Your options moving forward
You will be given a court date which you will have to attend. Prior to or at the court date, you can:
(i) Admit the allegations and consent to an order.
(ii) Consent to an order being made but not admitting the allegations (usually for 5 years). This is called “consenting without admission” and means that you do not admit to any of the allegations made within the application, but confirms that you are happy to abide by the conditions imposed by the order.
(iii) Request that the proceedings be adjourned to a later date so that you can get legal advice (in which time the aggrieved is usually issued a temporary protection order).
(iv) File a cross-application.
(v) Oppose the orders being made, the matter will then be set down for a final hearing so that the magistrate can decide the matter – you will then get an opportunity to explain why you oppose the orders (usually this will be done by way of a sworn affidavit and witness testimony).
(vi) Provided you are not in breach of a temporary protection order, negotiate with the aggrieved to have the application be withdrawn and replaced with an undertaking (i.e. that you undertake to be of good behaviour and not commit an act of domestic violence).
(vii) Do nothing.