Conditions before anything is decided

Interim and provisional orders

An order can bind you before a court has decided anything. Orders reach people by more than one route: a provisional order made urgently by police, and an interim order made by a court while the application is still on foot. The Local Court Bench Book sets out those routes, including provisional orders made by an authorised officer and how a provisional order is dealt with afterwards. Whichever route yours came by, the conditions are enforceable before the application is decided, so the order you were served with is the document that tells you what applies to you now.

General information, not legal advice. This page sets out how the law generally applies. It does not take account of your circumstances, and you should get advice about your own situation before acting on it. The official sources this page is written from are listed on it; where they differ from anything here, they are the authority.

Who this page is for

You have been served and conditions are already running

The first thing to do is read the order, all of it, including the pages that look like a form. Do not wait for your first court date, and do not wait until you accept that the conditions are fair, before you comply with them. Service, being told about an order, and being at court when it was made are separate things in the Act, and the Act deals specifically with a person who was neither served nor present. Which of those describes you is a question for a lawyer today rather than one to work out for yourself at the front door.

The second thing is to make your living arrangements comply. If an order prevents you going to an address, you need somewhere else to sleep tonight. If it prevents you going within a distance of a place, work out what that means for your route to work, for your children’s school and for where you shop. Working that out now is what keeps an ordinary trip from becoming a contravention.

The third thing is to stop all contact with the protected person if the order says so, including through other people. Asking a friend or a relative to pass on a message can itself be a contravention. So can a reply to a message they send you.

Then, and only then, think about the application. An interim order is a decision made quickly on limited material. It is not a finding that the allegations are true, and it does not decide what happens to the application. What you do about the application is the subject of consent without admissions and contested hearings.

How we help

What the work actually is

Telling you exactly what the conditions require

Condition by condition, in plain words, including the ones people misread: what counts as contact, what an exclusion from a place covers, and what happens where an address or a school is named.

Making your day-to-day arrangements safe

Where you can live, how belongings are collected, how work and travel are managed, and what to do if the protected person turns up where you are. Practical answers that keep you out of a breach charge.

Asking the court to change a condition

An interim order can be varied. Where a condition is unworkable — it excludes the place you work, or it prevents an arrangement about children that a family court has already made — that is put to the court properly rather than worked around.

Dealing with the provisional order behind the application

Where police made a provisional order, the material behind it is the material the application relies on. Reading it early tells you what is actually alleged, which is often narrower or broader than what you were told at the scene.

Firearms, licences and work, straight away

Suspension of a firearms licence is automatic on an interim order. Some occupations have their own reporting obligations. These are dealt with at the start, because the consequences do not wait for the final hearing.

Planning the first court date

What the court will ask, what you are and are not expected to say, and what should not be agreed to on the day. Our guide to your first court date covers the practical side.

Questions

Questions people ask first

When does an interim or provisional order start applying to me?

Comply from the moment you are told an order has been made against you: do not wait for the court date, do not wait until you have read it properly, and do not wait until you agree with it. That is the safe course rather than a statement of when an order legally takes effect. For a contravention to be proved against you, the Act looks to your having been present in court when the order was made, or having been served under the Act; police explaining an order at the door is not a substitute for either. Which of those describes your position is a question for prompt advice, and none of it is a reason to delay complying.

How long does an interim order last?

Until the court deals with the application, which may mean until a final order is made, until the application is dismissed or withdrawn, or until the court orders otherwise. The Act sets out when interim and provisional orders cease. Your own order and your court paperwork are the place to check what applies to you.

Can I get it lifted before the hearing?

You can apply to the court to vary an interim order, and there are matters where that is exactly the right step. It is a formal application with reasons, not a phone call. Whether it is likely to succeed depends on what is alleged and on what you are asking for, so it is worth advice before you file anything.

The protected person says they do not want the order.

It changes nothing about what binds you. Where police applied, the application belongs to police. Even a private applicant cannot simply cancel an order that a court has made. Until the court changes or revokes it, every condition applies, and acting on an assurance is how people are charged.

Can I go home to get my clothes and my tools?

Not on your own initiative if a condition excludes you from the address. Collection can often be arranged properly, including with police present or through an application to the court. Ask before you go, not afterwards.

Do I have to attend court if there is already an order?

Yes. You or your lawyer must attend the date on your paperwork. An order can be made in your absence if nobody appears, and the terms made that day may be broader than the terms you would have agreed to if you had been there.

Does an interim order mean I have been found guilty of something?

No. It is not a finding that the allegations are true and it is not a criminal conviction. It is a protective order made before the matter is decided. What it does mean is that the conditions are enforceable now, and that contravening them is a criminal offence.

What to bring

Bring the paperwork exactly as you received it, including the pages that look like they do not matter.

Every page of the order you were served with, including the conditions page.
The application notice, and any police statement or facts sheet served with it.
The date, time and court on your paperwork.
The date and time you were served, and by whom.
Any address, school or workplace named in the order.
Details of where you are living now and where you can live if you cannot go home.
Any existing family law order or parenting arrangement about children.
Whether you hold a firearms licence or a working with children check, and what you do for work.