There are strict legal requirements in Victoria upon respondents to intervention orders.

When granted by Magistrates, intervention orders often include conditions that respondents must not assault or harass protected people.

The definition of stalking under such orders is that the conduct of the respondent engages in a course of conduct with the intention of causing physical or mental harm to the protected person, or arouses apprehension or fear in that person for his or her own safety or that of any other person.

Often, Magistrates put a requirement upon a respondent that they must not: “publish on the internet, by email or other electronic communication any material about the protected person(s)”.

Respondents do not have to mention the protected person by name to be guilty of a breach of an intervention order. The protected person need only be identified by one person for an offence to be proven.

Those who do not obey an order may be arrested and charged with a criminal offence. A contravention of an order carries a maximum penalty of 240 penalty units and/or two years imprisonment. The Courts take a strict approach to repeat offenders.

Police make the decision as to whether a respondent is to be charged and/or arrested.