Family Violence & AVOs

An Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) is an order made by a Local Court, for the protection of a person (known as the “Person In Need of Protection” or “PINOP” or otherwise “the protected person”), from the behaviour or conduct of another (the “defendant”). The main purpose of an AVO is to protect the PINOP from future harassment, intimidation, stalking or violence. All AVOs must contain conditions that the defendant cannot assault, molest, harass, threaten, stalk, or intimidate the protected person. Additional conditions can also be imposed on a case to case basis.

Domestic violence can often be a relevant factor in family law proceedings and its relevance is not always isolated to parenting matters or child custody disputes. Domestic violence allegations and AVOs often go hand in hand. It is important to understand what role domestic violence plays in family law proceedings and also, the meaning and effect of an AVO and how the existence of an AVO may or may not affect family law proceedings, particularly in relation to parenting matters or child custody disputes.

Notwithstanding that domestic violence allegations or Apprehended Violence Orders in family law proceedings can play a role, despite popular opinion and practice, obtaining an AVO does not automatically mean the “upper hand” in proceedings. AVOs are there to protect individuals from probable harassment or violence and should not be used only as a weapon in family law proceedings.

Prime Lawyers have represented hundreds of clients in AVO matters and successfully defended false allegations on numerous occasions. AVO matters are dealt with in the Local Court and are not family law proceedings. Typically, it is lawyers with experience in criminal law that represent those defending AVOs in the Local Court. Therefore, any client that is represented by one of our Family Lawyers in parenting matters that is also facing an AVO Application in the Local Court has the benefit of being able to rely on the specific expertise of our Criminal Lawyers.

Of course, there are unfortunately many legitimate cases where domestic violence is a real issue in a relationship and/or relevant to the breakdown of the relationship. Great care needs to be taken when dealing with matters where domestic violence becomes a factor in the proceedings, whether representing the party accused of violence or representing the party that has been the victim of domestic violence. Our family lawyers Sydney and NSW have experience representing both victims and those accused of violence in family law proceedings and we can certainly assist you.