Can You Go to Jail for Breaching an AVO?

You have been charged, or you have just realised the text you sent last night might have crossed a line, and one question is drowning out everything else: am I going to jail?

Here is the straight answer. Yes, jail is possible. A standard breach carries up to two years in prison. Where the breach is an act of violence, prison is not just possible, it is the starting point the court must impose unless it has reasons not to. But most first-time, non-violent breaches are dealt with well below a prison sentence. This page walks you through exactly what counts as a breach, what the penalties really are, the defences that can apply, and what happens if you are found guilty.

Let me give it to you plainly, no legal waffle.

What actually counts as a breach

Breaching an AVO means doing anything the order tells you not to do. That sounds obvious until you see how wide it goes, and this is where a lot of people get caught out.

If there is an order for no contact, texting somebody happy birthday is a breach. If you’re commenting on one of their Instagram posts, it’s a breach. If you’re getting your friend to just pass on a message, it’s a breach. If there’s an order preventing you from going to their workplace and you’re driving past because you need to get there in order to get to your own workplace, guess what? It’s a breach.

Now here is the part people argue with the most. You might be thinking: the protected person messaged me first, or they told me they are fine with it, so surely that is not a breach. It is. It does not matter if the other person is okay with the contact. It does not matter who reached out first. The order is the order, and only a court can change it. If the conditions no longer fit your situation, the answer is to apply to vary the order, not to test it.

Five everyday breaches of an AVO

Most breaches are not dramatic. They look like ordinary life:

1. A “happy birthday” text or a reply to a message they sent you first.
2. A like or a comment on their social media.
3. A message passed through a mutual friend or a family member.
4. A drive-past of their home or work, even on your normal route.
5. Turning up to a shared event: a child’s sport, a family gathering, a mutual friend’s party.

If your order says no contact or no approach, each of these can be a criminal offence. Read your order line by line, and if a condition is unclear, get advice before you act, not after.

The real penalties, tier by tier

The offence sits under section 14 of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW). The penalty depends on what the breach was.

• Standard breach (s 14(1)): up to two years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,500 (50 penalty units). This is the baseline for a knowing breach with no aggravating features.
• Breach with intent to cause harm or fear (s 14(1A)): up to three years and/or a fine of up to $11,000 (100 penalty units). This applies where you breach an apprehended domestic violence order intending to cause the protected person physical or mental harm, or to make them fear for their safety.
• Repeated breaches (s 14(1C)): up to five years and/or a fine of up to $16,500 (150 penalty units), where you are convicted of breaching three or more times within a 28-day period.

There is one line that changes everything. When the act constituting the breach was an act of violence against a person, s 14(4) says the court must sentence you to a term of imprisonment, unless it decides otherwise and gives its reasons. So a threatening or physical breach is treated far more seriously than a text message. A non-violent breach is usually treated less seriously, depending on the intention behind it.

For the full penalty provisions, see the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) and section 14 on AustLII. Legal Aid NSW sets out the same tiers in plain terms.

How fast a breach becomes a charge

Let me tell you about a real client, because the speed of it surprises people.

We had a client where he received a call from his ex at 6pm. He answered the call. By 8pm he was in the back of a police car. By 9pm he had criminal charges placed on him. That’s because he had an AVO placed on him and he didn’t understand the terms of it.

He was not violent. He answered a phone call from the person the order was meant to protect. But answering that call broke a condition of his order, and once police were involved, it was out of his hands. The lesson is simple: know your order’s terms before you act, because a moment of contact you did not think twice about can become a criminal charge within hours.

Can you defend a breach charge?

You can. A breach charge is not a conviction, and there are recognised defences depending on what happened:

• It was accidental. You did not knowingly do the thing the order prohibits. A knowing breach is part of the offence, so a genuine accident matters.
• You acted under duress. You were forced or threatened into the act.
• You acted in good faith on a court order. For example, complying with a parenting order that required contact or a handover.
• You were unaware the AVO existed. The order was never properly served on you, so you did not know its terms.
• The alleged breaches do not stack up. Where multiple breaches are charged, each one still has to be proven.

Which defence fits, and whether it is worth running, depends on the facts and the evidence. This is the point to get advice, not to guess.

What happens if you are found guilty

If you plead guilty or are found guilty, the sentence is not a single fixed outcome. A magistrate in the Local Court weighs the seriousness of the breach, your history, and the circumstances, and can impose a range of outcomes:

1. A section 10 dismissal or a conditional release order, with no conviction recorded.
2. A fine.
3. A community correction order.
4. Imprisonment, which becomes the required starting point where the breach was an act of violence (s 14(4)), unless the court gives reasons for a different sentence (s 14(6)).

Do not treat any breach as minor, even one that feels trivial to you.

The judge may see it as a risk to the children, a lack of insight into your behaviour, and a complete disregard for legal boundaries. Even if the breach seems small to you, it can cause real issues and raise big red flags.

That reaches beyond the criminal charge. If you have a parenting or property matter on foot, a breach can follow you into it. If you want to understand the order itself and how it works, our explainer on how an ADVO works covers the conditions and the process.

What to do next

If you have been charged, or you are worried something you did might be a breach, the worst move is to sit on it or to make more contact. Get clear advice on your order and your options first.

My team and I deal with AVO breaches all the time. Book in a chat with our AVO lawyers, and we will walk you through where you actually stand, what the charge means, and what happens next. No pressure, no judgment, just honest advice. Call 1300 614 732 or send us a message.