Consequences for the defendant

If the Court makes an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) against you, there may be consequences for both you and the protected person that you should be aware of.

Criminal record and criminal history

If a final AVO is made against you, it won't appear in a criminal record check or in your criminal history.

However, if you breach the AVO and are convicted by a court of that offence, the offence will be listed on your criminal record.

A record of the AVO will be kept on the police database. 

For more information about what happens if you breach the AVO, see Breaching your AVO.

Firearms licence

If the police enter your home to investigate an alleged domestic violence offence, they must ask you whether you own any firearms. If you say yes, they must take your firearms. They can also take any other weapons or other dangerous things that they find. 

If the police believe there are firearms at your home, even if you have told them you don’t have any, they can apply for a search warrant to enter your home to search for any firearms. 

If you have been charged with a domestic violence offence, the police must suspend your firearms licence. The police must also suspend your firearms licence if they have reasonable cause to believe that you committed or threatened to commit a domestic violence offence. 

For more information about domestic violence offences, see Charges and AVOs.

If an Interim AVO is made against you, your firearms licence will be automatically suspended regardless of whether the AVO prohibits you from possessing firearms or prohibited weapons.

It will remain suspended until your case is finished.

If a Final AVO is made, in which case the defendant’s firearms licence will automatically be revoked.

If your firearms licence has been suspended or revoked, you must immediately surrender your firearms and licence to the police. If you don’t, police may seize your firearms and charge you with an offence.

If your AVO has an order that prohibits you from possessing a firearm, you may be charged with breaching your AVO, which is a criminal offence.  

If an AVO is made against you, your firearms will have to be disposed of or destroyed. You can ask the police to dispose of your firearms with a firearms dealer or you can ask the police to destroy them. If you do nothing, the police will destroy your firearms.  

Applying for a new firearms licence

If an AVO was made against you for a specific period of time and your firearms licence was revoked, you will have to wait 10 years until you can apply for a new licence. You will need to show that you are a 'fit and proper person' to have a firearms licence.

If an AVO was made against you for an indefinite period of time, you won’t be able to apply for a new firearms licence unless the AVO is varied or revoked. If the duration of the AVO is reduced, you will have to wait for 10 years after the AVO has finished to apply for a new licence. 

If the Court has revoked an AVO made against you, you may be able to apply for a firearms licence. For more information, see Vary or revoke an AVO. 

If the application for an AVO is withdrawn, and the Interim AVO is no longer in force, your firearms licence will no longer be suspended.

If you have surrendered your licence and firearms to the police, you may be able to get them back from the police. 

Security licence

If you have, or want to apply for, a Class 1F or P1F (a licence which allows you to carry a firearm), you may not be able to work under that licence, because your firearms licence will have been suspended or cancelled.

A security licence may also be cancelled, or an application for a security licence rejected, if an AVO is made against you and if the Commissioner of Police believes that you are not a 'fit and proper person' to hold a security licence.

If you breach an AVO and you are found guilty of that breach, your security licence may be cancelled, or your application for a security licence rejected, particularly if the breach involves assault, stalking or intimidation. ​

Working With Children Check

A person who works or volunteers in child-related work will need to apply to the Office of the Children's Guardian for a Working With Children Check. This involves a national criminal record check as well as other checks.

As a result of a Working With Children Check a person will be cleared to work with children for five years or barred from working with children.  There is on-going monitoring for new records during the five years.

Usually having an AVO won’t stop you being cleared to work with children, but it is possible in some cases that an AVO may be considered in a Working With Children Check. 

For more information, see Working with Children Check on the Office of the Children's Guardian website. 

Tenancy

If you and the PINOP are co-tenants of a rental property, an AVO may affect your tenancy. 

If you have to leave

If an AVO is made against you that includes an exclusion order, you must find somewhere else to live. 

An exclusion order is an order that prohibits you from living or going to the rental property. If you have an exclusion order it will be under the heading ‘Orders about where you cannot go’. 

The exclusion order must identify the tenancy address. 

If a Provisional, Interim or Final AVO is made against you that includes an exclusion order, the PINOP can immediately change the locks to the property and stop you from entering the property.  

If a Final AVO is made against you with an exclusion order, you will be automatically removed from the lease. 

If you left your belongings in the property, you can apply for a Property Recovery Order to collect their belongings. You must do this before your case is finished.

For more information, see Property Recovery Orders – Defendant.

You can also apply to NCAT to recover your belongings.

For more information, see If you left your goods with someone.

If you own significant assets with the PINOP, you may also have to negotiate a family law property settlement.

For more information, see Finance and property.

If you paid part or all of the bond, you can make a written request to the PINOP and other remaining tenancies that they repay your share of the bond.

The PINOP and any remaining co-tenants are responsible for paying the rest of the rent owed under the tenancy agreement.

If a Final AVO is made without an exclusion order, the PINOP can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) for an order to terminate your tenancy. NCAT can terminate your tenants tenancy if it is appropriate to do so in the special circumstances of your case.

If the PINOP was not listed on the lease, they can apply to NCAT for an order recognising them as a tenant under the tenancy agreement. 

For more information about how an AVO may impact on your rental agreement, see Domestic violence and tenancy on the Tenants’ Union of NSW website. 

If the PINOP leaves

If the PINOP leaves, they may ask to have their name removed from the tenancy agreement, if they are a co-tenant. If this happens, you must pay the full amount of the rent owed under the tenancy agreement.

If the PINOP has left their belongings in the property, they have a legal interest in those things, and are entitled to get them back. You can’t dispose of their belongings unless you have given them the required notice, or an order was made by NCAT.

If there is an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order application against you, the PINOP might apply for a Property Recovery Order to collect their belongings. If the court makes a Property Recovery Order, you must allow the PINOP to collect their belongings per the order.  It is an offence to contravene or obstruct someone from complying with a Property Recovery Order without a reasonable excuse.

For more information, see Property Recovery Orders – Defendant.

The PINOP can also apply to NCAT to recover their property.

For more information, see If someone left their goods with you.

If you own significant assets with the PINOP, you may also have to negotiate a family law property settlement.

 For more information, see Finance and property.

Visa

If you are in Australia on a temporary visa, and an AVO is made against you, this may affect your visa and/or citizenship application. You may have to disclose an AVO made against you when apply for a visa or citizenship.

For more information, see Visas and immigration.