Apprehended domestic violence orders in New South Wales

• Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) (NSW)

  The main Act. It defines domestic relationships, domestic abuse and domestic violence offences, sets out when a court can make apprehended domestic violence orders and apprehended personal violence orders, lets senior police officers and authorised officers make provisional orders, sets how long orders last (sections 79 to 79B), and creates the offences of stalking or intimidation (section 13) and contravening an order (section 14). Since 29 September 2025 it also provides for serious domestic abuse prevention orders, which only police or the Director of Public Prosecutions can seek against some adults with a history of serious domestic violence offending or serious domestic abuse (Part 10A).

• Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Regulation 2025 (NSW) (NSW)

  Made under the Act and in force since 1 September 2025, replacing the 2019 Regulation. It sets out the prescribed forms for AVO application notices and the records police must keep when they detain a defendant so an order can be made or served.

• Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) (NSW)

  Contains criminal offences that often accompany an ADVO application, including assault, choking, suffocation and strangulation (section 37), destroying or damaging property, and abusive behaviour towards current or former intimate partners (coercive control, section 54D), which commenced on 1 July 2024 and carries a maximum of seven years' imprisonment. The separate offence of stalking or intimidation is in section 13 of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007.

• Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (CTH)

  Applies where there are parenting or property matters after separation. Sections 68N to 68R deal with conflicts between family violence orders and orders about children. Under section 68R, a state court making or varying an ADVO can revive, vary, discharge or suspend the parts of a parenting order that provide for a child to spend time with a person, but only if it has material that was not before the court that made the parenting order, and it cannot discharge a parenting order when it is making only an interim order.

• Local Court of New South Wales

  Hears applications for apprehended domestic and personal violence orders where the defendant is 18 or over, makes interim and final orders, varies or revokes orders, and deals with charges for contravening an order. Since 28 March 2026 its judicial officers are called Judges of the Local Court rather than magistrates.

• Children's Court of New South Wales

  Deals with AVO applications where the defendant was under 18 when the application was made, and can make an AVO in care and protection proceedings to protect the child involved.

• NSW Police Force

  Responds to incidents, applies for urgent provisional AVOs (made by a senior police officer of sergeant rank or above, or by an authorised officer), applies for AVOs on behalf of people in need of protection, serves orders, and investigates and prosecutes breaches. You can ask at your local police station to speak to a Domestic Violence Liaison Officer.

• Women's Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services (WDVCAS)

  Free services for women and non-binary people experiencing domestic and family violence anywhere in NSW, at all 136 Local Court locations: information about the ADVO process, safety planning, support at court, and referrals to housing, legal and other local services. Call 1800 WDVCAS (1800 938 227) and enter your postcode.

1. 01Report to police or prepare a private application

   Police who suspect or believe a domestic violence offence has been or is likely to be committed must generally apply for an ADVO. If police will not apply, or you want to run the case yourself, you can make a private application through your nearest Local Court registry if you are 16 or older; only police can apply to protect a child under 16. Registry staff can help you with the paperwork but cannot tell you what to do about your case. If you need urgent protection, ask about an interim order, which the court usually deals with the same day.

   Typical timeframe: Any time; urgent interim requests usually the same day

2. 02Provisional AVO

   Where police believe an order is needed immediately, they can apply by phone or another device, at any time, for a provisional AVO, which is made by a senior police officer (sergeant or above) or an authorised officer. It takes effect once served on the defendant and lasts until the court deals with the application; if the court makes no other order at the first mention, it automatically becomes an interim order. Police can direct a defendant to stay at a place, and detain them if needed, while the order is made and served, generally for no more than two hours.

   Typical timeframe: Same day

3. 03Service on the defendant

   Police serve the application and any provisional order. A provisional order is served in person or, if the person agrees and police have explained the order, electronically. The conditions bind the defendant from service, so if you are the defendant you must comply immediately even if you disagree with the allegations.

   Typical timeframe: As soon as practicable

4. 04First mention at the Local Court

   The first court date. The defendant must attend in person unless they have a lawyer. The defendant tells the court whether they consent to a final order (with or without admissions), want an adjournment of up to 14 days to get legal help, or intend to contest the application. If the defendant consents, the court can make the final order that day. Otherwise the court can make an interim AVO to cover the period until the case ends.

   Typical timeframe: Date shown on the application notice

5. 05Directions and preparation for hearing

   If the application is contested, the court makes a case management timetable for both sides to serve written statements, then lists the matter for a compliance mention. Under the Local Court practice note for matters first listed from 4 May 2026, the applicant's statements are usually due in about two weeks, the defendant's in about four weeks, and the compliance mention is about five weeks after the timetable is made. If a side has not complied, the application may be dismissed, a final order may be made, or more time may be given. Interim orders continue in the meantime.

   Typical timeframe: About 5 weeks to the compliance mention

6. 06Defended hearing

   If the case is still contested and both sides have served their statements, the court sets a hearing date. Evidence in chief is usually given by written statement, and witnesses can be cross-examined. In ADVO matters the court is closed while the complainant gives evidence, a remote witness room may be available, and a self-represented defendant cannot question the complainant directly: their questions are asked by a Court Appointed Questioner. The judge decides whether the protected person has reasonable grounds to fear, and in fact fears, a domestic violence offence, intimidation or stalking. Actual fear does not have to be shown for a child or in some other situations.

   Typical timeframe: Date set after the compliance mention

7. 07Final order, variation and expiry

   A final ADVO is made for the period the court considers necessary. Under section 79A, if the court does not specify a period, the default for an ADVO made on or after 28 March 2020 is two years for a defendant aged 18 or over and one year for a defendant who was under 18 when the application was made. Under section 79B the court can make an indefinite ADVO against an adult defendant if the applicant asks for one and there is a significant and ongoing risk of death or serious harm that a time-limited order cannot manage. A final order can be varied, revoked or extended, and you can apply at any Local Court in NSW.

   Typical timeframe: Period set by the court; default 2 years for an adult defendant

If police apply for an ADVO on your behalf there is no cost to you: police prepare the case and a police prosecutor presents it in court, and a costs order cannot be made against you because you are not the applicant. The Local Court's published fee list, and the regulation that sets its criminal court fees, do not include a fee for filing an AVO application. If a registry asks you to pay any court fee, the registrar has power to waive or postpone it. There is no fee for an interpreter in AVO matters. The court can order one side to pay the other's legal costs, but the Act limits this: it cannot order costs against a protected person who applied unless the application was frivolous or vexatious, and it can order costs against a police applicant in an ADVO case only in narrow situations, such as an application the officer knew contained false or misleading material. The main expense is usually a private lawyer if the case is contested, so first check whether you qualify for legal aid and whether a duty lawyer or WDVCAS can help you at court.