Hi there. In Victoria, the law provides several options for someone who is being harassed by another person. If someone has been stalking your son or physically harmed him, they may have committed a criminal offence. You should report the matter to police as soon as possible.

If your son is at risk of physical or mental harm caused by another person who is not a family member, you can apply for a ‘personal safety intervention order’. This is an order made by a Magistrate if the relevant person (called the ‘respondent’) has done any of the following things to your son: assault, sexual assault, harassment, property damage or interference, serious threats, or stalking. If one or more of these things has occurred, the Magistrate can make an order specifying how the respondent can behave towards your son. The order may prohibit the respondent from engaging in certain conduct, making contact with your son, or coming within a certain distance of your son or your residence. By law, the respondent must follow the rules of the order. Applications for intervention orders can be made directly to the Magistrates’ Court (www.magistratescourt.vic.gov.au). As the applicant, you will be required to attend a hearing before the order is made.

If the matter is not violent, and there is no risk to the safety of your son or his property, then you may want to consider alternatives to an intervention order. For example, the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria (www.disputes.vic.gov.au) offers free dispute resolution services for disagreements between private parties, such as mediation.