Consequences of an Apprehended Violence Order
Consequences for you
If you are not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you may need to change your visa to reflect that you are no longer living with the defendant.
For more information, see
Immigration and Apprehended Violence Orders.
Consequences for the defendant
If a Final Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) is made the defendant is not given a criminal record. However, if the defendant breaches the AVO, it is a criminal offence. A record of the AVO is kept on a police database.
The Final AVO may also affect the defendant's:
Firearms licence
If a Final AVO is made and the defendant has any firearms, the defendant must immediately surrender the firearms to the police. In some cases the police may seize (take) any firearms found in the defendant's residence as soon as a Provisional or Interim AVO is made.
If the defendant has a firearms licence it will be automatically suspended if a Provisional or Interim AVO is made, and automatically cancelled if a Final AVO is made. The defendant will only be able to apply for a new firearms licence 10 years after the date the Final AVO ends. They will need to show that they are a 'fit and proper person' to have a firearms licence.
The defendant can apply to get their licence before the 10-year period expires only if the court has revoked the AVO. For more information, see
Extensions, revocations and variations.
If the application for an AVO is withdrawn, and any Provisional or Interim AVO is no longer in force, the defendant's firearms licence will no longer be suspended.
Security licence
An AVO may affect a defendant if they have, or want to apply for, a security licence. If the licence is a Class 1F or P1F (a licence which allows the licence holder to carry a firearm), they may not be able to work under that licence, because their firearms licence has been suspended or cancelled.
A security licence may also be cancelled, or an application for a security licence rejected, if an AVO is made against the defendant and if the Commissioner of Police believes the defendant is not a 'fit and proper person' to hold a security licence.
If a defendant breaches an AVO and is found guilty of that breach, their security licence may be cancelled, or an application for a security licence rejected, particularly if the breach involves assault, stalking or intimidation.
Ability to work with children
By law, employers need to do a pre-employment check on some volunteers and people applying for jobs which involve children. This is called 'The Working With Children Check'. A person who has been convicted of certain offences is restricted from child-related employment.
If a defendant is applying for a job that involves children and there is a Final AVO against them (where the AVO application was made by the police or another public official), the defendant's record will be considered by the employer. The record may affect the defendant's application for a job as he or she may be considered not eligible for child-related employment or volunteer work.