Contravene Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO)

WHAT IS AN APPREHENDED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ORDER (ADVO)

To best understand the criminal offence of contravene apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO), it is important to know what an apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) is.

Section 15 of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) allows an application for an apprehended domestic violence order to be made for the protection of:

• A person against another person with whom he or she has or has had a domestic relationship, or
• Two or more persons against another person with whom at least one of those persons has or has had a domestic relationship.

Section 16 of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) prescribes the requirements that a court must be satisfied on the balance of probabilities with to make an apprehended domestic violence order.

WHAT IS THE CRIMINAL OFFENCE OF CONTRAVENE APPREHENDED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ORDER (ADVO)?

Section 14 (1) of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) constitutes it a criminal offence for a person to knowingly contravene a prohibition or restriction specified in an apprehended violence order made against the person. This provision includes apprehended domestic violence orders and apprehended personal violence orders.

An individual convicted of the criminal offence of contravene apprehended domestic violence order pursuant to Section 14 (1) of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) is liable for a maximum term of 2 years imprisonment and/or a penalty of $5,500.

FURTHER CONTRAVENE APPREHENDED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ORDER (ADVO) OFFENCES

Section 14 (1A) of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) constitutes it a criminal offence for a person to knowingly contravene a prohibition or restriction specified in an apprehended domestic violence order made against the person with the intention of causing the protected person:

• Physical or mental harm, or
• To fear for the protected person’s safety or the safety of another person

An individual convicted of the criminal offence of contravene apprehended domestic violence order under Section 14 (1A) of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) is liable for a maximum term of 3 years imprisonment and/or a penalty of $11,000.

REPEATED CONTRAVENTION OF APPREHENDED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ORDER (ADVO)

Section 14 (1C) of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) constitutes it a criminal offence for a person to knowingly contravene a prohibition or restriction specified in an apprehended domestic violence order made against the person, in circumstances where they had:

• On at least 2 other occasions within a period of 28 days immediately before the contravention, knowingly contravened a prohibition or restriction specified in:
• an apprehended domestic violence order in relation to the same protected person, or
• the same apprehended domestic violence order, whether or not in relation to the same protected person, or
• an apprehended domestic violence order arising from the same application under Part 10, whether or not in relation to the same protected person, and
• A reasonable person would consider the conduct referred to above would be likely, in all the circumstances, to cause the protected person physical or mental harm, or the protected person to fear for the safety of the protected person or another person, whether or not the harm or fear was in fact caused.

An individual convicted of the criminal offence of contravene apprehended domestic violence order under Section 14 (1C) of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) is liable for a maximum term of 5 years imprisonment and/or a penalty of $16,500.

WHAT IF A PERSON ATTEMPTS TO COMMIT THE CRIMINAL OFFENCE OF CONTRAVENE APPREHENDED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ORDER (ADVO)?

Section 14(9) of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) states that a person who attempts to commit the criminal offence of contravene apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) is guilty of the offence and is punished as if the offence attempted had been committed.

WHAT ARE THE DEFENCES AGAINST GUILT FOR A CONTRAVENE APPREHENDED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ORDER (ADVO) CONVICTION?

Not served or present: Section 14(2) of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) states that a person is not guilty of the offence of contravene apprehended domestic violence order if in the case of an apprehended violence order made by a court, the person was not served with a copy of the order and was not present in court when the order was made, or in any other case, the person was not served with a copy of the apprehended violence order.

Mediation or Property Recovery Order: Section 14(3) of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW) states that a person is not guilty of the criminal offence of contravene apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) if the contravention of the prohibition or restriction concerned:

• Was necessary in order to attend specific mediation, or
• Was done in compliance with the terms of a property recovery order

Duress: You may defend charges of contravene apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) on the basis of duress, which is that you contravened the apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) due to a threat of death or serious harm against you or your family, with the threat being so severe that a person of ordinary firmness would be unable to resist and you could not have rendered the threat ineffective.

Necessity: The common law defence of necessity may be used to defend against a charge of the criminal offence of contravene apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) in circumstances where the criminal offence of contravene apprehended domestic violence order (ADV) must have been done in order to avoid certain consequences which would have inflicted irreparable evil upon you or upon others whom you were bound to protect and you honestly believed on reasonable grounds that you were placed in a situation of imminent peril and the contravention done to avoid the imminent peril must not be out of proportion to the peril to be avoided.

Other defences may be available depending on the circumstances of your case. Contact Criminal Lawyers Group now so that we may analyse the defences available to you.

WHAT FACTORS WILL AFFECT PUNISHMENT FOR A CONTRAVENE APPREHENDED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ORDER (ADVO) CONVICTION?

If you are convicted of the criminal offence of contravene apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO), the court may consider a number of factors that will determine the punishment you receive, including but not limited to:

• Nature of the breach
• Nature of relationship between victim and offender
• Any criminal history, particularly involving domestic violence
• Any early guilty plea
• Victim impact statement, if any

WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF CONTRAVENE APPREHENDED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ORDER (ADVO)?

Examples of actions that may constitute the criminal offence of contravene apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) include, but are not limited to:

• Sending Facebook messages to the protected person
• Showing up to the place of residence or workplace of the protected person
• Damaging property that belongs to the protected person
• Stalking, harassing or intimidating the protected person
• Assaulting or threatening the protected person

WHAT COURT ARE CONTRAVENE APPREHENDED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ORDER (ADVO) OFFENCES HEARD IN?

Contravene apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) cases are generally heard in the Local Court.

Our expert criminal lawyers have a wealth of experience in obtaining the best outcomes in criminal matters across all levels of courts in NSW, including contravene apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) matters.

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This page contains general information and is not to be taken as legal advice.

For quality and award-winning legal advice, contact our expert criminal lawyers at Criminal Lawyers Group immediately for a free consultation so that we may analyse your case and secure the best possible outcome for you.