Rules in apprehended violence orders

In this guide, we explain the different rules for an apprehended violence order (AVO).

Violence is when someone: 

• hurts you 
• scares you 
• controls you.

An AVO is a legal order to protect someone from being harmed by another person.

Someone can apply for an AVO if a person has: 

• used violence against them 
• scared or threatened them.

An AVO explains the rules a person must follow. 

These rules are called orders.

We explain the different types of orders below.

Mandatory orders are rules that must be in every AVO. 

They explain what someone must do if they get an AVO.

For example, they can’t hurt or threaten the person protected by an AVO.

The mandatory orders don’t stop someone from contacting or going near the person protected by an AVO.

Additional orders are other rules the court can include in an AVO to make it stronger.

But an AVO can’t include every additional order.

There are additional orders about:
 

• contacting the person

• family law and parenting

• where you can’t go

• weapons.

There is an order that says someone can only contact the person protected by an AVO through a lawyer. 

A lawyer is someone who knows and understands the law.

There is an order that says someone is not allowed to be near the person protected by an AVO. 

For example, they can’t go where the person works or studies.

There is an order that says someone can’t go near the person protected by an AVO for 12 hours after they have had drugs or alcohol.

There is an order that says someone is not allowed to try and find out where a person protected by an AVO is.

There is an order about how someone can contact the person protected by an AVO when they have children together.

For example, someone can only talk to the person protected by an AVO: 

• through a lawyer

• when the court asks them to work through problems with a counsellor.

A counsellor works with you to explore how you think and feel.

There is an order that says someone is not allowed to live in the same place as the person protected by an AVO.

There is an order that says someone is not allowed to go into places where the person protected by an AVO lives, works or studies.

There is an order that says someone must be a certain distance from the person protected by an AVO. 

For example, someone might have to stay 100 metres away from the person’s home.

Someone can apply for a Property Recovery Order if they need to collect their things from the house where the person protected by an AVO lives.

This will let someone with an AVO go to the house to collect their things without breaking the rules.

You can find out how to get a property recovery order on our website.
 

There is an order that says someone who gets an AVO is not allowed to have any weapons.

But there doesn’t need to be an order in the AVO for this rule. 

Anyone who gets an AVO is not allowed to have weapons.

Other pages for you: 

• Types of AVOs
• Get an AVO