The man, who cannot be named because that would identify the victim, pleaded guilty in the Hamilton Magistrates Court on Wednesday, March 27, to counts of breaching an intervention order and persistently breaching the order.

He was jailed for 90 days last year, released from prison and went almost straight back to his partner's Hamilton home.

The woman had begged him to leave, he controlled her money and social media and when he was arrested she told police she was relieved as she had lost contact with her family, he belittled her and she felt worthless.

The woman declined to make a statement to police.

Police said an intervention order was put in place protecting the woman in October last year.

At 1am on January 8 this year officers were called to an address after the aggrieved family member's sister called police.

The man and woman were in a bedroom arguing, he was arrested and told police he knew the court order was in place.

At 11.44am on March 5 police family violence unit officers did a welfare check on the woman as she had disengaged from support services.

She refused to answer the door but they returned two hours later, she reluctantly opened the door and they found the man hiding in a bedroom cupboard.

The woman told police that the day the man was released from prison last year he called her and it was only days later he had moved back in.

On October 30 last year the man was jailed for 90 days after pleading guilty to charges including breach an IVO and reckless conduct endangering serious injury.

He's currently on a 15-month community corrections order for an unlawful assault and making threats to kill the same victim.

The man's prior criminal convictions include offences involving his mother and her partner.

Lawyer Ahmet Yucel said his client spent a few days in the Bandicoot Motor Inn after being released from jail but he couldn't afford to stay there.

He admitted the man had "regrettably done little to nothing" on the corrections order.

The lawyer said his client had underlying issues involving drug, alcohol and mental health and was currently being treated with a high dose of Seroquel.

He said the man had used methamphetamine since year nine at school.

"My instructions are that the relationship is now over," Mr Yucel said, adding there were no outstanding matters and his client had spent more than three weeks in custody.

He said his client planned to live with his mother in Melbourne on release from custody and there would be a significant distance between him and the victim.

Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge said it was "utterly unacceptable" the offending happened when there was a current CCO in place, aimed to support the offender.

"It was an extraordinarily lenient sentence," he said, explaining the penalty was imposed after the man put his hands over the woman's mouth and nose and that she couldn't breathe.

The offending also involved the man putting his hands around the woman's throat, squeezing. He also hit her to the back of the head and punched her.

Office Of Corrections staff also submitted a report saying the man was not suitable for another CCO, adding there had been "nothing completed at all".

The police prosecutor said the man had sold the woman's car, the registration had not been changed over and the woman now had extensive tolls and fines against her name.

"She's clearly a vulnerable person," Senior Constable Greg Kew said.

The magistrate said the last court appearance resulted in "an extremely merciful sentence".

"You did next to nothing on that community corrections order and more significantly you flagrantly breached the intervention order and the corrections order by persistently breaching that intervention order over many months," Mr Lethbridge said.

"The courts have had a lot to say in recent times about violence against women and about intervention orders.

"IVOs must be strictly adhered to and it is very much in the interests of the community that those against whom such orders are made be under no misapprehension that the courts will punish severely those who breach such orders.

"The key to protection lies in deterring the violent conduct by sending an unequivocal message to would-be perpetrators of domestic violence that if they offend they will be sentenced to a lengthy period of imprisonment so they are no longer in a position to inflict harm.

"This offending is serious, it's ongoing, it involves the same victim, it breaches court orders - it is seriously aggravated."

The magistrate told the offender that if he continued to breach court order he would be jailed for years, not just months.

The man was jailed for a total effective sentence of six months with 26 days counted as already served.

"Take this time to carefully consider how you will behave in the future," Mr Lethbridge told the man.