Australia

Family and domestic violence orders in Australia

A plain-English national guide to family and domestic violence protection orders in Australia: what they are called in each state and territory, who can apply, how police orders work, what happens at court, and what a breach means.

Checked against official sources on 8 Nov 2026. General information, not legal advice. No lawyer or solicitor has reviewed this page.

If you are in danger right now, call 000.

For free, confidential support 24 hours a day, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

Overview

If you are in immediate danger, call the police on triple zero (000) now. For free, confidential counselling and referrals anywhere in Australia, you can contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, 24 hours a day. This page is general information about how the law works. It is not legal advice, and it cannot replace help from a lawyer or a specialist family violence service about your own situation.

A family or domestic violence order is a civil court order that limits what one person (usually called the respondent or defendant) can do towards another person (usually called the protected person, aggrieved or affected family member). It is not a criminal charge, and having an order made against you does not by itself give you a criminal record. But once an order is in force, breaking its conditions is a criminal offence in every Australian state and territory, and police can charge and arrest the person who breaks it.

Family violence law in Australia is state and territory law. There is no single national Act. That is why the order has a different name depending on where you live: an apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) in New South Wales, a family violence intervention order (FVIO) in Victoria, a domestic violence order (DVO) in Queensland and the Northern Territory, a family violence restraining order (FVRO) in Western Australia, an intervention order in South Australia, and a family violence order (FVO) in Tasmania and the ACT. The names differ, but the shape of the process is remarkably similar everywhere.

Under the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme, an order made in any state or territory on or after 25 November 2017 is automatically recognised and enforceable in every other. You do not have to register it when you move interstate, and an older order can be declared a recognised order by any local court in Australia. Police anywhere in Australia can enforce it. The state pages linked from this hub explain the local Act, the local court, the local police powers and the local support services in detail.

Common situations

My partner has hurt me and I want the police to keep them away from me
The police handed me a piece of paper at the house and told me I cannot go home tonight
I want an order to protect me and my children, but I do not want my ex charged with a crime
An order has been taken out against me and I do not agree with what it says
I have to go to court next week and I do not know what happens at a mention
My ex keeps texting and turning up even though there is an order in place
I want to change the conditions of my order so we can talk about the children
My order is about to expire and I still do not feel safe
I am moving interstate and want to know if my order still protects me
The order says no contact but the parenting orders say I have to hand the children over
I have a firearms licence and I have been served with an application
I am being controlled financially and by constant monitoring, not hit — does that count?

Federal legislationShow

Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)
Governs parenting and property matters after separation. It defines family violence (s 4AB). In parenting cases the court must consider what arrangements would promote the safety of the child and of each person who cares for the child, including any family violence order (s 60CC), and a party must tell the court about a family violence order that applies to the child or a family member (s 60CF). Since 10 June 2025 the court must also consider the effect of family violence when dividing property. Sections 68P-68R deal with how family violence orders and parenting orders fit together, including allowing a state or territory court making a family violence order to revive, vary, discharge or suspend the parts of a parenting order that let a child spend time with a person (s 68R).

Courts and bodiesShow

Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia
Hears parenting and property matters under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). It does not make state or territory family violence orders, but it can grant injunctions for a person's personal protection under the Family Law Act (ss 68B and 114). It must be told about any family violence order affecting a child, and its parenting orders interact with state and territory orders. Family Advocacy and Support Services, run in each state and territory, give free legal and social support to people affected by family violence who have a family law case.
1800RESPECT
The national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service. Free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: call 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or use online chat or video call on its website.
Attorney-General's Department (Cth) — National Domestic Violence Order Scheme
Has policy responsibility for the national scheme under which domestic violence orders made anywhere in Australia from 25 November 2017 are automatically recognised and enforceable in every state and territory.
National Domestic and Family Violence Bench Book
A national reference maintained by the Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration that explains how family violence law is applied by courts across Australia. Useful for understanding the concepts judges use.

How it worksShow

What does a family or domestic violence order actually do?

A protection order is a set of conditions a court (or, in urgent cases, a senior police officer) imposes on one person to keep another person safe. Almost every order in Australia contains the same core condition: the respondent must not commit family violence against the protected person, must not threaten, harass, intimidate or stalk them, and must not damage their property. In addition to that standard condition the court can add tailored conditions — no contact at all, no approaching within a set distance of a home, workplace or school, no contact except through a lawyer or a written arrangement about the children, no attending premises while affected by alcohol or drugs, or an exclusion (ouster) condition requiring the respondent to leave a home even if they own or rent it. Children who live with or spend time with the protected person are usually named on the order too. The conditions, not the label on the order, are what matter day to day, so read them carefully.

Who can apply for an order, and can police apply for me?

In every jurisdiction there are two routes to a protection order. The first is a police application. If police attend an incident and believe family violence has occurred or is likely, they can apply to the court on your behalf and, in most places, issue an immediate short-term order themselves — a provisional order (NSW), a family violence safety notice (Vic), a police protection notice or police protection direction (Qld), a police order (WA), an interim intervention order (SA), a police family violence order (Tas) or a police DVO (NT). In the ACT, police instead ask a magistrate for an urgent after-hours order. The second route is a private application, where you (or, in some places, a lawyer, a support worker, a guardian or a parent for a child) apply directly to the local Magistrates or Local Court. A police application costs you nothing and police present the case in court. A private application gives you control over what is asked for, but you have to run the case yourself unless you get a lawyer or a court support service to help.

What happens between the first court date and a final order?

The first court date is usually called a mention or a first return date. Nothing is decided about the truth of the allegations that day. The court checks that the respondent has been served, deals with any urgent interim order, and asks whether the respondent consents to a final order, wants time to get legal help, or wants to contest the application. Many orders are made by consent without admissions — the respondent agrees to the order without agreeing that the allegations are true. That ends the matter without a hearing. If the application is contested, the court sets a timetable for statements or affidavits and lists a defended hearing where both sides give evidence and can be cross-examined. Interim orders normally stay in force in the meantime. In most states there are special arrangements — remote witness rooms, screens, safe waiting areas, and limits on a self-represented respondent personally cross-examining the protected person.

What happens if someone breaches an order?

Breaching a protection order is a criminal offence everywhere in Australia. It is dealt with in the criminal court, separately from the protection order itself, and can result in a criminal record, a fine or imprisonment. Two points catch people out. First, the protected person cannot give permission for a breach: if the order says no contact, replying to a text or inviting the respondent over does not make the contact lawful, and only the court can change the conditions. Second, a breach does not have to be violent. Sending a message, driving past a house, or asking a friend to pass on a message can each be a breach if the order prohibits it. If you are protected by an order and it is breached, report it to police — keep screenshots, call logs, photographs and a dated diary, because that evidence is what a prosecution is built on.

Are orders recognised if I move to another state or territory?

Yes. Under the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme, every domestic violence order made in an Australian state or territory on or after 25 November 2017 — including interim orders and police-issued orders such as a Victorian family violence safety notice, a Queensland police protection notice or direction, a WA police order or a Tasmanian police family violence order — is automatically recognised and enforceable across the whole country. You do not have to register it, tell a court you have moved, or take any other step. Police in your new state can enforce it in the same way as a local order. Most orders made before 25 November 2017 are not automatically covered, but you can apply to any local court in Australia to have an older order declared a recognised order. Victorian orders that were in force on 25 November 2017 are recognised without a declaration. If you need the conditions changed after you move, you can usually apply to a court in your new state. That court can decide whether to hear the application, taking into account things such as where each person lives and whether it has enough information about the original order.

How do protection orders interact with parenting orders and firearms?

Where a Family Law Act parenting order lets a child spend time with a person and that conflicts with an existing family violence order, the family violence order is invalid to the extent of the conflict (section 68Q of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)). That is why courts try hard to write protection orders that expressly allow contact required by a parenting order or a written agreement about the children. Under section 68R, a state or territory court making or varying a family violence order can also revive, vary, discharge or suspend the parts of an existing parenting order that let a child spend time with a person, so that the two documents work together. It can only do this if it has material that was not before the court that made the parenting order. Tell the court about any parenting order or pending family law case at the first opportunity. Firearms are the other major consequence. Under the National Firearms Agreement, which the Commonwealth and every state and territory have signed, each state and territory has agreed that its law will provide for a firearms licence to be refused or cancelled, and firearms seized, where the person has been subject to a domestic violence order in the past five years. The detail, including whether a licence is suspended as soon as an interim order is made, is in each state's firearms law.

State and territory guides

Family violence protection is state and territory law, so almost everything except national recognition varies. The name of the order differs (ADVO in NSW, FVIO in Victoria, DVO in Queensland and the NT, FVRO in WA, intervention order in SA, FVO in Tasmania and the ACT), as does the governing Act. Police powers to issue their own short-term order vary widely: a WA police order lasts up to 72 hours after it is served, a Tasmanian police family violence order up to 12 months, and a Queensland police protection direction (available since 1 January 2026) 12 months, while ACT police must ask a magistrate for an after-hours order. Default durations differ — two years for an NSW final ADVO against an adult (unless the court sets another period) and for an ACT final order, five years for a Queensland protection order if the court does not set an end date (the court can order a longer period, or a shorter one only if it gives reasons), and no end date at all for a South Australian intervention order, which lasts until it is revoked. Coercive control is a stand-alone criminal offence in some states and not others. Court structures, application forms, any filing fees, specialist family violence court lists and support services are all local. Use the state page for the jurisdiction where you live or where the violence happened.

Family Violence in Australian Capital Territory
How family violence orders (FVOs) work in the ACT — applying at the ACT Magistrates Court, interim orders, the usual two-year duration of a final order, personal protection and workplace protection orders, breaches, and where to get free help in Canberra.
Family Violence in New South Wales
How apprehended domestic violence orders (ADVOs) and apprehended personal violence orders (APVOs) work in New South Wales, from a police provisional order through to a final order in the Local Court, and what a breach means.
Family Violence in Northern Territory
How domestic violence orders work in the Northern Territory — police-issued DVOs, applying at the Local Court, the conditions a DVO can contain, what happens if an order is breached, and where to find free help across the Territory.
Family Violence in Queensland
How domestic violence orders work in Queensland — applying for a protection order in the Magistrates Court, temporary protection orders, police protection notices, police protection directions (available since 1 January 2026) and how to have them reviewed, breaches, and the coercive control offence.
Family Violence in South Australia
How intervention orders work in South Australia — police-issued interim orders, the Magistrates Court process for confirming an order, why confirmed orders have no end date, what a breach means, and where to get free help.
Family Violence in Tasmania
How family violence orders work in Tasmania — police family violence orders that last up to 12 months, applying for an FVO in the Magistrates Court, the Safe at Home response, breach offences, and where to find free help.
Family Violence in Victoria
A plain-English guide to family violence intervention orders (FVIOs) in Victoria — applying online or at court, family violence safety notices issued by police, what happens at a mention and a contested hearing, and what a breach means.
Family Violence in Western Australia
How family violence restraining orders (FVROs) work in Western Australia — 72-hour police orders, applying at the Magistrates Court, interim orders and the 21-day objection period, final orders, and what happens if an order is breached.

Practical guidanceShow

What should you do first if you are not safe right now?

Call triple zero (000). Ask for police, and tell the operator if there are children or weapons in the house. Police in every state and territory can act quickly: they can take firearms, apply to the court for a longer order and, in most states and territories, issue a short-term protection order or notice on the spot that can require the person to leave the home. In the ACT, police ask a magistrate for an urgent after-hours order instead. If you are not in immediate danger but you are frightened, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 (or text 0458 737 732) for confidential counselling and a referral to a specialist service in your state. Those services do far more than listen. They can help you make a safety plan, arrange emergency accommodation, apply for financial assistance, talk to your landlord or real estate agent, and go to court with you. If you are worried about your device being monitored, use a phone the other person does not know about, or a public library computer, and check the eSafety Commissioner's guidance about clearing your tracks online. Getting help early also builds a record, which matters if you later apply for an order.

What counts as family or domestic violence in Australian law?

It is much broader than physical assault. Family violence laws in every state and territory cover behaviour that controls, intimidates or frightens a family member, not just physical harm. That includes physical and sexual violence, threats, stalking, repeated phone calls and messages, damaging property, hurting or threatening pets, isolating a person from family and friends, controlling money or documents, monitoring someone's phone or location, and exposing a child to any of that behaviour. New South Wales (from 1 July 2024, for current and former intimate partners) and Queensland (from 26 May 2025, for partners, family members and informal carers) have gone further and made coercive control a stand-alone criminal offence. South Australia and Victoria have passed similar offences that start on a date set by proclamation, and Tasmania has long had offences of economic abuse and emotional abuse or intimidation. Who counts as a family member also varies: most Acts cover current and former spouses and partners, relatives, people in an intimate personal relationship, carers and, in several jurisdictions, people connected through Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander kinship or through culturally recognised family relationships.

Should you consent to an order, or contest it?

If an application has been made against you, this is the decision that matters most, and you should speak to a lawyer before the first court date. Consenting without admissions means an order is made without you agreeing that anything alleged is true. It ends the matter quickly, avoids a hearing, and avoids the protected person giving evidence. But the order is real: breaching it is a criminal offence, it will normally cost you your firearms licence, and it can affect security-related employment, some professional registrations and visa matters. Contesting means a hearing where the applicant must prove their case, but it takes months, exposes you to cross-examination, and any interim order usually stays in place the whole time. There is often a middle path — agreeing to an order but negotiating conditions that still allow you to collect belongings, attend a shared workplace, or communicate about the children through a written arrangement or an app. A duty lawyer at court can talk this through with you free of charge.

How do you prepare evidence for a family violence application?

Family violence cases are decided on the balance of probabilities, not beyond reasonable doubt, but the court still needs concrete material. Keep a dated diary of incidents with times, places, what was said and who else was present. Save text messages, emails, social media messages and voicemails — screenshot them, and back the screenshots up somewhere the other person cannot reach. Photograph injuries and property damage with a date stamp, and see a doctor even if you do not want to make a formal report, because medical notes are contemporaneous evidence. Note police event numbers each time police attend. Ask any friend, neighbour, colleague or family member who saw or heard something whether they are willing to give a statement. Write your statement in plain chronological order, be specific about dates and words used, and do not exaggerate — a single overstatement can undermine an otherwise strong case. Court support services and women's legal services can help you organise this.

How does an order affect the children and existing parenting orders?

Children who live with or spend time with a protected person are usually named on a protection order, which means the conditions protect them too. That does not automatically prevent the respondent from seeing them. Courts routinely write conditions that allow contact required by a parenting order, a parenting plan, or a written agreement, and often allow written communication limited to arrangements for the children. Tell the magistrate at the first opportunity if there is a parenting order or a family law case on foot. Where a Family Law Act parenting order lets a child spend time with a person and that clashes with an existing protection order, the protection order is invalid to the extent of the clash (section 68Q of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)). Under section 68R, the state or territory court making the protection order can also vary or suspend those parts of the parenting order so that the two fit together, if it has new material that was not before the court that made the parenting order. Separately, if a child is being harmed, the child protection department in your state may become involved, which is a different process with its own rules.

What does an order cost, and can you get help paying for it?

If police apply for an order on your behalf, there is no cost to you at all — police prepare the application and prosecute it. If you apply privately, many courts charge no fee to apply for a family violence order: Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT, for example, charge nothing. Check your state page for the local position. The real cost is legal representation. Legal aid commissions in each state and territory give free legal help on these orders, many run duty lawyer services at the courts that hear them, and they may fund a lawyer for a contested hearing if you meet their means and merit tests. Community legal centres, women's legal services, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal services and specialist court advocacy programs provide free help as well. If a private lawyer acts for you, ask at the outset for a written costs agreement and an estimate, and ask how costs orders work in family violence matters in your state. Some states limit them: in NSW, for example, a court cannot order a protected person who applied for an order to pay the other side's legal costs unless the application was frivolous or vexatious.

What if an order has been used against you unfairly?

Sometimes a person who has used violence applies first, or both people end up with orders against each other. Courts are alert to this. In Queensland, for example, a court hearing applications by both people against each other must hear them together and consider who is the person most in need of protection. If you believe an application against you is a tactic, do not respond by contacting the other person, because breaching an interim order will damage your position far more than the application itself. Speak to a lawyer, gather your own evidence, and ask the court to consider who is the primary aggressor. You can also ask the court to consider conditions that are workable rather than opposing any order at all. If a final order was made in your absence because you were not served or could not attend, you may be able to apply to have it set aside or reheard — time limits apply and vary by state, so act quickly and get legal help.

Common questions

Is a family violence order a criminal charge?

No. A protection order is a civil order about future behaviour. Having one made against you is not a criminal conviction and does not, by itself, give you a criminal record. However, breaching the order is a criminal offence, and police often lay criminal charges for the underlying conduct at the same time as applying for an order. The two processes run separately, sometimes in the same courthouse on the same day.

Can I drop the order if I change my mind?

Not on your own. Once a court has made an order, only the court can change or cancel it, and you would need to apply to vary or revoke it. The court will consider safety first, and where police applied for the order, police views carry weight and they may oppose the application. Until the court changes the order, every condition still applies — including where you have invited contact yourself.

Does my order still protect me if I move to another state?

Yes, if it was made on or after 25 November 2017. Under the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme, orders made anywhere in Australia from that date are automatically recognised and enforceable in every state and territory, with no registration required. Carry a copy of the order and give one to your new local police station. Older orders can be declared recognised orders by applying to any local court in Australia, and Victorian orders that were in force on 25 November 2017 are already recognised.

What happens if the person protected by the order contacts me?

The order binds you, not them. If the conditions say no contact, responding to their message is still a breach, even if they made the first move. The safest course is not to reply, keep a record of what happened, and apply to the court to vary the conditions if the arrangement genuinely no longer suits both of you. Speak to a lawyer before assuming any contact is allowed.

Will an order affect my firearms licence, job or visa?

It can. Under the National Firearms Agreement, every state and territory has agreed that its law will provide for a firearms licence to be refused or cancelled, and firearms seized, where a person has been subject to a domestic violence order in the past five years. An order can also affect some other licences and checks, such as a security licence or a working with children check. Orders can also be relevant to visa applications and to family law parenting cases. Ask a lawyer about your particular circumstances before consenting.

How long does it take to get an order?

Urgent protection can be immediate. In most states and territories police can issue a short-term order the same day, and courts can make interim orders quickly, sometimes without the respondent present. A final order takes longer. Many matters resolve by consent at an early court date, and the date of your first court appearance will be on your paperwork. A contested hearing takes longer again, because the court has to set a timetable for evidence and then a hearing date.

Can I get an order against someone who is not a partner or relative?

Yes, but usually under a different order. Most jurisdictions have a companion order for violence outside a family relationship — an apprehended personal violence order in NSW, a personal safety intervention order in Victoria, a violence restraining order in WA, and a personal protection order in the ACT. The test and the process are similar, but the definition of who can apply, and the available conditions, differ.

Do I need a lawyer for a family violence order?

You do not have to have one, and many people are self-represented, particularly where police run the application. But speaking to a lawyer is strongly suggested, especially if you are the respondent, if the matter is contested, or if there are children or firearms involved. Free duty lawyers attend many of the courts that hear these matters, and legal aid commissions, community legal centres and women's legal services give free legal help.

Is coercive control a crime in Australia?

Controlling and coercive behaviour falls within family violence laws across Australia, so it can support a protection order. As a stand-alone criminal offence it is more limited. As at November 2026 it is in force in New South Wales (from 1 July 2024, for current or former intimate partners) and Queensland (from 26 May 2025). South Australia passed an offence in September 2025 that has not yet started. Victoria passed one in September 2026 that starts on a date to be proclaimed, and no later than 1 March 2028. The ACT has a Bill before its Assembly. Check the state page for the current position where you live.

Sources

National Domestic Violence Order Scheme — Attorney-General's Department (Cth) (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) — Federal Register of Legislation (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) ss 60CC, 60CF, 68B, 68P, 68Q and 68R — AustLII consolidated text (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Family law (property) changes from 10 June 2025 — Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Family violence: overview — Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
National Domestic and Family Violence Bench Book (AIJA) (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
1800RESPECT — national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling service (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Contacting 1800RESPECT: frequently asked questions (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
National Firearms Agreement, as updated and signed in August 2026 — Department of Home Affairs (Cth) (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Coercive control and the law — NSW Government (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Family Violence Protection Act 2008 (Vic) (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Interstate intervention orders — Magistrates' Court of Victoria (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
New laws to criminalise coercive control (17 September 2026) — Parliament of Victoria (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Justice Legislation Amendment (Family Violence, Coercive Control, Good Character, Risk Assessment and Other Matters) Bill 2026 (Vic), as passed — Act No. 41/2026 (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), version history (version 324 in force from 1 November 2026, before the coercive control offence starts) (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Qld) (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Police Protection Directions — Queensland Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Coercive control laws — Queensland Government (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Applying for a DVO — Queensland Courts (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Restraining Orders Act 1997 (WA) (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Restraining orders — Magistrates Court of Western Australia (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009 (SA) (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA), current version showing the Coercive Control Amendment Act 2025 as uncommenced (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Family Violence Act 2004 (Tas) (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Information for applicants: Family Violence and Restraint Orders — Magistrates Court of Tasmania (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Family Violence Act 2016 (ACT) (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Family violence orders FAQ — ACT Magistrates Court (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
National recognition of domestic (family) violence orders — ACT Magistrates Court (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Making coercive control a crime — ACT Government (accessed 8 Nov 2026)
Domestic and Family Violence Act 2007 (NT) (accessed 8 Nov 2026)

This is general legal information, not legal advice. It does not claim that a solicitor has reviewed this page for your situation, and it does not create a solicitor-client relationship.