Extensions, revocations and variations​

​Who can apply to extend, revoke or vary an AVO

An application to extend (lengthen), reduce (shorten), vary (change) or revoke (cancel) an Interim or Final AVO can be made by an interested party. An interested party includes the:

• protected person
• guardian of a protected person
  
• defendant.

Which court can I apply to?

Apprehended Personal Violence Orders (APVOs)

If you want to extend, reduce, vary or revoke an Interim or Final Apprehended Personal Violence Order (APVO), you can file the application in any local court in NSW. The application does not need to be filed with the same court that made the order. 

Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVOs) made before 25 November 2017

If you want to extend, reduce, vary or revoke an Interim or Final Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) made before 25 November 2017, you can file the application in any Local Court in NSW.

If the protected person chooses to have the order nationally recognised they will need to make an application to the Local Court to have the order declared.

If the order is declared and you want to vary or revoke it, you can file an application in any Local Court in any state or territory.

Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVOs) made after 25 November 2017

If you want to extend, reduce, vary or revoke an Interim or Final Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) made on or after 25 November 2017, you can file an application in any Local Court in any state or territory.

If you want to apply to the Local Court to revoke or vary an ADVO, the court will need to consider:

• where you and the protected person normally live
• any difficulty the protected person may have in attending court
• if there is sufficient information about the original DVO
• whether the case is currently being heard in court for a breach under the DVO
• the practicality of the applicant applying for and obtaining a local DVO against you
• the impact on the children who are listed as protected persons under the DVO
• any other relevant matters.

If possible an application to vary or revoke should be made in the state or territory that made the original order as they will hold the most information. 

Before you apply to vary or revoke an interstate DVO, you should get legal advice.

Applying to extend (or reduce) the AVO

A Final AVO will be made for a specified period of time, for example, six months, 12 months, two years or five years. The magistrate will decide how long the AVO should last based on your circumstances and any requests made by the protected person and applicant. Most AVOs are made for 12 months.

Reduce

If you are the defendant in an AVO and the AVO still has some time before it expires, you may believe that the protected person no longer needs the AVO because of a change in circumstances. If that is the case, you can apply to the court to reduce the length of the AVO.

To apply to reduce the length of the AVO, you will need to complete an 'Application to Vary or Revoke Apprehended Violence Order' form. The form is not available online. You will need to visit your local court and ask the registry staff to help you fill out and file the form.  The registry staff will give you a date to come back to court for mention when the magistrate will consider the application.

If the protected person or applicant objects to the application you and the protected person or applicant may be ordered to prepare written statements explaining why the AVO should or shouldn't be reduced. The application will then be listed for a hearing where you, the protected person or applicant and any witnesses will be able to give oral evidence.

For the application to be successful, you will need to show that there has been a change in circumstances that require the change. For example, you may have moved interstate and no longer pose any threat to the protected person.

Sample: For a sample form, see Sample Application to Vary (reduce) an Apprehended Violence Order (18.087 kb) or text only version.

Before applying to reduce the AVO, you should get legal advice. The court may decide that you are still a threat to the protected person, even though you have moved interstate or a long distance from the protected person.

Extend

If the AVO is about to expire, the protected person or the applicant may apply to extend the length of an AVO. If the protected person or applicant make an application, you will be notified.

If you want to object to the application you and the protected person or applicant may be ordered to prepare written statements explaining why the AVO should or shouldn't be extended. The application will then be listed for a hearing where you, the protected person or applicant and any witnesses will be able to give oral evidence.

If you are concerned about the application to extend an AVO, you should get legal advice.

Applying to revoke the AVO

If you or the protected person want the AVO revoked (cancelled) you can make an application to the court.

You may want the AVO revoked because:

• there is a change in circumstances and you feel the AVO is not necessary
• the AVO places restrictions on you.

While an AVO does not give a person a criminal record, it does mean that you can't hold a firearms licence for 10 years. It also places restrictions on you working in the security industry. If you want to get a firearms licence or security licence you may want to ask the court to revoke an AVO.

You may apply to revoke an AVO while it is still in force.

To apply to revoke the AVO, you will need to complete an 'Application to Vary or Revoke Apprehended Violence Order' form. The form is not available online. You will need to visit your local court and ask the registry staff to help you fill out and file the form.  The registry staff will give you a date to come back to court for mention when the magistrate will consider the application.

If the protected person or applicant objects to the application you and the protected person or applicant may be ordered to prepare written statements explaining why the AVO should or shouldn't be revoked. The application will then be listed for a hearing where you, the protected person or applicant and any witnesses will be able to give oral evidence.

Sample: For a sample form, see Sample Application to Vary (Revoke) Apprehended Violence Order (20.323 kb) or text only version.

Applying to vary the AVO

When an AVO is made, the types of orders made will depend on the circumstances. Every AVO has mandatory orders (standard orders) that restrict you from doing certain things. The police or court can also make additional orders which may restrict you from living with or contacting the protected person.

For more information, see Mandatory and additional orders.

If you want to vary the AVO

You can apply to vary (change) the original orders made, if you think:

To apply to vary the AVO, you will need to complete an ‘Application to Vary or Revoke Apprehended Violence Order’ form. The form is not available online. You will need to visit your local court and ask the registry staff to help you fill out and file the form.  The registry staff will give you a date to come back to court.

If the protected person or applicant objects to the application, you and the protected person or applicant may be ordered to prepare written statements explaining why the AVO should or shouldn't be varied. The application will then be listed for a hearing where you, the protected person or applicant and any witnesses will be able to give oral evidence.

For the AVO to be varied, you need to show the court that there has been a change in circumstances. For example, you and the protected person may have reconciled and want to start living together again, which might mean you need to have an order restricting contact removed from the AVO. It is possible to still have an AVO in place and live with the protected person, as long as the orders made in the AVO allow this.

If the protected person wants to vary the AVO

The protected person and the applicant can also apply to vary the terms of an AVO. If the protected person or the applicant apply to vary the AVO you will be notified of the application.

If you want to object to the application you and the protected person or applicant may be ordered to prepare written statements explaining why the AVO should or shouldn't be varied. The application will then be listed for a hearing where you, the protected person or applicant and any witnesses will be able to give oral evidence.

If you are concerned about the application to vary an AVO, you should get legal advice. 

Applying to extend, revoke or vary a Provisional AVO

A Provisional AVO is an urgent AVO application which is applied for by the police.  The order can be made by a court or by a senior police officer.

Only the police can apply to vary a Provisional AVO where the AVO was made by t​he court.

A defendant can make an application to vary a Provisional AVO made by a senior police officer.​

If you make an application to vary or revoke a Provisional AVO you must serve it on the Local Area Command (LAC) of the police who applied for the AVO. The contact details of the LAC will be on the Provisional AVO served on you by police.

A police issued Provisional AVO is valid for 28 days or until the first court date, whichever comes first. If you are the defendant, you can apply to the court to vary or revoke the AVO before the court date listed on the Provisional AVO.

If you make an application to vary or revoke a police issued Provisional AVO the application must be made at the same court where the AVO is listed (this will appear on the original paperwork the police p​rovided when they served you with the AVO).​