Application for annulment

If you don’t go to court and your application for an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) is dismissed, you can apply to have the decision annulled (cancelled) within two years of the date that the order was made. 

Getting legal advice 

Before applying for an annulment, you should get legal advice about:

• whether you have a strong case
• the risk of costs
• how to write and present your application.

Preparing your application

You need a copy of the Local Court form:

• Application Notice to the Local Court – General

You can get a copy from:

• your nearest Local Court
• the Forms page on the Local Court website.

In your application, you must:

• explain why you didn’t go to court
• annex any documents or evidence that support your explanation, for example, doctors certificates, international airfare tickets, hospital records etc. 

Once you have completed your form you must:

• file it at any local court
• pay the filing fee. The current fee is $102.00 (as at 1 July 2022). 
  

Once the court has processed your application, you will get a date to go to court. This may be on the same day or on another day.

You can file an annulment application at any NSW local court, but your matter will be dealt with at the same court where your Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) application was dismissed.

The registrar of the local court will notify the defendant of your application. You don’t need to serve the defendant with a copy of your application for annulment. 

Going to court

When you go to court, you will need to explain:

• why you were not at court when the Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) was made
• why you want the AVO annulled.

The defendant may oppose your application. 

The decision

The court must annul the decisions to dismiss your Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) application if in your circumstances there is just cause for doing so.  

If the AVO is annulled the court will re-hear the application for an AVO, either immediately or at a later date. 

You must be ready to respond to the application for an AVO straight after the court grants you an annulment.  

If the court decides to re-hear the application for an AVO on another day, it will notify the police or the defendant of this date.