Carucci and Ponti

In *Carucci and Ponti*, Rees J of the Supreme Court of Victoria considered a dispute concerning the interpretation of a settlement agreement and its impact on a subsequent application for an apprehended violence order. The applicant sought an apprehended violence order against the respondent, alleging a course of conduct that caused her to fear for her safety. The respondent contended that the terms of a prior settlement agreement, which included mutual undertakings not to molest, harass, or intimidate each other, precluded the applicant from obtaining the order.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the respondent's alleged conduct, which the applicant claimed constituted a breach of the undertakings in the settlement agreement, could also form the basis for an apprehended violence order. Specifically, the court had to determine if the existence of a binding settlement agreement with mutual undertakings could operate as a bar to an application for an apprehended violence order, or if the statutory framework for apprehended violence orders provided an independent avenue for protection.

Rees J reasoned that the apprehended violence orders regime under the *Family Violence Protection Act 2008* (Vic) is designed to provide protection from family violence and is not contingent upon the existence or breach of a separate contractual agreement. The court found that the undertakings in the settlement agreement, while legally binding, did not extinguish the respondent's statutory obligations or the applicant's right to seek protection under the Act. The court concluded that the alleged conduct, if proven, could independently satisfy the criteria for making an apprehended violence order, irrespective of the settlement agreement.

The court made an apprehended violence order against the respondent.