AVO in NSW: ADVO and APVO Explained

In New South Wales an AVO, or apprehended violence order, splits into two separate order types: an ADVO for people in a domestic relationship, and an APVO for everyone else, both created under the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007.

If you are in immediate danger, call 000. For confidential domestic, family or sexual violence counselling and support, contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, available 24 hours a day.

What NSW Calls It, and the Act Behind It

AVO is used across Australia as a generic search term for any protection order, but it is specifically NSW terminology. Every other state and territory uses its own name for the equivalent order; see the AVO and protection orders overview for the full national comparison. In NSW, both order types sit inside one statute, the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 No 80, rather than two separate Acts as some other states use.

ADVO vs APVO: The Domestic Relationship Split

An Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) applies under Part 4 of the Act where the parties have, or had, a domestic relationship, defined in section 5. That definition is broad: a current or former spouse or de facto partner, a current or former intimate personal relationship regardless of its sexual nature, people who live or have lived in the same household, paid or unpaid carer and dependant relationships (subject to a carve-out in section 5A), relatives, and, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, extended family or kinship relationships recognised under that person's culture. Section 5(2) extends the definition further: two people who each have a domestic relationship with the same third person are treated as having a domestic relationship with each other, such as an ex-partner and a current partner of the same person.

An Apprehended Personal Violence Order (APVO) applies under Part 5 where no domestic relationship exists. Section 18(2) makes this automatic rather than a choice: if any protected person has, or had, a domestic relationship with the defendant, the application is treated as an ADVO application. APVO is specifically the leftover, non-domestic category.

Who Can Apply, and When Police Must Act

Any person can apply privately, self-represented or through a solicitor, at a Local Court registrar. Section 49 also imposes a mandatory application requirement on police: an investigating officer who suspects or believes a domestic violence offence, or a stalking or intimidation offence under section 13, has recently occurred, is occurring, is imminent, or is likely, must make the application, unless an AVO is already in force for that person, or the protected person is 16 or older and either intends to apply themselves or the officer has a documented good reason not to apply. Section 49(6) is a deliberate policy choice: a protected person's own reluctance to apply is not, by itself, a good reason for police to skip the mandatory application if the officer reasonably believes there has been violence or a significant threat of violence, or the person has an intellectual disability with no guardian.

For an ADVO, the court must be satisfied on the balance of probabilities under section 16(1) that the applicant has reasonable grounds to fear, and in fact fears, a domestic violence offence, or intimidation or stalking. Section 16(2) removes the subjective fear requirement in specific situations, including where the protected person is a child, has an intellectual disability affecting general functioning, or has already suffered repeat personal violence offences with a reasonable likelihood of recurrence; an order made only on that last, no fear needed basis cannot carry prohibitions beyond the Act's default set under section 36. An APVO under section 19(1) mirrors this test but for a personal violence offence rather than a domestic violence offence, and generally does still require the applicant to show they in fact fear the conduct.

Making a knowingly false or misleading statement to obtain an APVO is itself an offence under section 49A, carrying up to 12 months imprisonment or 10 penalty units, about $1,100, or both, a deliberate deterrent against misuse of the process.

Interim Protection Before a Final Hearing

NSW courts can also make provisional and interim AVOs to protect a person in the period before a final hearing takes place, so protection is not delayed until the matter is fully determined.

Duration and Ending an Order

If the court does not specify a period, an ADVO defaults to 2 years under section 79A, or 1 year if the defendant was under 18 when the application was first made. This replaced an earlier flat 12 month default following amendments in 2018 and 2019, so older secondary sources describing a 12 month default for all AVOs are now out of date for ADVOs specifically. An APVO retains the older 12 month default under section 79 where no period is stated. Section 79B allows a court to make an ADVO indefinite where the applicant sought it, the defendant was 18 or older at the time of application, and the court is satisfied there is a significant and ongoing risk of death or serious physical or psychological harm that a time limited order could not adequately mitigate. Either party can apply under section 73 to vary or revoke an existing order.

Breach: Penalties Under Section 14

Section 14 of the Act applies the same base offence to both ADVOs and APVOs, with two aggravated tiers that apply to ADVOs specifically:

• Base offence, section 14(1), knowingly contravening a prohibition or restriction in any AVO: up to 2 years imprisonment or 50 penalty units, or both. At the current $110 per unit rate, that is about $5,500.

• ADVO breach with intent to cause the protected person physical or mental harm, or fear for their safety, section 14(1A): up to 3 years imprisonment or 100 penalty units, or both, about $11,000.

• Pattern of repeat ADVO breaches, section 14(1C), where the person has also knowingly contravened the same or a related ADVO on at least 2 other occasions within the preceding 28 days, and a reasonable person would consider the pattern likely to cause harm or fear: up to 5 years imprisonment or 150 penalty units, or both, about $16,500.

The $110 per unit figure comes from the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, section 17, which defines a penalty unit as an amount of money equal to $110 multiplied by the stated number of units. Fines under section 14 are alternative to, or in addition to, imprisonment, not a substitute for it.

Firearms and Weapons Consequences

NSW takes an automatic approach. Under section 23 of the Firearms Act 1996, a firearms licence is automatically suspended on the making of an interim AVO, remaining suspended until the order is confirmed or revoked. Under section 24, a licence is automatically revoked once the person becomes subject to an AVO, a firearms prohibition order, or a serious domestic abuse prevention order. The Weapons Prohibition Act 1998 provides a parallel suspension and revocation mechanism for weapons permits, described in the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act's own explanatory notes as sections 17 and 18. On suspension or revocation, the relevant firearms or weapons must be surrendered to police and may be seized. See firearms licensing in NSW and the general firearms licence framework across Australia for how this fits into the wider licensing system.

Responding to an AVO

A person served with an AVO can consent to the order without admitting the allegations, oppose it and have the matter decided at a defended hearing, or apply later under section 73 to vary or revoke an order that is already in force. Contesting an AVO does not, on its own, resolve any related family law or criminal proceedings arising from the same conduct; each runs on its own track.

Interstate Recognition Under the National Scheme

An ADVO made from 25 November 2017 onward is automatically enforceable everywhere in Australia under the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme. An order made before that date is not automatically covered, but can be declared nationally recognised by applying to any local court in Australia, not necessarily one in the state where it was made. NSW's own Act, at section 98ZI, also recognises a disqualification carried by a recognised interstate DVO: if that disqualification would prevent someone holding a firearms licence in the state that made the order, it also disqualifies them from holding a NSW licence, and the NSW Police Commissioner must revoke or refuse the licence accordingly.

An APVO is a personal, non-domestic order and sits outside this automatic scheme. It generally needs to be separately registered in the other state or territory before it can be enforced there. National recognition of a domestic violence order's existence also does not mean its conditions are standardised; the same order type can carry different conditions in different states.

Recording as Evidence

A recording made during an incident, or of a threat, can matter in an AVO application or hearing. Whether making that recording was itself lawful depends on NSW's own surveillance devices consent law, separate from the AVO framework; see Australia's recording laws by state before relying on a recording as evidence.

Related NSW and Family Law Resources

An ADVO can intersect with parenting arrangements after separation; see parenting orders in Australia and how the family court process works. Where the parties are or were in a de facto relationship, see de facto relationships in Australia. A protected person may also have grounds to end a residential tenancy early because of family violence; see breaking a lease in Australia.

This article provides general legal information about apprehended violence orders in New South Wales, current as of August 2026. It does not address every procedural detail of an individual case. For advice on a specific situation, consult a legal practitioner admitted in New South Wales, or contact the NSW Domestic Violence Line or a community legal centre.