Key points
- An AVO (apprehended violence order) is a New South Wales court order that protects a person from violence, intimidation, harassment and stalking. It is not a criminal charge and does not appear in a criminal record check. Breaching it is a crime.
- There are two kinds: an ADVO (domestic: partners, former partners, relatives, people who live or lived together, carers, and kin) and an APVO (anyone else, such as a neighbour or co-worker). An ADVO applies across Australia.
- Every AVO carries three mandatory orders: do not assault or threaten; do not stalk, harass or intimidate; do not damage property or harm animals. These alone do not stop contact or living together. Additional orders can, such as no contact or not going to the protected person's home.
- If you are served, go to court on the first date (the mention). You can ask for time to get advice, consent with or without admissions, or oppose it, in which case the court sets a hearing and may make an interim order meanwhile.
- A final ADVO lasts as long as the court orders, or 2 years if it sets no period; an APVO 12 months. An ADVO can be indefinite only in strict circumstances.
- Breaching an AVO carries up to 2 years' jail and/or a $5,500 fine, up to 3 years if done to cause harm or fear, and up to 5 years for three or more breaches within 28 days.
- An interim AVO suspends a firearms licence; a final AVO revokes it.
- In danger now: call 000. NSW Domestic Violence Line 1800 65 64 63 and 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732, both 24 hours. For a lawyer, call 1800 577 015 at any hour: free general legal information, and a 60-minute consultation for a fixed $295.
In New South Wales, an apprehended violence order (AVO) is a court order, not a criminal conviction, but knowingly breaching it is a criminal offence carrying up to two years' imprisonment and a fine of 50 penalty units ($5,500), rising to five years for three or more breaches within 28 days.
Checked on 22 October 2026 against the Local Court of NSW and Legal Aid NSW, and, for the other states, against each state's own legislation and legal aid commission. A NSW penalty unit is $110.
What an AVO is
An AVO is made by the Local Court (or the Children's Court, if the defendant is under 18). The person it protects is the protected person, sometimes called the person in need of protection; the person it is made against is the defendant. The police can apply for the protected person, and must do so if that person is under 16; otherwise a person can apply to the Local Court themselves.
- Apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO): protects a person from someone they are or were married to or in a de facto or intimate relationship with, a relative, someone they live or lived with, a carer, or, for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, extended family or kin. It also covers a person's current partner and their former partner. An ADVO operates nationally.
- Apprehended personal violence order (APVO): protects a person from someone they have never been in a domestic relationship with, such as a neighbour, a co-worker, a customer, a former friend or a school bully. If the protected person moves interstate, they can register the APVO there.
Provisional, interim and final orders
- Provisional AVO: applied for by police and granted by a court or senior police officer, often by phone, when someone needs immediate protection. It lasts until the court makes an interim or final order, it is revoked, or the application is withdrawn or dismissed, and it becomes an interim AVO at the first mention unless the court decides otherwise.
- Interim AVO: temporary protection the court makes until the case is decided. The court must make one if the defendant has been charged with a serious offence such as a domestic violence offence, stalking or intimidation, wounding or sexual assault. An interim AVO has the same effect as a final AVO.
- Final AVO: made by consent or after a hearing. The court makes a final ADVO or APVO if it is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the protected person fears, and has reasonable grounds to fear, a personal or domestic violence offence, intimidation or stalking. A final AVO starts when the court makes it, or when it is served if the defendant was not in court.
What the orders say
The three mandatory orders in every AVO forbid the defendant, towards the protected person and anyone they have a domestic relationship with, to:
- assault or threaten them;
- stalk, harass or intimidate them; and
- intentionally or recklessly destroy or damage their property or harm their animals.
These only forbid things that are already against the law. They do not stop contact or living together. The court can add additional orders where they are needed for safety, for example: no approaching or contacting the protected person except through a lawyer; not going to their school, childcare or another listed place; not being with them within 12 hours of drinking alcohol or taking illicit drugs; not trying to find them; orders about where you cannot live or go (an exclusion order); and orders about weapons.
If you have been served with an AVO application
- Read it and obey any provisional or interim order now. If you have lost your copy, the registry will give you one: Court Service Centre 1300 679 272.
- Go to court on the first date (the mention). The court asks whether the applicant still wants the AVO and how you respond.
- Your options include asking for an adjournment to get legal advice, giving an undertaking, consenting to the AVO with or without admitting the allegations, opposing it, making a cross application if you fear the other person, and asking for a property recovery order.
- If you consent, the court will usually make the order that day.
- If you oppose it, the court adjourns, sets a timetable for written statements and lists a hearing. It may make an interim order that you must obey until the hearing.
- If you are also charged with an offence, you will deal with the charge and the AVO application in court, and bail may apply.
How long an AVO lasts
| Order | How long |
|---|---|
| Final ADVO | The period the court sets; 2 years if it sets none. If the defendant is jailed for a serious offence, the court can order that it runs for the jail term and 2 years after |
| Indefinite ADVO (since 28 March 2020) | Only if asked for, the defendant was 18 or older when the application was made, and there is a significant and ongoing risk of death or serious physical or psychological harm that a time-limited order cannot reduce |
| Final APVO | The period the court sets; 12 months if it sets none |
| Interim or provisional AVO | Until the final decision, or until it is revoked, withdrawn or dismissed |
Breaching an AVO in NSW
You breach an AVO if you knowingly do, or attempt to do, something it forbids. You cannot be convicted if you were not served with the AVO and were not in court when it was made. The protected person contacting you, or inviting you, is not a defence if the AVO forbids contact. Police can arrest and charge you with the breach and with any other offence, such as assault.
| Breach | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|
| Knowingly breaching an AVO | 50 penalty units ($5,500) and/or 2 years' imprisonment |
| Knowingly breaching an ADVO intending to harm the protected person or make them fear for their safety | 100 penalty units ($11,000) and/or 3 years |
| Knowingly breaching three or more times within 28 days, in a way a reasonable person would think likely to cause harm or fear | 150 penalty units ($16,500) and/or 5 years |
Legal Aid NSW says a breach involving violence is treated as serious and there is a strong chance of prison on conviction, and the AVO may be varied to add stricter conditions or last longer. A conviction for a breach goes on your criminal record and appears in a Working with Children Check.
Other consequences
- Criminal record: a final AVO does not appear in a criminal record check or your criminal history; police keep a record of it.
- Firearms: an interim AVO automatically suspends your firearms licence; a final AVO automatically revokes it, and you must surrender your firearms and licence at once. After a final AVO for a set period you wait 10 years to apply again; during an indefinite AVO you cannot apply.
- Security licence: it may be cancelled, or an application refused, if the Commissioner of Police considers you not a fit and proper person.
- Working with Children Check: usually an AVO will not stop you being cleared, but it can be considered.
- Housing: an exclusion order means you must live elsewhere, and the protected person can change the locks.
Protection orders in every state and territory
| State or territory | The order | Maximum penalty for a breach |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Apprehended domestic or personal violence order (ADVO, APVO) | 50 penalty units ($5,500) and/or 2 years; 3 years if intended to harm or cause fear; 5 years for three or more breaches in 28 days |
| Victoria | Family violence intervention order (FVIO) | 2 years or 240 penalty units, or both (Family Violence Protection Act 2008, s 123); 5 years or 600 penalty units if intended to cause harm or fear, or for persistent breaches (ss 123A, 125A) |
| Queensland | Domestic violence order (DVO) | 120 penalty units ($20,724) or 3 years; 240 penalty units ($41,448) or 5 years with a domestic violence conviction in the previous 5 years (Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012, s 177) |
| Western Australia | Family violence or violence restraining order (FVRO, VRO); misconduct restraining order (MRO) | $10,000 or 2 years, or both; $1,000 for an MRO (Restraining Orders Act 1997, s 61) |
| South Australia | Intervention order | 3 years (5 if a child is likely to be exposed); 7 years (10 if a child is likely to be exposed) for a repeat breach within 5 years or one involving violence or threats (Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009, s 31) |
| Tasmania | Family violence order (FVO), police family violence order (PFVO) | First offence 20 penalty units or 12 months; second 30 penalty units or 18 months; third 40 penalty units or 2 years; fourth or later 5 years (Family Violence Act 2004, s 35) |
| Australian Capital Territory | Family violence order (FVO) | 500 penalty units, 5 years, or both (Family Violence Act 2016, s 43) |
| Northern Territory | Domestic violence order (DVO) | 2 years; 3 years for a repeat breach or three or more breaches within 28 days; 5 years where the breach involved harm or a threat of harm, with actual imprisonment mandatory in the more serious cases (Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007, ss 120 to 122) |
A domestic violence order made in any state or territory is recognised and enforceable across Australia. Penalty unit values differ between states and change each year; the dollar figures shown are for NSW ($110) and Queensland ($172.70 from 1 July 2026).
What to do now
- If you are in danger, call 000.
- If you have been served, obey every order in the document from now on, whoever makes contact, and keep the paperwork with the court date.
- Decide with advice whether to consent or oppose before the mention; consenting without admissions is different from admitting the allegations.
- For free legal information, call LawAccess NSW on 1300 888 529 (9am to 5pm Monday to Friday). Legal Aid NSW duty lawyers are at every Local Court, and Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services support women applying for an AVO.
- For a lawyer of your own, call 1800 577 015 at any hour, or request a $295 consultation.
How Go To Court Lawyers can help
Our free line, 1800 577 015, answers at any hour. Jen, our AI legal information assistant, gives general legal information and takes your details; Jen is not a lawyer and does not give advice about your case. If you want advice, a 60-minute consultation with a lawyer who practises in your state is a fixed $295, by phone, video or in person. The lawyer can explain the orders sought, advise whether to consent or oppose, negotiate the conditions, prepare your statements, and appear at the hearing or on a breach charge. Requests are taken at any hour; how soon a lawyer can see you depends on who is available.
General information only, not legal advice. Updated 22 October 2026. Checked against the Local Court of NSW ("Apprehended Violence Orders", last updated 29 March 2026), Legal Aid NSW's AVO pages, the Victorian Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (version 070), the Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012, the WA Restraining Orders Act 1997, the SA Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009 (version of 1 July 2026), the Tasmanian Family Violence Act 2004, the ACT Family Violence Act 2016 (republication 17) and Legal Aid WA on 22 October 2026, and the NT Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007 on 12 October 2026.