Withdrawing an Application for
an Intervention Order

Once an Application for an Intervention Order (“IVO”) has been filed with the Magistrates’ Court, there may be reasons why you, the Applicant, no longer want to pursue your application for an Intervention Order. This may be because it is no longer necessary to seek an Intervention Order that places a number of conditions upon the Respondent for the purpose of your safety and welfare.

Intervention Orders are a legal means of keeping you safe from family members and other people in the community who may have committed family violence, assault, or a range of other crimes against you. Therefore, it is important that you adequately consider your reasons for the removal of the Intervention Order and do not take this decision lightly. After taking the time to consider your options, if you no longer want an application for an Intervention Order, you can file a ‘Notice of Withdrawal of an Intervention Order’ form with the Magistrates’ Court that originally dealt with your matter. In this form, you will need to outline your reason for withdrawing the Application, whereby you may go through the change in circumstances which have arisen since the order was made. You will also need to specify whether you have notified the Respondent of your intention to withdraw your application.

Alternatively, if the Police have applied for the Intervention Order to protect you, you may seek to have Police withdraw the Order. Whilst they are unlikely to withdraw their support for a Family Violence Intervention Order or Personal Safety Intervention Order, a police member with a sergeant ranking or above can authorise this.

Once you have filed your Notice of Withdrawal with the Magistrates’ Court that originally dealt with your matter, you will be given a hearing date, normally within a few weeks of filing your notice. At this hearing, the Magistrate will review your notice and consider if it is safe to withdraw the Intervention Order.

If the Magistrate grants your application for withdrawal, all parties to your application, including the Respondent or the Police (if necessary) will be served with documentation reflecting this and the application for an Intervention Order will no longer be on foot. Our experienced Intervention Order Lawyers can help you with this process and appear on your behalf at Court, to ensure that your application is withdrawn with minimal stress and uncertainty.