A Voluntary Intervention Order  (or an “Intervention Order” as it soon will be known) is an order that can be made by the Court requiring a Respondent to attend an approved intervention program. This may be a behavioural change program and/or counselling.

A Respondent must agree to an Intervention Order for the Court to actually make it.

The Intervention Order will specify the approved intervention provider that the Respondent will need to contact and the time frame for that contact to be made.

At the outset, it should be said that if a Respondent has agreed to comply with an Intervention Order, then there really is no good excuse not to comply with it.

However, people make mistakes.

Presently, there is no criminal offence at present for not complying with an Intervention Order . However, the provider is under an obligation to contact the Court and the police and inform them of the non compliance. (minor contraventions are excused).

If you haven’t complied with the Intervention Order at all, the Court, in subsequent proceedings (whether another DVO application or an application to vary), may consider non-compliance with an Intervention Order . The legislation is due to change very soon which requires a Court to must consider contraventions of an Intervention Order.

Whether you have failed to comply with an Intervention Order is a question of act and degree that requires specific advice in each case. You will need to obtain that advice immediately because there are some circumstances where a minor delay may not actually constitute a complete failure to comply. Moreover, the actual wording of the Intervention Order needs to be carefully considered to ensure that you are complying with what precisely has been ordered.

For example, if the Intervention Order requires a respondent to contact an approved provider before a certain date. That Order does not require the Respondent to complete the Course by the specified date, it only requires the Respondent to contact the approved provider and comply with their assessment and attend the course when the provider directs.

The Court cannot reopen the existing Domestic Violence proceeding for non compliance with an Intervention Order. However, the Court of its own volition can make or vary a protection order in any subsequent criminal proceeding (ie if the respondent has been charged with a breach) or if it is exercising power under the children’s court in a child protection proceeding.

Finally, it should be noted that, you cannot rectify non-compliance with an Intervention Order by obtaining your own counselling or attending a privately paid course. Compliance requires attendance at an approved intervention program by an approved provider.