Appealing an Intervention Order

The Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) imposes four restrictions on appealing a family violence intervention order:

1. In certain circumstances, a court may order a respondent to an intervention order to attend counselling. Only the respondent is permitted to appeal against the making of this particular counselling order;
2. If anyone but the protected person applied for an intervention order, the County Court or Supreme Court must not hear the appeal by the applicant for the intervention order if any of the following people object to the appeal:

• (i) The protected person;
• (ii) The parent of a child who is a protected person; or
• (iii) The guardian of a protected person.

3. No appeal can be made against a decision of the County Court or the Supreme Court on an appeal; and

4. An interim family violence intervention order is a short-term order made until a Magistrate makes a final decision after hearing all the evidence. From 31 July 2019, there is no right to appeal against an interim order or a refusal to make the interim order by either party. Previously, the appeal right entitled a party to a de novo appeal of a decision of a higher court to make on its own initiative, an interim order, which is an unusual process. An appeal against an interim order also undermines the urgent, protective and temporary nature of such an order.