Family Violence Orders in Tasmania: FVO, PFVO and Restraint Orders

Tasmania protects people from family violence and other threatening conduct through two separate legal tracks: the Family Violence Act 2004 (Tas), which creates Police Family Violence Orders (PFVOs) and court-made Family Violence Orders (FVOs), and Part XA of the Justices Act 1959 (Tas), which creates a restraint order for situations that fall outside a family relationship.

If you are in immediate danger, call 000. For free, confidential family violence support and counselling, contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, available 24 hours a day, every day.

Two tracks: family violence orders and Justices Act restraint orders

Tasmania splits protection orders across two different Acts depending on the relationship between the parties. The Family Violence Act 2004 (Tas) covers situations of family violence and creates three related instruments under one Act: Police Family Violence Orders (PFVOs), issued directly by police (section 14); Family Violence Orders (FVOs), made by a court (section 16); and interim FVOs (section 23). A PFVO that a court later varies or extends is deemed to become an FVO (section 14(13)). The Justices Act 1959 (Tas), Part XA (sections 106A to 106L), covers the non-family track, used where the parties are not in a family or domestic relationship. The two regimes are explicitly cross-referenced: under section 24 of the Family Violence Act, if a court hearing an FVO application is not satisfied the family-violence test in section 16(1) is met but is satisfied the Justices Act test in section 106B(1) is met, it can make a Part XA restraint order instead, within the same hearing.

Police Family Violence Orders and court-made FVOs

A police officer of sergeant rank or above, or a delegated officer, can issue a PFVO on the spot, without a prior court hearing, if satisfied the person has committed, or is likely to commit, a family violence offence (section 14(1)). A PFVO can require the person to vacate the premises, have no contact with the protected person, surrender firearms, and stay a specified distance away (section 14(3)).

A court-made FVO requires an application, which can come from police, an affected person, an affected child if the court is satisfied the child understands the proceedings, or anyone else granted leave (section 15(2)). The court must be satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the person has committed family violence and may commit it again (section 16(1)). A court-made FVO can also add conditions a PFVO cannot, including electronic monitoring and mandatory attendance at a rehabilitation program, though a rehabilitation condition requires a prior assessment (section 16(3), 16(3A)). Proceedings are heard in open court and treated procedurally like a simple-offence complaint, with the applicant treated as a complainant (section 31).

Tasmania's own definition of 'family violence' (section 7) is broad: assault, including sexual, indecent, or aggravated assault; threats, coercion, intimidation, and verbal abuse; abduction; stalking; rape; wounding or grievous bodily harm; economic abuse (section 8); emotional abuse or intimidation (section 9); property damage against jointly or spouse-owned property; and, specifically, harm or threatened harm to an animal intended to intimidate, coerce, or control a spouse or partner (section 7(1)(d) to (f)).

Justices Act restraint orders: the non-family track

Part XA of the Justices Act 1959 (Tas) is broader in subject matter than a personal-safety order alone; it covers property damage and public-order conduct as well. Under section 106B(1), justices must be satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the person either: has caused personal injury or property damage and is likely to again; has threatened to cause personal injury or property damage and is likely to carry it out; has behaved in a 'provocative or offensive manner' likely to lead to a breach of the peace and is likely to repeat it; or has stalked the applicant or a third person in a way that caused the applicant fear.

Applicants (section 106B(2)) can be a police officer, the person or property targeted, a parent or guardian if the targeted person is a child, a guardian or administrator under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1995 for a represented person, or anyone else granted leave.

Interim and telephone orders

An interim restraint order under Part XA can be made pending the full hearing, capped at 60 days (section 106D(2)). A separate telephone interim restraint order is available for urgent, police-initiated applications, capped at 5 working days, and can be made even before the full section 106B(1) grounds are established, 'if the magistrate considers there is sufficient cause' (sections 106DA(4) and 106DA(13)).

Breach penalties: the FVO's escalating ladder vs the restraint order's flat penalty

The two tracks carry dramatically different breach penalties, and Tasmania's FVO track is unusual among the jurisdictions covered in this cluster's research for having a four-step escalating ladder rather than a flat penalty or a simple two-tier increase. Section 35 of the Family Violence Act 2004 sets the FVO/PFVO breach penalty directly:

A 'previous offence' for this ladder counts any prior contravention of an FVO, PFVO, or interim FVO, regardless of whether it protected the same person or a different one (section 35(2)); the escalation tracks the offender, not the victim.

At Tasmania's current penalty-unit value, stated by the Tasmanian Department of Justice as $213 per unit as of this page's research date in August 2026, those figures convert to real dollar amounts: a first offence carries a fine of up to $4,260, a second up to $6,390, and a third up to $8,520; a fourth or later offence carries imprisonment only, with no fine option at all.

The Justices Act Part XA restraint order breach is a markedly lower offence by comparison. Section 106I(1) sets a flat maximum, with no escalating scale: up to 10 penalty units, which converts to $2,130 at the current per-unit value, or up to 6 months imprisonment. Police may arrest without a warrant on reasonable suspicion of a breach (section 106I(2)).

Firearms consequences

Tasmania's firearms treatment is not uniform even within its own two Acts. A PFVO automatically suspends any existing firearms licence or permit for its duration and bars the person from applying for one while it is in force, by operation of law (section 14(15)). A court-made FVO, by contrast, MAY, but is not required to, prohibit possession of specified firearms or order their forfeiture or disposal (section 16(3)(b)), a discretionary power rather than an automatic one. On the Justices Act side, both orders are discretionary: an interim restraint order may, but need not, suspend the respondent's firearms licence and bar new applications (section 106D(7)), just as a full restraint order's firearms effect is something the justices may, not must, impose (section 106B(7)). Where justices do include a suspension in an interim order, it takes effect when the order is served (section 106D(8)).

Duration and variation

A PFVO runs for a period the issuing officer sets, capped at 12 months (section 14(6)). An FVO 'remains in force for such period as the court considers necessary', or until revoked, with no statutory cap (section 19). Varying, extending, or revoking an FVO ordinarily requires the court's leave, granted only on a 'substantial change in relevant circumstances', except that an application only to extend, not vary or revoke, an FVO does not require showing changed circumstances, a carve-out added in April 2025 (section 20(3) to (3A)). A Justices Act restraint order similarly 'remains in force for such period as justices consider necessary', or until revoked, with no statutory cap outside the interim and telephone-order time limits described above (section 106B(6)).

Interstate recognition

An FVO made in Tasmania from 25 November 2017 onward is automatically recognised and enforceable across Australia, without extra paperwork, under the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme; Tasmania's own Magistrates Court publishes guidance confirming this and also covers having an interstate order declared, varied, extended, or revoked through the local Magistrates Court once declared. Whether a Justices Act Part XA restraint order gets that same automatic treatment was not independently confirmed for Tasmania specifically during research for this page. Because Part XA is the non-family track, the general national-scheme rule, that personal or non-domestic orders are not automatically recognised interstate the way domestic orders are, most likely applies, but anyone relying on this for an actual interstate matter should confirm directly with the issuing court before assuming a restraint order will be enforced outside Tasmania.

Responding to an order

Both the protected person and the respondent have a role at each stage of either track. A PFVO respondent can have the order reviewed when it is varied or extended by a court; an FVO application is heard in open court where the respondent can be heard; and a Part XA respondent can contest the grounds at the full hearing following an interim or telephone order. This page describes the legal framework for both an applicant and a respondent, without advocating for either outcome in an individual case. Where family violence intersects with parenting, see parenting orders in Australia and the family court process in Australia; an FVO or restraint order does not itself decide parenting arrangements. A protected person may also have grounds to end a residential tenancy early because of family violence; see breaking a lease in Australia. Anyone documenting family violence with a recording should check Tasmania's surveillance-devices consent law first; see Australia's recording laws by state. Because a firearms restriction commonly follows an order under either Tasmanian Act, see firearms licensing in Australia for the general framework.

If you are in immediate danger, call 000. For free, confidential family violence support and counselling, contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, available 24 hours a day, every day.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an FVO and a Justices Act restraint order in Tasmania?

An FVO, or its police-issued equivalent the PFVO, applies where the parties are in a family or domestic relationship and there has been, or is likely to be, family violence, under the Family Violence Act 2004 (Tas). A restraint order under Part XA of the Justices Act 1959 (Tas) applies outside a family relationship and covers a broader range of conduct, including property damage, threats, and stalking.

What happens if someone breaches a family violence order in Tasmania?

Section 35 of the Family Violence Act 2004 sets an escalating penalty: up to 20 penalty units or 12 months imprisonment for a first offence, up to 30 penalty units or 18 months for a second, up to 40 penalty units or 2 years for a third, and imprisonment only, up to 5 years with no fine option, for a fourth or later offence. At the current penalty-unit value of $213, those fines convert to up to $4,260, $6,390, and $8,520 respectively.

Is a Justices Act restraint order breach penalised as severely as an FVO breach?

No. A restraint order breach under section 106I of the Justices Act 1959 (Tas) is a flat maximum of 10 penalty units, currently $2,130, or 6 months imprisonment, with no escalating scale, markedly lower than the FVO track's ladder that can reach 5 years' imprisonment.

How much is a penalty unit worth in Tasmania right now?

The Tasmanian Department of Justice states the current value as $213 per penalty unit, as confirmed on its official penalty-units page as of this page's research date in August 2026.

Does a Tasmanian family violence order automatically stop someone from having a firearm?

A PFVO automatically suspends an existing firearms licence for its duration. A court-made FVO may, but is not required to, prohibit firearms possession. A Justices Act restraint order's firearms effect is discretionary for both the full and the interim order; a suspension included in an interim order takes effect on service.

How long does a Tasmanian family violence order last?

A PFVO lasts up to 12 months, as set by the issuing officer. A court-made FVO lasts for as long as the court considers necessary, with no statutory cap, until it is revoked.

Will my Tasmanian FVO be recognised if I travel interstate?

If it was made from 25 November 2017 onward, yes, an FVO is automatically recognised and enforceable across Australia under the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme. Whether a Justices Act restraint order gets the same automatic treatment was not confirmed for Tasmania specifically; confirm with the issuing court before assuming it applies interstate.

Can a prior breach that protected someone else count against me in Tasmania?

Yes. Under section 35(2) of the Family Violence Act 2004, a previous contravention counts toward the escalating penalty ladder regardless of whether it involved the same protected person or a different one.