Intervention order breaches in Victoria – change is afoot

A new law in the pipeline means that anyone breaching family violence intervention orders may be put in prison. Currently, charges can only be laid if persistent contraventions are three per 28 days, though overburdened court systems are struggling to keep up with the pace of intervention orders being laid – and breached. Sometimes there are years between a breach and court.

Reforms will mean multiple breaches will result in a prison term, with penalties for breaches likely to be increased. A proposal has been put forward to create a ‘dangerous offenders register’ to list people with a history of family violence, which is available to police and women, however this proposal is not being recommended by the Royal Commission into Family Violence.

One suggestion that has been flagged by the Royal Commission is an immediate prison sentence that starts at the time of the breach.

Intervention order breaches rose 140 per cent from July 2009 to July 2014, rising to 21,300 in 2013-14. A new levy is being considered as an option to help fund family violence initiatives. The police want more powers to issue on-the-spot safety notices, and there is a suggestion that other authorities should be able to serve intervention orders, not just police.

Call Vanessa Ash for expert advice on intervention orders. 

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