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APPREHENDED VIOLENCE ORDERS (AVOS)
An Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) is an order from Court which offers a victim/complainant protection from another person (the defendant) in the case of actual or threatened violence.
There are 2 types of AVO, these being Domestic AVOs and Personal AVOs:
Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders are primarily made when there exists a domestic relationship between the victim and the defendant, such as when the parties are married or living in a de facto arrangement.
An Apprehended Personal Violence Order is made to protect an individual from another person where there is not a pre-existing domestic relationship.
The lawyers that we appoint are specialists in these types of matters and have defended hundreds of AVO allegations and associated domestic violence related charges. Their experience in matters we defend is that many allegations are exaggerated or completely false. There are two sides to every story and unfortunately police will quickly charge the defendant, and only later ask for their version of events. We strongly advise you to remain silent during any police process. If you have already made a statement, seek legal advice immediately.
An AVO will not go on your criminal record. However, if you later breach an AVO, this is a serious criminal offence. The penalties can be severe, with fines of $5,500 and up to 2 years in gaol. Once an order for an AVO has been made, the person who the order relates to is in a vulnerable position. This is because their former spouse or partner can later make allegations against them which will result in them being breached. Many AVO allegations are only made in the course of Family Court proceedings.
Indeed there are occasions where these allegations are designed to achieve a purpose in the Family Court rather than being a genuine AVO application. Our appointed lawyers will strongly fight these allegations and our clients are often vindicated.
An AVO can be imposed on you by the Court for as long as they deem necessary, although generally the orders do not cover a period of longer than 2 years.