Protection orders: step by step
Who can apply under the Domestic Violence Act, what counts as domestic violence, what happens in what order, and what a court can order.
- Last updated:
- 14 November 2026
- Checked against the law:
- 14 November 2026
The short answer
A protection order is a court order that tells someone to stop. Under the Domestic Violence Act you can apply at a magistrate's court, in person or electronically, and urgently outside court hours. If the court is satisfied you need protection now, it must issue an interim order without the other person being told first. It takes effect when it is served on them.
If you are in danger now, call the police on 10111. Other lines are on the crisis lines and protection orders page. Plainly is not an emergency service.
At a glance
- Where
- A magistrate's court
- Lodged with the clerk of the court, or sent to the court's electronic address (section 4).
- When it is urgent
- Outside court hours too
- An urgent application can go directly to the court on any day, at any hour (section 4).
- Who can apply
- You, or someone for you
- A child can apply without a parent's consent (section 4).
- When it starts to protect
- When it is served
- An interim order takes effect once it has been served on the other person (section 5).
Does the Act cover your situation
Two things must be true: a domestic relationship, and domestic violence.
A domestic relationship is any one of these (section 1)
- You are or were married, under any law, custom or religion
- You live or lived together as a couple, whatever your sex
- You are the parents of a child, or share responsibility for one
- You are family by blood, marriage or adoption
- You are or were engaged, dating or in a romantic or sexual relationship, however short
- You share or shared a home in a close relationship
Domestic violence is wider than physical harm (section 1)
- Physical or sexual abuse
- Emotional, verbal or psychological abuse
- Economic abuse
- Intimidation, harassment or sexual harassment
- Coercive or controlling behaviour
- Damage to property
- Abuse of an older person, or of someone close to you
- Exposing a child to domestic violence
- Coming into your home, workplace or place of study without your consent, where you do not share it
The conduct must harm you, or give you reason to believe that it may.
Step by step
Apply
- Who:
- You, or someone acting for you
- Where:
- The clerk of the court, or the court's electronic address
The application is made without the other person being told. If you have no lawyer, the clerk must explain what the court can order and that you also have the right to lay a criminal charge. Statements from people who saw or know what happened can go in with it (section 4).
Someone else can apply for you with your written consent. A court can accept an application for a child without that consent (section 4(3)).
The court considers it
- Who:
- The magistrate
- How long:
- As soon as reasonably possible
The court can hear you in person or decide on your written statement (section 5).
The interim order
- Who:
- The court
The court must issue an interim order if it is satisfied of two things: that there is evidence, on the face of it, that the other person is committing or has committed domestic violence and you are suffering or may suffer harm; and that an order is needed immediately to protect you (section 5(2)).
With the order the court authorises a warrant for the other person's arrest, which is held back for as long as they obey the order (section 8).
It is served
- Who:
- The court's process
The order, with your application, is served on the other person. That is the moment it takes effect (section 5(6)).
The return date
- Who:
- Both of you
- How long:
- At least 10 days after service
The order gives a date on which the other person can say why it should not be made final. They can ask for an earlier date on 24 hours' written notice (section 5).
The final order
- Who:
- The court
If the other person does not come, and the order was properly served, the court must make it final. If they oppose it, the court hears both sides and decides on a balance of probabilities. A final order stays in force until a court sets it aside, and an appeal does not suspend it (section 6).
What a court can order
Stop
Section 7(1)
Not to commit domestic violence, and not to get anyone else to.
Stay away
Section 7(1)
Not to enter your home, your workplace or your place of study. Not to enter a shared home, or a part of it, where that is in your best interests.
Keep paying for the home
Section 7(3)
If the other person is kept out of a shared home, the court can order them to go on paying the rent or the bond.
Emergency money
Section 7(4)
Emergency monetary relief: for example lost earnings, medical costs, the cost of moving, and maintenance for a child in your care until a maintenance case is heard.
The children
Section 7(6)
Where it is in a child's best interests, the court can refuse the other person contact with the child, or allow it on conditions.
Weapons
Sections 7(2) and 9
The court must order a weapon to be seized where the other person has threatened to kill or injure someone.
Your things, and your address
Sections 7(2) and 7(5)
A peace officer can go with you to collect your belongings. Your address is left out of the order unless the order cannot work without it.
A court may not refuse an order only because you could use another legal route (section 7(7)).
If the order is broken
Go to the police
- Who:
- You
Hand a police officer the warrant and a sworn statement of how the order was broken (section 8(4)).
The police act
- Who:
- A police officer
If there are reasonable grounds to suspect you may be harmed, the officer must arrest the other person immediately. Otherwise the officer must give them a written notice to appear in court. The officer has to weigh the risk to you, how serious the breach is, how long ago it happened and what you have already suffered (section 8).
A charge
- Who:
- You
The police must tell you that you can lay a criminal charge as well, and how (section 8(6)).
What the police must do
When domestic violence is reported, or at the scene, a police officer must help you as you need, including arranging shelter and medical treatment, and must give you and explain a notice that sets out your rights, in the official language you choose where that is reasonably possible (section 2).
What goes wrong
Thinking it only covers hitting
The Act's definition of domestic violence is long, and physical abuse is only the first item on it.
Worth checking: the list in section 1: control, money, threats and harassment all count.
Believing you are protected before it is served
An interim order takes effect on service, not on the day it is granted (section 5(6)).
Worth checking: whether, and when, the order was served on the other person.
Missing the return date
If you do not appear, the court can extend the order to a new date, and can discharge it if you miss that one too (section 6).
Worth checking: the date written on the interim order.
Losing the warrant
The police act on the warrant. If it has been used, lost or destroyed, the clerk of the court must issue another on your sworn statement (section 8(3)).
Worth checking: where your copy is kept, and who else knows.
Waiting for another case to finish first
A divorce or maintenance case does not stand in the way. A court may not refuse a protection order only because another remedy exists (section 7(7)).
Worth checking: whether to apply now.
What to gather
If you can do so safely
- Your ID
- The other person's full name, and their home and work addresses if you know them
- Dates and a short description of what happened, most recent first
- Messages, photographs, medical reports or a police case number
- The names of anyone who saw or heard it
- Whether there is a firearm or other weapon
What this means for you
An application is made without the other person knowing, it can be made at any hour when it is urgent, and the court must act if you need protection now. What the order says depends on what you ask for, so the list of what a court can order is worth reading before you apply.
Sources
Every legal statement in this guide comes from one of these. We checked each statement against its source. A legal practitioner has not reviewed this guide.
Independent. Not a law firm. Legal information, not legal advice.