If you are experiencing family violence, contact the Family Violence Service for help and support. Contact the Service for further information.
A restraining order is designed to prevent acts of family or personal violence. It is an order of the court which prohibits the person who is bound by the order from doing certain things, such as coming within a certain distance of or attempting to contact the protected person (either in person, through another person, or by SMS, email or social media).
There are different kinds of restraining order, depending on what you need.
The Family Violence Restraining Order is currently the only restraining order which can be applied for online. A legal representative must lodge an online restraining order for you. A list of these legal representative can be found at the end of this page.
Having a restraining order allows the police to intervene on behalf of the protected person if the conditions are breached. A person who breaches an order can be charged by the police with a criminal offence. If this happens, the court will deal with the offender.
When responding to a request for assistance involving a family violence related incident, police officers also have the ability to issue a police order for up to 72 hours in certain circumstances. This is a temporary restraining order that allows the protected person the ability to later make an application to a court during normal business hours. Please contact the Western Australia Police Force on 131 444 if you require police assistance or 000 in an emergency.
An application for restraining orders can be made by:
- A person seeking protection
- A parent or guardian of a child or adult under guardianship
- An authorised support service provider assisting a person to make an order online.
Applications in person
Applications for restraining orders can be made at any Magistrates Court. If the respondent is a juvenile, an application for a restraining order can be made at Children's Court.
If a person seeking to be protected is a child and the respondent is not a child, the application can be made at either the Magistrates Court or the Children's Court.
Applications online
The online restraining order application service has been introduced to make it possible for people seeking the protection of a restraining order to have their application lodged online without having to attend a court registry. Please be aware though that you cannot lodge an online restraining order application yourself. You must lodge it through one of the approved legal organisations or practitioners. You can visit or phone one of these organisations and they will be able to help you lodge the application.
If you are a private legal practitioner or a law firm and would like to be registered to lodge restraining orders online on behalf of your clients, complete the Request for Approval and Registration - Online Restraining Order Application form and return it to crt-mc-managementgroupforms@justice.wa.gov.au.
A list of approved organisations which can help people lodge restraining order applications online is available on the Restraining Orders page on the Magistrates Court of WA website.
For more information please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions or call the Office of the Commissioner for Victims of Crime on 6 18 9425 2973.
Family Violence Restraining Orders
Show moreA family violence restraining order is intended to restrain a person who:
- has committed family violence against you and is likely to commit family violence against you again or
- behaves in a way that makes you believe that family violence will be committed in the future.
‘Family violence’ means violence, or a threat of violence, by a person towards a family member of the person; or any other behaviour by the person that coerces or controls the family member or causes the member to be fearful.
If you have already been attacked or threatened with violence, a criminal offence may also have been committed. You should tell the police and ask for an incident report number.
Under special circumstances, a family violence restraining order can be sought by the police on your behalf by telephone, at any time, any day. Telephone orders as such only remain in force for three months at most.
Life-long restraining orders can also be granted in extreme cases.
When a family violence restraining order is made, the court or magistrate will also make an order preventing the respondent from having a firearm licence or any guns. It is essential that you inform the police or court if you are aware that the respondent has access to a gun.
Consent is not a defence to breaching a family violence restraining order. Even if the victim says it's okay to get together, it is considered a breach of the order and may lead to time in prison for the offender.
There is no fee payable when you apply for a family violence restraining order.
The Family Violence Service is a voluntary and free service available for family violence victims who may need assistance with court support, information and referral to other services. Family Violence Service is available for family violence victims who have made an application for a Family Violence Restraining Order at the Magistrates Court of Western Australia at Armadale, Fremantle, Joondalup, Midland, Perth and Rockingham. Please call 1800 600 476 or email FamilyViolenceService@justice.wa.gov.au
Educational videos
Violence Restraining Orders
Show moreViolence restraining orders are intended to restrain a person who:
- you believe is likely to either commit a violent personal offence against you, or a person for whom you have legal responsibility - such as a child; or
- behaves in a way to create a fear that such an offence will be committed.
If you have already been attacked or threatened with violence, a criminal offence may also have been committed. You should tell the police and ask for an incident report number.
Under special circumstances, a violence restraining order can be sought by the police on your behalf by telephone, at any time, any day. Telephone orders as such only remain in force for three months at most.
Life-long restraining orders can also be granted in extreme cases.
When a violence restraining order is made, the court or magistrate will also make an order preventing the respondent from having a firearm licence or any guns. It is essential that you inform the police or court if you are aware that the respondent has access to a gun.
Consent is not a defence to breaching a violence restraining order. Even if the victim says it's okay to get together, it is considered a breach of the order and may lead to time in prison.
There is no fee payable when you apply for a violence restraining order.
Misconduct Restraining Orders
Show moreMisconduct restraining orders are intended to restrain a person:
- from behaving in a way that is intimidating or offensive to you or a person for whom you have legal responsibility
- likely to cause damage to your property
- from committing a breach of the peace.
You can only apply for a misconduct restraining order if you are recognised by the police or courts as a vulnerable person.
There is a fee for the lodgment of a Misconduct Restraining Order. If you are experiencing financial difficulties, apply to the clerk of courts for a waiver of the fee.
