A court may, on finding a person guilty or sentencing them, issue an intervention order as if a complaint or application had been made under the Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009 (SA) [Sentencing Act 2017 (SA) s 28]. Although the order is issued at the sentencing stage it is not a sentence for the purposes of the Act [s 28(4)(b)].

Before issuing any such order the court must consider whether it would be counterproductive [s 28(2)]. For example, if issuing the order would reveal the whereabouts of the person it is intended to benefit to the defendant when they otherwise would not have had this information.

Where a person is found guilty of a sexual offence such as rape, sexual exploitation of a person with a cognitive impairment, indecent assault, or any offence involving sexual exploitation or abuse of a child, the court must consider whether an intervention order should be issued [s 28(5)]. If a decision is made not to issue an order, reasons must be given. The decision not to issue an order is subject to appeal in the same way that any order made by the court on sentence would be.

An application to vary or revoke an intervention order made under section 28 of the Sentencing Act 2017 (SA) must be made using the prescribed forms (Form 172C Interlocutory Application to Vary or Revoke Order- Intervention Order, and Form 7- Affidavit) and by seeking the necessary leave of the court (see rules 167.1- 167.7 of the Joint Criminal Rules 2022 (SA)).