Domestic Violence & AVO

Any person who has found themselves a victim of domestic violence or holds genuine fear that they could be subject to domestic violence in the future, is eligible to apply for an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) against their aggressor.

In some cases, the Police can also apply for an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) on the behalf of a domestic violence victim if they believe that person is still under the threat of domestic violence.

While there are many similarities between an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) and an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO), there are a few small differences.

The major difference being that an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) can only be filed against a person with whom the applicant has, or has previously had, a domestic relationship with.

This is in contrast to an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) that can be taken out against any person whom the applicant has not had a domestic relationship with – yet who is proven to be a threat to their safety.

An Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) cannot simply be taken out against a person without reasonable grounds. As the applicant, you must provide proof that the threat to your safety is genuine on the balance of probabilities.

This can be in the form of a Police report detailing a violent or threatening incident involving the other person, a Hospital or Medical report detailing injuries sustained at the hands of that person, as well as photographic or digital evidence of injury, damages, harassment or the intimidating behaviour of the person.

The conditions of an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) are designed to protect the applicant from the threat of violence at the hands of the person the order is taken out against.

This means that the conditions of the Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) will largely depend on the specifics of the relationship or circumstances between the two people, as well as the likelihood or severity of the threat to the applicant’s safety.

The most common conditions that typically form part of an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) application include:

The defendant must not do any of the following to <protected people>, or anyone <she/he/they> <has/have> a domestic relationship with:

A) assault or threaten <her/him/them>,
B) stalk, harass or intimidate <her/him/them>, and
C) deliberately or recklessly destroy or damage anything that belongs to <protected people>.

Additional orders can be sought depending on the circumstances, for example:

Restrictions put in place against the Defendant:

• No longer allowed to reside at the family home
• Not allowed to contact the protected person except through the use of a lawyer,
• Not allowed within a certain distance from the protected person/s residence, work or school.
• Not allowed to be in the company of protected person for at least 12 hours after taking alcohol or drugs.
• Not allowed to possess any firearms or prohibited weapons.
• Not allowed to try and locate the Protected Person.