How can you obtain a Personal Protection Order (PPO)?
- A Personal Protection Order (PPO) is obtained by making an application at the Family Justice Courts.
- You may apply for a PPO on your own and without engaging a lawyer.
- If you decide to apply for a PPO on your own without the assistance of a lawyer, you will need to understand and fulfill the formal requirements of conducting the case on your own (e.g. file / submit documents to Court the correct format, pay filing / administrative fees, speaking and providing information in Court)
- As the Family Justice Courts will not provide you with any advice on what you should do, you should consult a qualified lawyer if you wish to obtain legal advice on the strengths and weaknesses of your case. The lawyer can also help by preparing the necessary documents on and appearing in Court on your behalf.
- In applying for a PPO, you will need to submit documents and information to the Court that show the following:
- Prove that family violence has been committed or is likely to be committed against you.
- Prove that the PPO is necessary to protect you.
- After the application is submitted, the Court would generally need to conduct a trial to decide whether to accept your version of events or your requests by considering the documents, information and evidence that you and the offender have presented to the Court.
- If the offender does not wish to challenge your application for a PPO, he can agree to give a formal undertaking (i.e. promise) to the Court to give his assurance that he will stop committing family violence. If the offender breaches this undertaking, the Court can accept his conduct as sufficient basis to grant the PPO without needing to consider any further evidence or trial.
- The Court has the discretion to decide on how long a Personal Protection Order (PPO) should last
- The Personal Protection Order (PPO) will last for an indefinite period (i.e. without an expiration date) if the Court does not specify a particular period of duration.
- The offender (or respondent) against whom a Personal Protection Order (PPO) has been issued may apply to the Court to review the terms of the PPO or to revoke (i.e. cancel) the PPO.
