How Long Does an AVO Last in NSW?

How long does an AVO last in NSW?

It depends on the type of order. A final apprehended domestic violence order runs for the period the court specifies, defaulting to two years if none is specified, or one year if you were under 18 when the application was first made. A final apprehended personal violence order defaults to 12 months, while provisional and interim orders have no fixed end date and continue until the court deals with the matter.

Those defaults sit in sections 79 and 79A of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW). Duration is only one part of the picture, though: the conditions attached to an order, and what happens if you breach them, matter just as much.

What Is an AVO in New South Wales?

An apprehended violence order is a court order made under the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) that restricts what one person, called the defendant, can do in relation to another person, called the protected person. AVOs fall within the special jurisdiction of the Local Court of NSW.

An AVO is a civil order, not a criminal charge. It does not give you a criminal conviction. Breaching it, however, is a criminal offence and is dealt with separately. There are two types of final order:

• Apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO): made where the parties are, or have been, in a domestic relationship. This includes partners, former partners, relatives, and people living in the same household. It also includes two people: if they have been married to, been in a de-facto relationship or an intimate relationship with the same person. The Local Court notes an ADVO operates nationally, so you must comply with it across Australia. These often arise alongside a criminal allegation, which our domestic violence lawyers deal with together.
• Apprehended personal violence order (APVO): made where the parties are not in a domestic relationship. This covers neighbours, colleagues, and acquaintances.

The distinction matters for duration, because the two order types have different default periods and different rules.

How Long Does Each Type of AVO Last?

All references are to the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW).

Provisional Orders

A provisional order is made by a senior police officer or an authorised officer, usually at or shortly after an incident, when police believe an order is needed immediately. It does not run for a set number of days. Under section 29, it operates as an application to the court and must direct the defendant to appear on a specified date, being the next available date on a domestic violence list and in any case no more than 28 days after the order is made.

That 28 days is a deadline for listing the matter, not an expiry date. The order does not lapse on day 29. Section 32 sets out what the court may do on the first return date, and if it does none of these things, the provisional order automatically becomes an interim court order on the same terms:

• dismiss the application
• revoke the provisional order
• make an interim court order or a final AVO, in the same terms or with variations

Interim Court Orders

An interim court order is made by a court while the application is still being decided, commonly when a matter is adjourned for a contested hearing. Under section 22(6), it has the same effect as a final AVO while in force, so the conditions bind you identically and breaching one is just as serious.

Section 24 provides that an interim court order remains in force until the first of these occurs:

• a final AVO is made and takes effect
• the application is withdrawn or dismissed
• the order is revoked

There is no maximum period. An interim order lasts as long as the proceedings do, which can mean many months if a matter is adjourned several times.

Final Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders

Section 79A(1) provides that an ADVO remains in force for the period specified by the court, or the default period if the court does not specify one.

Section 79A(6) defines the default period as:

• 1 year after the date the order is made, if the defendant was under 18 when the application was first made
• 2 years after the date the order is made, in any other case

The two-year default is where the common belief that “an AVO lasts two years” comes from. It is a fallback, not a rule. The court can order longer or shorter.

Section 79A(2) requires the specified period to be as long as is necessary, in the court’s opinion, to ensure the safety and protection of the protected person. Section 79A(3) lists what the court must consider:

• the circumstances of the protected person and that person’s views
• the circumstances of the defendant, and if the defendant was under 18 when the application was first made, the impact of an order running longer than the default period
• any material the court relied on under sections 16 and 17 in deciding to make the order
• any other matter the court considers relevant

Final Apprehended Personal Violence Orders

Section 79 governs APVOs. The structure is similar but the default is different.

The court specifies a period as long as is necessary to ensure the safety and protection of the protected person. If the court fails to specify a period, section 79(3) provides that the order remains in force for 12 months from the date it is made.

Indefinite ADVOs

Section 79B allows a court to make an ADVO of indefinite duration. This is not available for APVOs.

The court must be satisfied of all four of the following:

• the applicant has sought an indefinite order
• the defendant was 18 or older when the application was first made
• there are circumstances giving rise to a significant and ongoing risk of death or serious physical or psychological harm to the protected person or their dependants
• that risk cannot be adequately mitigated by an order of limited duration

Under section 79B(2), in assessing that risk the court must have regard to any prior conviction of the defendant for a domestic violence offence, the defendant’s conduct relevant to the risk of death or serious harm such as assaults, stalking, threats to kill or use of weapons, and the nature, number and timing of those incidents.

An indefinite order remains in force until varied, revoked or set aside on appeal. Section 79B(4) is important: a person subject to an indefinite order can only apply to vary or revoke it with the leave of the court. Under section 79B(5), leave is granted only if there has been a significant change in circumstances since the order was made or last varied, or it is otherwise in the interests of justice.

When Does an AVO Start Running?

An AVO does not bind you until you know about it, which in practical terms usually means service. The duration periods in sections 79 and 79A run from the date the order is made, not the date it is served.

Service of an AVO including an application needs to be served personally on the defendant (Rule 5.6 Local Court Rules 5.6). However, your legal practitioner can accept service if you have instructed them to accept service (Rule 5.6A Local Court Rules). This service can be in any manner agreed to by the parties or any manner permitted by the Rules. If you agree for the legal practitioner to accept service and the document is served on the legal practitioner, personal service is effected.

If you are an inmate at a correctional centre, personal service may be effected by sending the document by fax, addressed to you to the correctional centre or by transmitting the document electronically, addressing the inmate to the correctional centre’s electronic service address.

Under section 32, where the court makes an interim or final order in place of a provisional order, the provisional order is revoked when the new order is made, or when it is served if further service is required. Section 14(2) provides that you cannot be convicted of contravening a court-made AVO unless you were served with a copy of the order or were present in court when it was made.

Can the Duration of an AVO Be Changed?

Yes. Section 73 allows a court to vary or revoke a final AVO or an interim court order. Either party can apply, and for a final AVO you can apply to any Local Court in NSW, not only the court that made the order.

A variation can extend or shorten the period, change the conditions, or add or remove protected persons. Revocation cancels the order entirely. Two timing rules matter:

• Under section 73(8), if an application to extend an order is made before the order expires, the order continues in force until the court deals with the application.
• Under section 73(7), a court can extend an order without notice to the defendant if the applicant lodged the application before the expiry date. Section 73(9) provides that an order extended this way ceases to have effect 21 days after the extending order is made, or earlier if specified, though further extensions can be made.
• An AVO cannot be revoked once it expires. If an AVO needs to be revoked and it is near the expiry date of the AVO, the AVO should first be extended.

If you are subject to an indefinite ADVO, the leave requirement in section 79B(4) applies and the threshold is higher. Our AVO defence service covers variation and revocation applications as well as defending the original order.

What Happens When an AVO Expires?

When the period specified in a final AVO ends, the order stops operating. The conditions no longer bind you, there is nothing further to comply with, and no formal cancellation step is needed. It simply ceases.

The protected person can apply to extend the order before it expires. If they do, section 73(8) keeps the order alive until the court decides the application. If they apply after expiry, they are applying for a new order, not extending the old one.

Does an AVO Give You a Criminal Record?

An AVO by itself is a civil order and is not a criminal conviction. The Local Court of NSW states plainly that AVOs do not give defendants a criminal record, though criminal charges may be laid if a person breaches one.

Breaching an AVO is different. Section 14 of the Act creates three separate contravention offences, each with its own maximum. A penalty unit is $110 under section 17 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), so the maximum fines below work out to $5,500, $11,000 and $16,500:

Section 14(4) is the provision that catches people out. Unless the court orders otherwise, a person convicted of any of these offences must be sentenced to a term of imprisonment if the act constituting the offence was an act of violence, and section 14(6) requires the court to give reasons if it decides not to. Where the same conduct is charged as an assault, you are facing an assault charge and a breach at once, and each is dealt with separately.

Section 14(2) also matters: you are not guilty of contravening a court-made AVO unless you were served with a copy or were present in court when it was made. Whether an AVO itself appears on a police check is a separate question that depends on the type of check and the purpose it is requested for.

What to Do if an Provisional AVO Has Been Made Against You or an application for an AVO has been made

The duration is only one issue. Before consenting to an order or letting a matter go undefended, consider:

• The conditions. These determine what you can and cannot do. They can affect where you live, whether you can see your children, and whether you can keep a firearms licence.
• The length. If the proposed period is longer than necessary, that is something a court can be asked to reconsider under section 79A(2).
• Consent without admissions. An AVO can be made with your consent without you admitting to the allegations. The Local Court expressly directs defendants to consider the period the application seeks, not just whether an order is made at all.
• Related charges. If you have also been charged with a criminal offence, the AVO and the charge are dealt with separately but they interact.

Frequently Asked Questions