Restraining Orders Act 1997

affidavit includes an electronic declaration made in accordance with the rules of court;

application means an application made under this Act or the Domestic Violence Orders (National Recognition) Act 2017;

assault includes an assault within the meaning of The Criminal Code;

authorised magistrate means a magistrate authorised under section 17(1)(a);

authorised person means a police officer or a person who is, or who is in a class of persons that is, prescribed in the regulations for the purposes of this definition;

CEO (child welfare) means the CEO within the meaning of the Children and Community Services Act 2004;

child means a person under 18 years of age;

child welfare officer means —

Commissioner of Police means the person holding or acting in the office of Commissioner of Police under the Police Act 1892;

conduct agreement order has the meaning given in section 10H(1);

consent order means an order made under section 41(1) or 43(2);

corresponding law, in relation to another State or Territory or a foreign country, means a law of that State, Territory or country that empowers a court of that State, Territory or country to make orders (however described) having an effect that is the same as or similar to the effect of restraining orders made under this Act;

court includes an authorised magistrate;

cyber‑stalking, in relation to a person, means stalking, monitoring the movement or communications of, or repeatedly communicating with or harassing, the person using electronic means;

distributes has the meaning given in The Criminal Code section 221BA;

explosive means a substance or an article that is controlled as an explosive under the Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004;

explosives licence means a licence, permit or authorisation to hold an explosive under the Dangerous Goods Safety Act 2004;

exposed, in relation to family violence or personal violence, has the meaning given in section 6A(1);

family court proceedings means proceedings under the Family Law Act 1975 (Commonwealth) or the Family Court Act 1997;

family member has the meaning given in section 4(3);

family order has the meaning given in section 5;

family violence has the meaning given in section 5A(1);

family violence restraining order means an order made under this Act imposing restraints of the kind referred to in section 10G;

final order means any of the following —

final order hearing means a hearing fixed under section 33(1), 40(3), 41(4) or 43A(7)(b);

firearm item means any of the following as those terms are defined in the Firearms Act 2024 section 5 —

firearms authorisation means —

fix a hearing has the meaning given in section 9;

foreign restraining order means an order (however described) made by a court of a foreign country under a corresponding law of the country;

imagined personal relationship means a relationship where one person claims to have, or have had, an intimate personal relationship, or other personal relationship, with another person but that other person disagrees with that claim;

interim order means a telephone order or an order made under section 29(1)(a), 43A(7)(a) or 63(4b), the duration of which is more than 72 hours;

intimate image has the meaning given in The Criminal Code section 221BA;

kidnapping, or depriving the liberty of a person includes behaving towards the person in a manner described in The Criminal Code section 332;

mention hearing means a hearing fixed under section 23(2), 26(3), 29(2) or 39;

misconduct restraining order means an order made under this Act imposing restraints of the kind referred to in section 36;

person protected means a person named in an order made under this Act as a person for whose benefit the order is made;

person seeking to be protected means —

person who is bound, in relation to an order made under this Act, means the person named in the order on whose lawful activities and behaviour restraints are imposed by the order;

personal violence has the meaning given in section 6;

police order means an order made by a police officer under Part 2A Division 3A;

prepare and serve has the meaning given in section 10;

prescribed form means a form prescribed in rules of court;

proceedings under this Act means —

property, in relation to a person, means property —

Public Advocate means the person holding or acting in the office of Public Advocate under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1990;

registered, in relation to a foreign restraining order, means registered under section 79C;

registrar means the registrar of the relevant court;

respondent means the person against whom a restraining order is sought;

restraining order means an FVRO, MRO or VRO;

satisfied means satisfied on the balance of probabilities;

sexual assault includes an offence under The Criminal Code Chapter XXXI;

specified in relation to a restraining order, means specified in the order;

stalking, a person, includes committing an offence under The Criminal Code Chapter XXXIIIB against the person;

telephone application means an application under Division 2 for an FVRO or VRO;

telephone order means an FVRO or VRO made on a telephone application;

violence restraining order means an order made under this Act imposing restraints of the kind referred to in section 13;

wellbeing has the same meaning as in the Children and Community Services Act 2004.

FVRO for family violence restraining order;

MRO for misconduct restraining order;

VRO for violence restraining order.

[Section 3 amended: No. 10 of 1998 s. 62(1); No. 11 of 1999 s. 4; No. 22 of 2000 s. 4; No. 34 of 2004 Sch. 2 cl. 23(2); No. 38 of 2004 s. 5, 18(2), 25(2) and (3) and 57(2)‑(4); No. 59 of 2004 s. 124; No. 5 of 2008 s. 90; No. 49 of 2016 s. 5; No. 10 of 2017 s. 45; No. 4 of 2019 s. 9; No. 13 of 2020 s. 30; No. 30 of 2020 s. 52; No. 9 of 2022 s. 424; No. 13 of 2022 s. 79; No. 28 of 2024 s. 75; No. 23 of 2024 s. 481.]