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Enforce a protection from harassment order

The claimant or applicant may enforce an order by the Protection from Harassment Court (PHC) or the Family Court (FC) if the respondent does not comply with it.

When to enforce an order

You may enforce an order by the PHC or FC if both of these conditions apply:

Condition	Examples
You filed the application and an order was given in your favour	A protection order or false statement order was made against the other party. The other party was ordered to pay you money.^**
The other party does not comply with the order	(For a protection order) The other party is still harassing you. (For an order for monetary compensation) The other party did not pay the full sum of money by the due date.^** (For a stop publication order relating to a false statement) The other party continued to publish the false statement after the specified time.

** These are civil monetary remedies which are only available in PHC. The FC only deals with civil non-monetary remedies under the Protection from Harassment Act 2014.

How to enforce an order

How you may enforce an order depends on the type of order you received.

Type of order	Possible enforcement method
Protection order	Failure to comply with a protection order is a form of contempt of court. You may apply for an order of committal^or a committal order^*. You may also file a police report or Magistrate's Complaint at the State Courts. This is because failure to comply with a protection order is a criminal offence that is generally punishable by one or more of the following: A fine not exceeding $5,000 An imprisonment term not exceeding 6 months.
False statement order	Failure to comply with a false statement order is a form of contempt of court. You may apply for an order of committal^or a committal order^*.
Order for monetary compensation⁺	Refer to Enforce a civil order or judgment. For matters commenced before 1 April 2022, click here. For matters commenced on or after 1 April 2022, click here.

Type of order

Possible enforcement method

Protection order

Failure to comply with a protection order is a form of contempt of court.

You may apply for an order of committal^*or a committal order^**.

You may also file a police report or Magistrate's Complaint at the State Courts. This is because failure to comply with a protection order is a criminal offence that is generally punishable by one or more of the following:

A fine not exceeding $5,000
An imprisonment term not exceeding 6 months.

False statement order

Failure to comply with a false statement order is a form of contempt of court.

You may apply for an order of committal^*or a committal order^**.

Order for monetary compensation⁺

Refer to Enforce a civil order or judgment.

For matters commenced before 1 April 2022, click here.
For matters commenced on or after 1 April 2022, click here.

*For proceedings in the PHC commenced before 1 April 2022.
**For (1) proceedings in the PHC commenced on or after 1 April 2022, or (2) proceedings in the Family Court
+This is only applicable for proceedings commenced in the PHC. The Family Court only deals with civil non-monetary remedies under the Protection from Harassment Act 2014.

Note: Enforcing an order does not guarantee an outcome. You should weigh the pros and cons before proceeding. You may seek independent legal advice as the courts are not able to provide legal advice.

Need help?

The information here is for general guidance as the courts do not provide legal advice. If you need further help, you may want to get independent legal advice.

Find out more

Resources

Legislation associated with this topic includes:

Family Justice (Protection from Harassment) Rules 2024.
Family Justice (General) Rules 2024.
Division 1 of the Third Schedule of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 (regarding fees).
Protection from Harassment Act.
Supreme Court of Judicature (Protection from Harassment) Rules.
Appendix B of the Rules of Court (for matters commenced before 1 April 2022).
Fourth Schedule of the Rules of Court 2021 (for matters commenced on or after 1 April 2022).

Refer to the Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2024 as well as Appendix D for proceedings that are governed by the Family Justice (Protection from Harassment) Rules 2024.

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