ADVO – What is an ADVO
An ADVO, or Apprehended Domestic Violence Order, protects a person from someone they are currently or were previously in a domestic relationship with.
A domestic relationship covers a wide range of scenarios including:
Additionally, if the parties are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, ‘domestic relationship’ encompasses a situation when the two people are part of each other’s extended family or kin, in accordance with Indigenous kinship culture.
From 3 December 2016, ‘domestic relationship’ has extended to cover the relationship between someone’s current partner and their former partner.
An ADVO can be instigated privately or by the police.
In domestic violence situations requiring an ADVO, police have the authority to take out an AVO even in circumstances where the alleged victim does not believe it is necessary and does not wish to proceed with the Order.
An ADVO lasts the duration stated on the Court Order, however, it does not usually last longer than 2 years.
An ADVO prevents a party in a domestic relationship from doing certain things, such as going within a certain distance from the other party, visiting the other party’s house, or contacting the other party via phone or email.
They are intended to protect the other party from physical or verbal abuse, harassment, or intimidation.
A person that’s had an ADVO made against them will be ordered to refrain from:
More conditions can be added to a domestic violence order, based on the circumstances. This might include preventing an individual from living with or contacting the protected person(s).
If a person who has an ADVO placed on them breaches a condition of the ADVO, they can be prosecuted and potentially face jail time.
If you want to apply for an ADVO, here are the steps you’ll need to take:
It is important to understand that there are two types of ADVOs.
One type of ADVO is when the police make an application on your behalf.
The second type of ADVO is when you make a private application to the court seeking the protection order yourself
If you’ve been named as a defendant of an ADVO, you’re not automatically banned from seeing or contacting the protected person.
Once you have an ADVO on your record, it could affect you down the line, especially if you are considering obtaining child custody rights in the future.
So you can contest or defend an ADVO by responding to the application. Even if a final order is made, you can appeal this within 28 days with the District court.
Let’s start with defending an ADVO or responding to an ADVO application before a final order is reached.
Here’s what you can do:
Before we go into these in more detail, it’s important to note that to buy yourself time and get legal advice, you can ask for an adjournment of the court.
You can choose to file a cross-application against the protected person, which means that you’re essentially serving them with an ADVO. The court will have to take your application and consider it as any other ADVO, so you will have to prove to that you fear the other person and you have reason to.
If you’re considering filing a cross-application, it is prudent that you consult a lawyer in advance,
It is important to note that the protected person does not need to prove that you have committed violence against them, only that their fear of you is reasonable.
So, some of the ways that you can push back against that is by:
A property recovery order is an order made by the court that allows you to retrieve personal items from a defendant or protected person(s).
Usually, the police will accompany you when you collect the items.
If you attend the court and a final order is made against you, you can appeal this with the District Court within 28 days.
To do that, complete a Notice of Appeal to the District Court and pay a fee.
Please note that filing an appeal does not stop an existing ADVO – you will have to apply to “stay” the ADVO separately.
When questioning what is an ADVO, you will want to know if an ADVOcan impact family law proceedings and your relationship with your children.
If parenting proceedings are commenced in the Federal Circuit Court or Family Court, the court is obligated by law to consider any allegations of family violence when making decisions about the children.
You may want to know – ‘what is an ADVOand how does it affect my time with my children’ because you have been served with one recently.
It is important to note that orders of the Federal Circuit Court & Family Court override orders or restrictions in ADVOs.
This means that if there is an ADVO preventing you from spending time with your children, and the Federal Circuit & Family Court provides an order for you to spend time with your children, you should follow the Family Court orders.
The Court Orders from the Federal Circuit Court & Family Court can be attached to the ADVO so that the Local Court is aware the conditions have been overridden by another order.
Orders of the Federal Circuit Court & Family Court override orders or restrictions made in the Local Court.
For example, you may have an ADVO stating you are not to be within 50 metres of the residence of your children.
If you have Parenting Orders from the Federal Circuit Court that say you are to collect your child at 4:00pm Wednesday from the residence of the protected person of an ADVO, you won’t be breaching the ADVO if you do what is stated in the parenting orders.
However, this does not give you a free pass to ignore what is in the ADVO.
If you attend the residence of a protected person for any other reason, you will be in breach of the ADVO and could go to jail.
An ADVO is a specific type of AVO.
It stands for an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order.
In domestic violence situations requiring an ADVO, police have the authority to take out an AVO even in circumstances where the alleged victim does not believe it is necessary and does not wish to proceed with the Order.