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Protection Orders in New Zealand

If you are in danger right now, call 111. For everything after that moment, New Zealand law moves fast: the Family Court can grant a temporary protection order on an urgent "without notice" application — often within 24 to 48 hours, based on your sworn statement, before the other person is even told. Call 0800 461 100 free, any hour, to understand how it works — whether you need protection, or an order has just been served on you.

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Protection Orders at a glance

How fast

An urgent without-notice application can produce a temporary protection order within 24–48 hours (Family Violence Act 2018)

What counts as family violence

Physical and sexual abuse — and psychological abuse, including coercive control, threats, intimidation and financial abuse

Who it protects

You and, automatically, children of your family; others (a new partner, family members) can be added

When it becomes final

A without-notice temporary order becomes final after 3 months unless the respondent files to defend it

Breach

Breaching a protection order is a criminal offence — police can arrest for breach, and imprisonment is available

On-the-spot option

Police at a family-violence callout can issue a Police Safety Order on the spot, removing a person from the home for up to 10 days — no court needed

What a protection order actually does

A protection order imposes non-violence and non-contact conditions: the respondent must not abuse, threaten or intimidate you, must not contact you except in narrowly agreed ways, and must surrender firearms and firearms licences. Children of your family are covered automatically, and the court can add property-related orders — an occupation order for the home, a furniture order — so that safety doesn't mean homelessness.

The respondent is also directed to attend a non-violence programme. You can agree to some contact while the order stands (contact conditions can flex with your consent), and the order continuing does not depend on you "enforcing" every term — breaches are the respondent's problem, not yours. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

How the urgent application works

A without-notice application is filed with a sworn affidavit setting out the violence and why the delay of notice would risk harm. A judge can grant a temporary order the same day or within a day or two — the respondent learns of it when it is served. Legal aid is commonly available for protection-order applications, and community services (Women's Refuge, Community Law) help people apply every day.

The temporary order becomes final automatically after 3 months unless the respondent files to defend it; if they do, the court hears the matter — but the temporary protection stays in force in the meantime. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

If an order has been served on you

Take it seriously and take advice — quickly. You have the right to file a notice of intention to appear and be heard on whether the order should become final, but the window is short. Never contact the protected person to "sort it out" — any contact, however well-intentioned, can be a criminal breach and an arrest. Comply fully now, contest through the court if you dispute the basis, and complete what the order directs. The free line can explain your options; a NZ$295 (GST inclusive) consultation with a lawyer is the right next step if you intend to defend. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

The wider safety net

Protection orders sit inside a bigger system: Police Safety Orders for immediate on-the-spot protection (up to 10 days), the Family Violence Act's recognition of coercive control and financial abuse as violence, and — since 17 October 2025 — the right of a person with a final protection order to apply for a divorce without the usual 2-year separation. The free services matter too: Women's Refuge (0800 733 843, 24/7), Community Law and legal aid. If any part of your situation involves children's safety, say so on the call — the urgent parenting-order pathway runs alongside this one. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Getting protected, step by step

Immediate danger: 111. Right now, tonight: consider a Police Safety OrderPolice attending a family-violence incident can remove the person from the home on the spot for up to 10 days — breathing room to apply for a protection order.

Apply without notice to the Family CourtA sworn statement setting out the violence supports a temporary order, often within 24–48 hours, before the other person is told. Legal aid and free services can carry the application.

Let the order do its workIt becomes final after 3 months unless defended; breaches are police matters — report every one. Call 0800 461 100 free, any hour, to understand each step; a NZ$295 (GST inclusive) lawyer consultation is bookable on the call.

Protection Orders — your questions answered

Does emotional or financial abuse count, or only physical violence?

It counts. The Family Violence Act 2018 defines family violence to include psychological abuse — intimidation, threats, coercive control — and financial abuse. A pattern of controlling behaviour can support a protection order without a single blow being struck.

Will the other person know I have applied?

Not before the temporary order is made, if you apply without notice — that is the point of the procedure. They learn of the order when it is served on them, at which time its protections are already in force.

What happens if the order is breached?

Call the police — breach is a criminal offence and police can arrest without a warrant. Report every breach, including "small" ones like texts or drive-bys; the pattern matters, and enforcement is what gives the order its teeth.

Can the order cover my new partner or my kids?

Children of your family are protected automatically. The court can extend protection to others in your household or family — including a new partner — where the violence risk reaches them.

An order was made against me and I disagree. What can I do?

Defend it through the court, not by contact. File your notice within the time limit, comply with every condition meanwhile, and get advice — the free line explains the process, and a NZ$295 (GST inclusive) consultation with a New Zealand lawyer, bookable on the call, is strongly worthwhile before a defended hearing.