A personal safety intervention order can be taken out against an individual by another individual to protect themselves, children, property, or other people from certain types of behaviour. This is not a criminal charge, but a civil action, and will not result in criminal charges, a criminal record, or being arrested, unless the person breaches the order. If the person is a family member, then a family violence intervention order is made, not a personal safety order.
Generally the behaviour must have occurred more than once for an order to be taken out. The acts must be deliberate, and the person doing them must reasonably know that their behaviour was to cause harm, apprehension, or fear.
If you are involved in an intervention order, Vanessa Ash can provide expert legal advice.
These behaviours include:
- Assault
- Sexual assault
- Harassment
- Stalking
- Making serious threats (such as the threat to kill)
- Damaging property or interfering with property
Assault
Causing injury, pain, discomfort or damage to another person, deprivation of liberty. Read more about assault here.
Sexual assault
Assault of a sexual nature. Read more about sexual assault offences here.
Harassment
Being demeaning, derogatory, intimidating to another person, including taunts regarding race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and extending to sexual harassment (verbal, written, physical), and repeated insults. It can be conducted by a third person on behalf of someone else. Read more about harassment here.
Stalking
Stalking is a behaviour that causes another person physical or mental harm, which could mean self-harming behaviour, suicidal thoughts, and fear for safety. Read more about stalking here. Stalking includes:
- Following or watching someone
- Going to or hanging around someone’s home, work, or other place they visit
- Surveilling someone
- Contacting a person in any way – by mail, phone, fax, text, email, social media
- Putting information onto the internet about someone
- Pretending to be someone else online
- Computer hacking
- Tracing internet, email or other electronic information
- Interfering with property
- Putting offensive material in the sight of someone else on purpose
- Bullying (threats, abuse, offensive behaviour)
- Causing fear of the safety of someone else
Serious threats
This is a threat to kill or inflict serious injury on another person, and can include injury or destruction of an unborn baby (foetus).
Interfering or damaging property
This means someone has repeatedly and intentionally damaged or destroyed property, interfered with property including withholding, and threats to damage, destroy or interfere with property. This can include pets.
Write your own story. Call Vanessa Ash and Associates today.