Stalked or Harassed in the ACT? Past Conduct, and the Next 12 Months

Transcript

Someone is stalking you, harassing you or threatening you in Canberra and they are not family. In a city this size you cross paths whether you want to or not, the same suburbs, the same shops, the same commute. The ACT's answer is the personal protection order, and understanding its test doubles your chances of getting one. A personal protection order can require the person to stay away from you and stop the conduct entirely, and breaching it is a criminal offense. It covers stalking, harassment, threats, offensive behavior and property damage in every relationship that is not family and not workplace.

Family situations have their own orders. And where the trouble is happening at work, the ACT even has workplace protection orders that an employer can seek. Now the test because it shapes everything you prepare. The magistrate's court asks two questions. Has the conduct happened? And is it likely to happen again within the next twelve months unless an order is made? Past plus future. Which means your evidence needs to prove the pattern and show why, without a court order, it keeps going. Applying happens at the ACT magistrates' court in the city, and interim orders are available where things are urgent.

Police can be involved, and where the conduct is criminal they should be told every time it happens. But the application itself is yours to make. If police have not acted, keep reporting anyway and keep the reference numbers because the pattern you are documenting serves both the criminal track and your own. Build for that two question test. A diary kept as things happen, dates, times, exact words and how each incident affected you. Screenshots of every message and post, backed up. Witnesses named early. Photos of any damage. Report numbers collected. And nothing from you in return.

No replies, no confrontations, nothing deleted because your restraint is half the proof that the problem is them. When it spills online, use the national doors alongside the Canberra one. The eSafety Commissioner can compel platforms to remove seriously abusive content aimed at you. And using a phone or the internet to menace or harass someone is a federal crime carrying up to five years. In the public service capital, people forget that anonymous accounts leave very unanonymous trails. The rule above everything. Immediate danger means triple zero, always.

Beyond that, Canberra gives you a clear test, one courthouse, and a process that answers to evidence. Prove the pattern, show the risk, and the fence goes up. If you would like help preparing or advice on your situation tonight, our hotline is free to call at any hour, and a consultation with a lawyer is a fixed price. The number is on your screen now.