Served With an AVO in NSW? Your Options & The First Court Date

Transcript

A police officer has handed you papers, an apprehended violence order with your name on it, and a court date. These orders exist to keep people safe, and the court takes them seriously. So should you. Here is what you have actually been given, what your options are, and what happens on that first date. Three things before anything else. First, the order binds you from the moment you were served, not from the court date. Now, second, the order itself is civil. It is not a criminal charge and not a conviction, But breaching any condition is a criminal offense.

And third, the protected person cannot give you permission to break it. Even if they invite contact, the order stands until a court changes it. The first court date is called a mention at the local court. It is short and no witnesses are called. Know this. The magistrate can make an interim order that day whether or not you turn up, so not showing up helps nobody, least of all you. Turn up, or have a lawyer there for you. At the mention, you have three real choices. You can consent to the order without admissions, which means the order is made, but the court makes no finding that any of the allegations are true.

You can ask for an adjournment to get advice, which courts routinely allow once, Or you can contest it, and the matter is set down for a hearing where evidence is actually tested. Think carefully before consenting just to make it go away. A final order commonly runs for one to two years. Any firearms license is automatically suspended while an order is in force, and an order can echo into family law, your job, and any security clearance. Consenting is sometimes exactly the right call, but make it a decision, not a shrug.

Before the mention, read every condition on the order twice and follow them to the letter, especially about contact and where you can go. Do not message the protected person, not even to sort it out. Write down your side while it is fresh, and get advice before the date because the mention is where the whole case gets its shape. An order with your name on it is confronting, but it is a process, and the process is ruminant for your side to be heard properly. Walk in prepared.

If you want to talk it through before that first date, our hotline is free to call at any hour, and a consultation with a lawyer is a fixed price. The number is on your screen now.