By James Stevens, Director and Solicitor, Go To Court Lawyers. Last reviewed 15 April 2026.
Key points
- Two kinds: an ADVO protects you from someone you are or were in a domestic relationship with; an APVO protects you from anyone else, such as a neighbour or co-worker.
- How long: as long as the court orders. If it does not say, an ADVO lasts 2 years and an APVO 12 months. Some ADVOs can last indefinitely.
- Interim orders protect you until the case is decided and have the same effect as a final order.
- An AVO is not a criminal conviction, but breaching one is a crime: up to 2 years' prison and a $5,500 fine, and more for repeated or intentional breaches.
- Firearms: an interim AVO suspends a firearms licence and a final AVO revokes it.
- An ADVO made after 25 November 2017 is enforceable anywhere in Australia.
- For advice on applying for, defending or changing an AVO, call 1800 577 015 at any hour: free general legal information, and a 60-minute consultation with a lawyer who practises in NSW for a fixed $295.
In NSW, an apprehended violence order (AVO) is a court order protecting a person from violence, intimidation and stalking: an ADVO covers someone in a domestic relationship and an APVO anyone else. A final AVO lasts as long as the court orders, or 2 years for an ADVO and 12 months for an APVO if no period is stated; an AVO is not a criminal conviction, but breaching one is an offence with a maximum of 2 years' imprisonment and a $5,500 fine.
Checked on 23 October 2026 against Legal Aid NSW's guide to apprehended violence orders.
If you are in danger now, call 000. The NSW Domestic Violence Line (1800 65 64 63) and 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) answer at any time.
What is an AVO?
An apprehended violence order (AVO) is the NSW name for what is often called a restraining order. It is a court order protecting a person (the protected person) from violence, intimidation (including harassment) and stalking by another person (the defendant). There are two kinds:
| Apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) | Apprehended personal violence order (APVO) | |
|---|---|---|
| Protects you from | Someone you are or were in a domestic relationship with: a current or former spouse, de facto or intimate partner, someone you live or lived with, a relative, a carer, or (for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) extended family or kin. It also covers your partner's former partner. | Anyone else you have reason to fear, such as a neighbour, co-worker, customer, former friend or school bully. |
| Who usually applies | The police. They must apply if a domestic violence offence has been, is being or will be committed against you. | You can apply yourself at your nearest Local Court registry if the police will not apply for you. |
| How long a final order lasts if the court does not say | 2 years (orders made on or after 28 March 2020) | 12 months |
| Recognised in other states | Yes, everywhere in Australia, if made after 25 November 2017 | Only where it was made or registered |
Only the police can apply for an AVO to protect a child under 16 (except in the Children's Court). Other states use other names for similar orders, such as intervention orders, family violence orders, domestic violence orders and violence restraining orders.
Provisional, interim and final AVOs
- Provisional AVO: applied for by police when someone needs protection straight away to ensure their safety or prevent substantial damage to property, and granted by a court or a senior police officer (sometimes by phone). It lasts until the court makes an interim or final order, or the application is withdrawn or dismissed, and at the first court date it automatically becomes an interim AVO unless the court decides otherwise.
- Interim AVO: a temporary order the court makes when protection is needed until the case is decided. It has the same effect as a final AVO. 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.
- Final AVO: made if the defendant consents (with or without admitting anything), does not come to court after being served, or loses at a hearing. At a hearing, the applicant must prove on the balance of probabilities that the protected person fears, on reasonable grounds, that the defendant will hurt, harass, stalk or intimidate them, or damage their property or harm their animals.
How long does an AVO last in NSW?
- The period is written on the order. The court decides it, considering the time asked for, how serious the threat is, the protected person's fears and past incidents.
- If no period is stated: an ADVO made on or after 28 March 2020 lasts 2 years (12 months for one made before that date); an APVO lasts 12 months.
- Prison: if the defendant is sentenced to full-time prison for a serious offence, the court can order that the ADVO stays in force during the sentence and for 2 years after release.
- Indefinite ADVOs: the court can make an ADVO with no end date if the protected person or police ask for it, the defendant was at least 18 when the application was made, there is a significant and ongoing risk of death or serious physical or psychological harm, and a time-limited order would not reduce that risk. The defendant needs the court's permission before applying to change or cancel one.
- Extending, changing or cancelling: if the protected person still fears the defendant when the order is about to end, they can ask the court (through the police) to extend it. Either side can apply to vary or revoke an order.
What an AVO says
Every AVO contains three mandatory orders: the defendant must not assault or threaten the protected person (or anyone they have a domestic relationship with), must not stalk, harass or intimidate them, and must not intentionally or recklessly damage their property or harm their animals. These orders do not stop contact, and the two people can still live together.
The court can add further orders where needed for safety, about contact (for example, no approaching or contacting the protected person except through a lawyer), family law and parenting, places the defendant must not go (including an exclusion order from a home), and weapons.
Breaching an AVO
| 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' imprisonment |
| Knowingly breaching three or more times within 28 days, where the behaviour is likely to harm or frighten the protected person | 150 penalty units ($16,500) and/or 5 years' imprisonment |
- One penalty unit is $110 in NSW. A breach involving violence is treated as serious, and there is a strong chance of prison on conviction. The court can also make the AVO stricter or longer.
- A conviction for breaching an AVO goes on your criminal record and can be seen in a Working with Children Check.
Consequences for the defendant
- Criminal record: an AVO is not a criminal conviction and does not appear in a criminal record check. A conviction for breaching it does.
- Firearms: an interim AVO automatically suspends a firearms licence and a final AVO automatically revokes it; you must hand in your firearms and licence. After a time-limited AVO, you must wait 10 years before applying for a new licence.
- Work: a security licence can be cancelled or refused. An AVO usually will not stop you being cleared to work with children, but it may be considered.
- Home: an exclusion order can require you to leave a shared home, and a final AVO with an exclusion order removes you from the lease.
- Costs: in a police application, the protected person cannot be ordered to pay costs. In a private ADVO application, costs can be ordered against the applicant only if the application was frivolous or vexatious; if an APVO application is dismissed, costs can also be ordered where the applicant withdrew it, did not come to court, or the case was invalid (for example, the wrong defendant was named). Get advice before applying privately.
For the steps in applying or responding, see applying for an AVO in NSW and ADVOs and children.
Free help in NSW
| Service | Number | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Police, ambulance or fire in an emergency | 000 | Any time |
| NSW Domestic Violence Line | 1800 65 64 63 | Any time, day or night |
| 1800RESPECT (national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling) | 1800 737 732 | 24 hours a day, 7 days a week |
| LawAccess NSW (Legal Aid NSW) | 1300 888 529 | 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday |
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. A 60-minute consultation with a lawyer who practises in New South Wales is a fixed $295, by phone, video or in person where the lawyer offers it. The lawyer can advise whether to apply, consent without admissions or defend an application, prepare you for a hearing, and help vary or revoke an order. Requests are taken at any hour; how soon a lawyer can see you depends on who is available. Request a $295 consultation.
General information only, not legal advice. Updated 23 October 2026. Checked against Legal Aid NSW's pages on types of AVOs, police and private AVO applications, costs in AVO cases, varying or revoking an AVO, interstate orders, breaching an AVO and the consequences for the defendant, with the penalty unit value from the Judicial Commission of NSW's Local Court Bench Book, on 23 October 2026. The NSW Police and NSW legislation websites could not be read that day.