Final Apprehended Violence Orders

This page has information about:

When the Court will make a Final Apprehended Violence Order

A court can make a Final Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) if:

• you don't go to court
• you consent (agree) to a final AVO
• the applicant is successful at a hearing. 
  

You don't go to court

If you have been served with the AVO documents but don't go to court on the date of the mention or hearing, the Court can make a Final AVO without you being there. This is referred to as making orders 'in your absence' or making an order 'ex-parte'.

If a Final AVO is made in your absence, it must be served on you to become enforceable. 

If an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) has been made against you, the police will serve you with a copy of the ADVO.

The police can detain you to serve you with an AVO. They can only detain you for as long as it is necessary to serve you, but no more than two hours.   

If a Final AVO is made in your absence, you have two years to apply to cancel (annul) this decision. If the AVO is annulled, the AVO will no longer apply and you will have to go to court again for another mention and possibly a hearing if the protected person still wants the AVO.

For more information about annulments, see After court. 

You consent (agree) to a Final Apprehended Violence Order 

You can consent (agree) to a Final AVO being made without admitting that you did anything wrong and without agreeing to the grounds for the application. This is called 'consenting without admissions'.

The fact that you don't admit to doing anything wrong will not affect the orders that are made. It will also not make any difference to the impact an AVO will have on you.

For more information, see Consequences of an Apprehended Violence Order.

The applicant is successful at a hearing

The applicant will be successful if they prove on the balance of probabilities (meaning that something is more likely than not to be true), that the protected person reasonably fears you will:

• physically hurt them
• harass, stalk or intimidate them
• damage their property.

The duration of a Final Apprehended Violence Order

The duration will be written on your Final Apprehended Violence Order (AVO). 

The length of time the Final AVO lasts depends on:

• the length of time the applicant or protected person asked for the AVO to last in the application
• the seriousness of the threat
• the protected person's fears
• past incidents.

If the Final AVO is about to expire and the protected person still fears you, they or the police can make an application to the Court for an extension of the final AVO.

If things have changed between you and the protected person, or the protected person no longer fears you, you could:

• apply to the Court to cancel (revoke) the final AVO
• apply to the Court to change (vary) the final AVO
• allow the AVO to expire.

If you want to vary or revoke an indefinite AVO, you must get leave (permission) from the court before making an application to vary or revoke an AVO. You should get legal advice.

For more information, see Varying (changing) or revoking (cancelling) an Apprehended Violence Order.

Consequences of an Apprehended Violence Order

If an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) is made against you it will be recorded on your criminal history, but it won’t be recorded on your criminal record and it won’t appear in a criminal record check. 

However, if you breach the AVO and are convicted of this offence, the offence will be listed on your criminal record. 

An Final AVO may also affect your:

• criminal history
  
• Family Law matter
  
• firearms licence
  
• security licence
  
• ability to work with children
  
• rental property. 
  

For more information, see Consequences of an Apprehended Violence Order. 

Consequences of breaching an Apprehended Violence Order

You should get a copy of the Final Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) from the court registry or it may be posted to you.

You should keep a copy of the Final AVO.

If you breach the AVO the police can arrest and charge you with the criminal offence of contravening the AVO (breaching the AVO).

If you breach the AVO while committing a crime, you could also be charged with other offences, such as assault or malicious damage. This will mean that you will have to go to court to answer the criminal charges.

If the Court convicts you of breaching an AVO, you can be fined and/or imprisoned. If the breach involves violence, it is considered a serious offence and there is a strong chance you will be sent to prison.

Any conviction will appear on your criminal record and a Working With Children Check.

For more information, see Consequences of Breaching an Apprehended Violence Order.