Application for a WPO can be made to the Magistrates Court (or Youth Court where the individual is under 18) by:

• an employer
• the owner/occupier of a workplace premises
• a representative of an employer association
• a workplace health and safety representative, or
• a union entitled to represent the industrial interests of workers at the workplace.

Applications are not made by individual employees or by police.

The Court may grant a WPO if satisfied the defendant has engaged in personal violence in relation to a workplace and may do so again if a WPO order is not made.  Personal violence includes:

• physical and sexual violence or abuse
• threatening behaviour
• stalking, harassing, intimidating or offensive behaviour and
• damaging property.

Before making a WPO, the Court will consider:

• hardship that may be caused by the WPO to the defendant or anyone else
• previous personal violence by the defendant in relation to an affected person in the workplace, or anyone else
• any previous protection order or intervention order made in relation to the defendant
• any previous breaches of a protection order or intervention order by the defendant
• the need to ensure that property is protected from damage.

The Court may make an interim order before finalising a WPO application if it is necessary to ensure the safety of an affected person and/or to prevent substantial damage to workplace property.

The scheme applies to a workplace where there is interaction with the public - in person or electronically, even if the public cannot physically enter the premises. For example:

• call centres or other businesses where workers receive phone or electronic communications from the public
• premises where medical and health services are provided to the public
• commercial premises with a reception or showroom area where the public may enter.

Workplaces not considered to be within scope of the scheme include:

• commercial construction sites where public access is restricted
• commercial factories, offices or other premises without public access points (ie no reception area) and where usual business does not involve electronic or telephone communication with the public.

Many workplaces will have CCTV footage, incident reports and employee reports to provide to the Court as supporting evidence for a WPO application. Where this information is not available an application may be made to South Australia Police (SAPOL) for incident reports and other documents or material to support a WPO application.

If requested by the Court, SAPOL may provide the defendant’s name, address and relevant history for the WPO proceedings, including:

• convictions for offences committed in South Australia or elsewhere
• alleged offenses with which the person has been charged whether finalised or not
• information about any interim or finalised WPOs or intervention orders made against them.

A WPO will ordinarily last for up to 12 months, and be subject to conditions that:

• prevent the violent individual from entering or coming within a particular distance the workplace premises, or
• impose strict conditions on their presence in the workplace – including conditions on who they are able to have contact with.

The Court will consider the safety and protection of affected people in the workplace, but also ensure that any conditions imposed on the defendant are the least restrictive on their personal rights and liberties as possible.

Final WPOs can be made for longer than 12 months if the Court is satisfied that there are special or exceptional circumstances that justify a longer period. WPOs can be varied, revoked or extended by application to the Court.

Conditions related to firearms

Where relevant the Court may also include a condition that any firearms and associated licenses/permits held by the defendant be surrendered to the Registrar of Firearms, unless there are valid reasons not to do so and their ongoing possession does not represent an undue risk to the safety and protection of an affected person.

Courts SA is updating its systems and processes to accommodate the Workplace Protection Order laws. Until these processes are finalised the following interim guidance may be followed.

For applications please use a generic application form as per the Uniform Special Statutory Rules 2022. An application may be filed over the counter or via email using a Form 1 Originating Application together with Form 7 Affidavit. A filing fee is payable.

Applications must include sufficient supporting information and indicate if an interim order is sought.

Adult respondents
Applications relating to adult respondents will be heard in the Adelaide Magistrates Court and email lodgments should be sent to caapmamcregistrycaa@courts.sa.gov.au.

Youth respondents
Applications relating to youth respondents will be heard in the Adelaide Youth Court and email lodgments should be sent to caapmyouthcourtregistrycaa@courts.sa.gov.au.

Interim Orders

If an interim order is sought, the matter will be listed without the respondent needing to be served with the application.

Where an interim order is not sought, the matter will be listed with enough time for the applicant to serve the application upon the respondent.

The application and any orders made will need to be served by the applicant unless otherwise ordered by the Court.

For further information about making a Workplace Protection Order please call Courts SA Registry Services on 8204 2444 or 1800 571 191 or make a query at your local Court Registry.

The court process for a WPO application includes:

1. Summons of the defendant: A summons for the defendant to appear in Court must be served on them personally, or in a manner authorised by the Court.

2. Preliminary conference:  A preliminary conference is held to determine whether proceedings can be settled by consent, and to ensure that the application is ready to be heard as soon as possible. When an application is received by the Court, a date will be fixed for a preliminary conference unless:

• an interim WPO is sought
• the Court is satisfied that doing so would create an unacceptable risk to a person’s safety
• a preliminary conference would be unlikely to achieve its objects.

3. Mediation:  The Court may refer parties to mediation during the preliminary conference if satisfied that the application is likely to be more effectively resolved by mediation than a hearing.

4. WPO by consent:  If the defendant consents to the making of an interim or final WPO, the Court may make the relevant order against the defendant:

• without receiving any further submissions or evidence
• whether or not any ground for making the order has been made out, and
• whether or not the Court has considered any matters required to be taken into account under the Act before the making of the order.

5. WPO made in absence of defendant in Court:  A WPO may be made by the Court in the absence of the defendant if the defendant was required by summons to appear at the hearing of the application and failed to attend.

6. Court provides a copy of the WPO to police and others:  The Court must provide a copy of the order to each party of the proceedings and any other person who is protected under the order including the employer at the workplace. A copy must also be provided to:

• the Commissioner of Police
• the Registrar of Firearms; and
• any other person specified by the Court to receive a copy of the order.

Interim and final WPOs come into forced once served on the defendant.  An order is considered served if:

• the defendant is present in the Court when the order is made
• the order is served on the defendant personally, or
• the order is served on the defendant in some other manner authorised by the Court.

The Court may, on application, vary or revoke a final or interim WPO if satisfied that it will not adversely affect the safety of a protected person. An order may be varied by amending the conditions of the order or reducing/extending the period for which the order is in force.

The defendant may apply to the Court once to vary or revoke an order, but will require permission from the Court for any subsequent applications. Permission will only be granted for a subsequent revoke/vary application by a defendant if the Court is satisfied that there has been a material change in circumstances relating to the defendant or a protected person, and that it is in the interests of justice to grant permission.

Breach of a WPO is a criminal offence. The maximum penalty for breach of a WPO that:

• does not involve personal violence - 2 years imprisonment
• involves personal violence - 5 years imprisonment.

Yes. It is common for employees to be verbally or emotionally abused which would cause harm but not involve physical contact. The definitions of ‘workplace’ and ‘personal violence’ are intended to apply to circumstances where workers are abused, harassed or intimidated by phone or email.

Before granting a WPO, the Court will consider a range of factors including whether the order would cause undue hardship to the defendant or any other person. The Court will ensure WPO conditions are the least restrictive on the defendant’s personal rights and liberties, while still considering the safety and protection of affected workers.

For example, a WPO may impose conditions restricting how and when the defendant may access a workplace, or service, rather than prohibiting the defendant from attending that workplace entirely.

While a minimum age for a defendant is not specified, to ensure consistency with the current law on the minimum age of criminal responsibility it can be assumed that a WPO can only be made against a defendant over the age of 10 years.

A person entitled to make a WPO application may apply to SAPOL for information relating to a defendant to help facilitate access to information about them and any relevant past history known by police. This is likely to assist where the defendant is an offender or they are known to police. For this purpose, ‘relevant history’ means any of the following information:

• convictions for offences committed by the person
• offences alleged to have been committed with which the person has been charged whether finalised or not
• information about any interim/final workplace protection order(s) or intervention order(s) made against the person order.

This may depend on the terms of the WPO. However, the SA WP Act does not rule out the possibility of a ‘workplace’ encompassing multiple branches of the same business.

Yes, visitors including customers, couriers, delivery persons and contractors can benefit from the protection of a WPO operating in respect of a workplace that they visit.

The Court may make an interim WPO if satisfied that it is necessary to ensure the safety of an affected person from personal violence or prevent damage to property at a workplace. ‘Substantial damage’ is not defined in the Act and is a matter for the Court to determine on a case-by-case basis.

Where the Court makes an interim or final WPO, the Court must give a copy of the order to:

• each party involved in the proceedings, any person protected under the order and the employer
• the Commissioner of Police
• the Registrar of Firearms, and
• any other person specified by the Court.

Employers will be made aware of any WPOs in place relating to their workplace (even if they did not make the application) and will likely have a role to play in reporting WPO breaches to police.

Police are responsible for the enforcement of a WPO breach reported to them, and for investigating, charging and prosecuting WPO breaches as criminal offences.

The Act does not limit its application to personal violence perpetrated by members of the public. However, it is expected that if an employee or employer is the person perpetrating the violence against workers in the workplace, there are other more appropriate mechanisms for the prevention of that violence, including under existing employment, work, health and safety and criminal laws.

SAPOL is responsible for the enforcement, investigation and prosecution of WPO breaches reported to them. Police officers may arrest and detain a person if they have reason to suspect that a defendant has breached a WPO.

SAPOL may also provide information about a defendant in specified circumstances, where sought by the Court or an applicant to support an application. SAPOL may:

• provide the court with the defendant’s name, address and relevant history in relation to WPO proceedings
• also provide the applicant with a person’s name, address and relevant history (to the extent that it is relevant to a WPO application) if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a person has engaged in personal violence in relation to a workplace.

SAPOL and other law enforcement agencies are otherwise not expected to be involved with or assist in the making of a WPO application.

Each party (applicants and defendants) are responsible for their own costs. However, the Court may make an order that the:

• applicant pay the defendant’s costs if the Court is satisfied the application was vexatious, frivolous or made in bad faith; or
• defendant pay the applicant’s costs, if the Court considers it appropriate.