Stalked or Harassed in Victoria? The PSIO, Explained Plainly

Transcript

Someone is stalking you, harassing you, or threatening you in Victoria, and they are not a partner or family member, a neighbor, someone from work, a former friend who will not let go, a stranger. Victoria built a specific legal tool for exactly this, and most people have never heard its name, the personal safety intervention order. A personal safety intervention order can require the person to stay away from you, your home and your work, and to stop contacting, following or harassing you.

Breaching it is a criminal offence It is the non family cousin of the Family Violence Order, so if your situation involves a partner, an ex or a relative. Different orders apply, and we cover those separately. How you get one: You apply in person at the Magistrate's Court where a registrar helps set the application in motion, and police can also apply where they are involved. Where there is urgency, the court can make an interim order early in the piece, and you do not need anyone's permission to start. The application is yours to make, whatever the police have or have not done. Now the Victorian twist.

For the less serious end, think neighbour feuds that have curdled the court often routes both sides to an assessment, and possibly mediation, before a magistrate hears it. That is not a brush off mediation ends a surprising number of these for good, but stalking and genuinely threatening behaviour is different and the serious cases go to the magistrate, not the mediation room. Whatever room it ends up in, evidence decides it. Keep a diary with dates, times, and exactly what happened. Screenshot every message and post and back them up. Note every witness. Photograph any damage.

Report incidents to police and keep the reference numbers even if nothing seems to come of each report, because the pattern is the case. And do not reply, retaliate, or delete anything. If it is happening online, add the national doors the e Safety Commissioner can compel platforms to take down seriously abusive content aimed at you, and using a phone Internet to menace or harass is a federal crime carrying up to five years, which police can pursue wherever the sender hides. Remember too that stalking itself is a crime in Victoria, not just grounds for an order. Above all of it, one rule.

If you are in immediate danger, ring triple zero every time. For the long game, the order exists. The door is the magistrate's court, and evidence is what walks you through it. If you want help preparing, or just to understand your options 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.