An Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) is a Court Order affecting the person you have taken the Order against. The Order might prohibit certain behavior or restrict certain activities. The Order is made by the court that prohibits the defendant from certain behavior, such as harassment, stalking, intimidation, violence or the threat of violence. The purpose of an AVO is to provide protection from this behavior in the future, it usually states that a person cease the behavior or must not go within a certain distance of the home or workplace of the person lodging the complaint. It may also prohibit the person from contacting you directly or through a third party. Other conditions may also be included.

The Court can make an AVO if a defendant consents to an AVO being made, or if evidence is heard proving that a person in need of protection fears violence or harassment by the defendant. The magistrate also has to be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for these fears in order to make an AVO.

There are two types of Apprehended Violence Orders:

• personal safety intervention orders and
• family violence intervention orders.

A personal safety intervention order is a court order that protects a person from physical or mental harm caused by a person who is not a family member.

You can get an order to protect yourself, your children, property or people supporting you from the following behavior:

• assault and sexual assault,
• harassment,
• stalking,
• making a serious threat or
• property damage or interference.

In most cases these behaviors have to happen more than once to get an intervention order. They must also be deliberate. The person must know (or should have known) that their behavior would be likely to cause harm, apprehension or fear.

A family violence intervention order is a court order that protects a person from a family member who is using family violence. An order can also protect children, property or people supporting the protected person.

A protected person is someone protected by an intervention order. It can also be a person protected by a family violence safety notice.

An Apprehended Violence Order can be initiated in the form of a complaint by either the protected person or by a police officer acting on behalf of the protected person.

Any person over the age of 16 can make a complaint for an Apprehended Violence Order by registering their complaint at the Magistrates Court.

If a child is not part of an affected family member’s (the person who needs protecting) application:

• a parent or guardian can apply for an intervention order if the child is under 18 or
• the child can apply for an intervention order if they are 14 or older and the court agrees.

In these cases the matter is usually heard in the Children’s Court.

In certain cases, the police are obliged to apply for an Apprehended Violence Order. Circumstances for police application for apprehended violence orders include:

• family violence situations,
• stalking/intimidation or
• child abuse.

This police obligation applies unless the person is at least 16 years of age and either the protected person intends to make a private complaint for an Apprehended Violence Order or the police believe there is a sufficient reason not to make the complaint.

Children who are exposed to family violence are particularly vulnerable. Family violence can have a serious impact on a child’s physical, psychological and emotional well-being.

If you are applying for an intervention order, you will be asked if you believe that your safety or the safety of your children is threatened by the respondent (the person the application is against). If you fear for your children’s safety, you can include them in your application.

You can also ask the magistrate to change (vary) or suspend a parenting order. You can ask the magistrate to stop the children:

• living with the respondent,
• spending time with the respondent or
• communicating with the respondent.

If a child is not part of an affected family member’s (the person who needs protecting) application:

• a parent or guardian can apply for an intervention order if the child is under 18 or
• the child can apply for an intervention order if they are 14 or older and the court agrees.

In these cases, the matter is usually heard in the Children’s Court.

A magistrate must consider if there are any children who have seen or heard the family violence. Therefore, the magistrate will ask the affected family member or respondent if they have any children and how the family violence has affected them.

A magistrate can decide to include a child on the final order, even if the applicant did not name them in the application. The child’s safety is the most important consideration.

If the magistrate decides that the child support applications need to be protected, the intervention order may say that the respondent can have no contact with the child.

An Apprehended Violence Order can exclude the defendant from premises, even if the defendant has an interest in the premises.

Each family Apprehended Violence Order has conditions to stop the respondent (the person the application or order is against) from using family violence. Conditions are rules that restrict the respondent’s behavior.

There are conditions listed on the application form for an Apprehended Violence Order. They include stopping the respondent from:

• committing family violence against the protected person,
• damaging the protected person’s property or threatening to do so,
• following the protected person or keeping them under surveillance,
• publishing on the internet or by email or other electronic communication any material relating to the protected person or pretending it comes from the protected person,
• approaching or remaining within a certain distance of the protected person,
• going near the protected person’s home or work or
• causing another person to behave in a way that is covered by the order.

The applicant (person applying for an intervention order) can also ask the magistrate to order the respondent to:

• return the personal property of the protected person or a family member,
• return jointly owned property that allows the protected person’s everyday life to continue with little disruption,
• hand in any firearms or weapons to police or
• suspend or cancel any firearms authority, weapons approval or weapons exemption.

The applicant can choose as many conditions as they like from the list. The applicant can also talk to the court registrar if they want to:

• include any other conditions that will make the affected family member feel safe or 
• apply the conditions to a respondent’s associate (a person the respondent can influence to act for them).

If necessary, the conditions of an Apprehended Violence Order can be tailored to cater for situations where the parties wish to maintain contact.

You have the right to be safe and so do your children. If you fear ongoing violence or intimidation you should contact the police immediately.

Protection issues are just as important as the right of children to spend time with both parents and sometimes those objectives are in conflict.

The court may issue an Apprehended Violence Order if it feels that there is a likelihood of, or that the person lodging the complaint has reasonable grounds to fear:

• the person receiving the order has a high propensity for violence or
• harassment, stalking or intimidation.

If for any reason, you fear for your own safety or the safety of your children, the lawyers at Mathews Family Law & Mediation Specialists Melbourne can help you to find protection from family violence. You should discuss them with us at the earliest opportunity so we can identify with you what steps need to be taken for protection or what impact the incidents will have on parenting and property matters. We can advise on the forms of Apprehended Violence Orders available and help you obtain an order appropriate to your circumstances and adequate for your protection. We can also advise on the effect of an AVO on post-separation parenting.

Mathews Family Law is a leading family law firm in Australia. Please contact us on 1300 635 529 to speak with our family and divorce lawyers today. You can also send your inquiry online now and we will contact you shortly.

It is a criminal offense to knowingly breach an interim or final Apprehended Violence Order. The maximum penalty on conviction is a $5,500 fine or two years imprisonment or both. Where the breach itself is an act of violence and the defendant is at least 18 years of age, the defendant will likely be sentenced to a gaol term.    

Mathews Family Law & Mediation Specialists offers specialist intervention order advice.
For a free  telephone consultation with a family law specialist:
http://interventionordermelbourne.com.au/

A defendant may object to an Apprehended Violence Order, in which case, the matter will be adjourned for trial at a later date. It is common that an interim Apprehended Violence Order will be issued until the trial.

You can object to an Apprehended Violence Order being made against you and have the matter adjourned for trial at a later date. Under these circumstances, an interim AVO will be issued until the trial date.

Whilst many apprehended violence applications are warranted some are not. If you have been served with an application that you consider to be unwarranted you should ask for a conference. Applications without proper basis can be dismissed by the Court at the hearing.

An application may be made to the Court to either change the conditions of or remove the Apprehended Violence Order. This application may be made by the protected person, the defendant, a police officer or a person acting on behalf of the protected person.