breached a Family Violence Order in Tasmania? The Staircase Explained

Transcript

Charged with breaching a family violence order in Tasmania, whether it is a court order or one the police wrote themselves. Tasmania does something unusual with these charges. It builds the penalties as a staircase where every prior breach lifts the ceiling for the next one. Where you stand on that staircase is the first thing to understand. Here are the steps. A first breach carries up to twelve months in prison. A second, up to eighteen. A third, up to two years. And from the fourth breach onwards, the ceiling becomes five years. The fines climb alongside. The message built into the law could not be clearer.

Tasmania forgives a stumble far more readily than a pattern. What counts as a breach? Any condition of the order, broken by any means, texts, calls, and anything on social media. A message passed through a friend or relative, being at the home or wherever the order says you cannot be, and the trap that catches the most people. If the protected person invites contact and you take it up, the breach is still yours. Only police, through the proper process, or a court can change the order. The genuine answers.

The prosecution must prove you knew about the order, so how it was served or explained to you is a live question, especially with police issued orders handed over in difficult moments. They must prove the conduct broke a condition as actually written. They must prove identity and where the contact truly happened, its nature, who began it, and what you have done since still carry real weight. And think about the staircase the way a lawyer does. Every conviction is not just its own penalty.

It moves you permanently up a step for anything that follows, which means contesting a breach you say did not happen properly matters twice over, once for now, and once for every ceiling above you for years to come. From today, follow every condition exactly no matter how the order arrived or how you feel about it. If a condition is unworkable, the lawful route is a variation through police consent or the magistrate's court. Never a quiet workaround. No contact with the protected person by any means.

Write down what actually happened while it is fresh, and take advice before any play because your step on the staircase may depend on it for years. A staircase that remembers, a wide net for what counts, and real answers for charges that are wrong. That is breaching a family violence order in Tasmania. Take the step you are on seriously and get help early. Our hotline is free to call at any hour, and a consultation with a criminal lawyer is a fixed price. The number is on your screen now.