The offence of contravening a family violence intervention order under s 123(2) of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic), where the alleged contravention is emotional or psychological abuse, does not require proof that the accused specifically intended to torment, intimidate, harass or offend the protected person; the prosecution need only prove that the accused voluntarily and intentionally engaged in the behaviour that had that consequence. However, the defence of honest and reasonable belief remains available. The adequacy of the explanation of the order to the respondent may be relevant to whether a contravention can be established, and the court retains residual discretion to dismiss a Crown appeal where the prosecution case was conducted on a fundamentally different basis at trial.
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